1. Wine is Fun
Afterall, wine is booze, so it can easily fill in where in social situations where other types of alcohol are more frequently consumed. It also possesses, in the words of the immortal Hugh Johnson, "the power to banish care". Indeed. It is also an essential part of the good life, or "joie de vivre". Most importantly, it's tasty.
2. Wine is not anywhere near as inaccessible as it seems.
Walking into a wine shop, or the experience of buying wine should be pleasurable. You should not feel like the poor sap who wanders into John Cusak's music store in High Fidelity. For the most part, those of us who work in the trade are really happy to tell you everything you want to know, and a whole lot you don't, about any wine on our shelves; and if we occasionaly speak over your head, it's not because we're trying to show off, it's because we don't live in the real world. Most of us are so used to speaking to others of our strange breed that we are nearly always out of touch with what normal, well adjusted people consider to be important.
Most importantly, if you're not dealing directly with a person, remember that everything on the label on the back of the bottle is there for a reason, and there are probably many people who lost sleep at night trying to write it up for you in a way that's accessible, so read it; and if you want to know more, you can find out.
3. Price is not an indication of whether or not you will like it.
The biggest piece of wine news last month was that Robert Parker (one of the truly serious heavies of the wine trade - careers are made or broken by his palate) who tastes wines that range from 150 to 400 dollars per bottle on a daily basis, also enjoyes wines that are more in the price range of us mere 9-5 mortals.
The most expensive wine in the world (Chateau Petrus, which is mostly Merlot) is really unpleasant without ten years of being left on its own in the bottle... What I mean is, once you start to stray into the upper end of your price range, make sure that the wine you're buying is "ready to drink" (more on this later). Ask your local wine shop staff about it.
Most importantly, see rule number 1.
4. There is such a thing as good and bad wine.
Sure, wine is fun, and enjoying that must be just that, enjoyable. But a steady diet of [yellowtail] is up there with a steady diet of fast food, and we all remember Supersize Me. Now I'm not asking you to go out and buy mature Burgundy, neither would I expect you to immediately give up fast food and switch to an all raw vegetable diet. One of the cool things about wine is that it can make you... stretch... it can challenge you in a way that most foods can't. It basically boils down to how well the wine is made, just like a properly grown organic tomatoe from your backyard tastes better than anything you buy "hot house grown" from the store, the same holds true for wine. Properly made wines from carefully tended farms (vineyards) are better than wines that are manufactured from farms that are overproducing. More on all this later.
Most importantly, see rule number 1.
5. Not all wine improves with age
See? Told you we'd get here. In reality only about 5% of all wines produced around the world are meant to be aged. That being said, 95% of wines are meant to be drunk like so much water. A nice rule of wrist is if you buy a wine in a bottle, it can probably benifit from at least a few months resting. If you want to buy a couple of wines to keep for the long term, maybe wines that mark an occasion (anniversary, birthdays etc.) ask the staff at your local wine shop, they'd be delighted to assist you. Most importantly, see rule number 1.
6. Ask questions.
Pretty basic, but very improtant if you want to learn. Once again, the staff at your local wine shop should help you a lot. In addition, The Wine Warriors would love to help you out, and wikipedia is a great source. In the book department, I recommend Jancis Robinsons Vines, Grapes and Wines.
7. Matching food and wine doesn't need to be hard
See rule number 1. You can experiment very easily with food and wine pairings at home. A nice way to go is: match the weight (texture) of the wine to the weight (texture) of the food. Have a food and wine pairing party. Get your friends to bring a bottle of wine within given parameters (price, region, colour, grape etc.) as well as some finger foods (oysters, smarties, cocktail weinies, etc). And then try different combinations of enjoying the food and the wines together; see if you can agree on a group as to what the foods do to the wines and vice versa. Most importantly, see rule number 1.
8. Wine tasting is not subjective...
Okay, maybe it is, but really... bear with me here, it's kinda sciency. So when you are smelling or tasting something, really what you're smelling or tasting are little particles or molecules (or combinations of), so therefore everyone, physically is smelling the same thing. A wine from the same bottle, poured at the same time, at the same temperature and into the same type of glasses will release the same particles into the air and into your mouth. When we all inhale (smell) we inhale the same thing, unless you happen to be Bill Clinton, in which case... never mind. Where disagreements arise, or where different people smell different things, is when different people have different sensitivities to a given particle or, how good a person is at identifying a smell. Try this: pick one of your favourite aromas, and then try and describe it to your friends without saying: smells like... etc. Can't be done. So really when we say "aromas of dark cherries, old saddle and mint" what we really mean is "gee, this wine kinda smells like...".
I've gotten side tracked. Let's say that rule number eight should be:
The wine itself, from a chemicle perspective is objective, but how we judge the wine when we taste it is completely subjective. Does that work? Remember rule number 1.
9. Neither red nor white is "better".
See rule number 1.
Okay, so red wine - unless it comes out of a box - is better for you than white. But that doesn't mean that you should be drinking more red even if you don't like it. Red is not what "real wine lovers" drink. And it's okay to like one more than the other, I myself am pretty much colour blind when it comes to wine. It all depends on where I am, who I'm with, what I'm eating and what I'm listening to. I think all red drinkers owe it to themselves to try Gozales' Vino Verdhe (Portugal) on a patio on a hot afternoon, and all white drinkers owe it to themselves to have some DeBeouf Beaujolais Nouveau with Thanksgiving dinner. But that's just my opinion. See rule number 1.
10. Every wine tells a story.
Even box wine tells a story, not a very good story, but it can still tell you something. All you have to do is see rule number 6. Above all, however, remember rule number 1.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Manifesto 1.0
The purpose of wine warriors is to create an accessible forum for the up and coming heavies of the wine trade to discus, learn teach and occasionally insult each other in a way that is accessible for all, yet satisfying to those of u.s who do nothing but talk and think about wine all day.
Such a forum, for the up and comers is especially vital, because at the moment the industry is dominated by old white dudes. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we (the youth) are the future of the business and it's high time, my bretheren, to carve out a piece of this pie for ourselves.
We are The Wine Warriors. Okay, so I'm perfectly aware that such a title is a bit... Dungeons and Dragonsish, but it's got more street cred than "Cork Dork", and it implies a slightly more agressive stance than the rather scrawny, bespectaled name "Cork Dork". We are not the type to go to a wine bar and have bottles of La Tache kicked in our faces like so much sand; we are tough as Nebiolo and as resilient as Madeira.
So what does it mean, my bretheren, to be a Wine Warrior?
It requires merely an interest in grapes. And a desire to put our money and energy where our palates are. It means to battle against inflated price and speculation and wine as an investment. To reletlessly search for unknown wines from around the world and enjoy them, not as relics to be kept in a museum, too expensive to consume, but as a gift from nature, meant to be relished and enjoyed; not as something to dust off occasionally to show (but never to open) to the Joneses.
We, my bretheren, are the movers and shakers of our trade and/or our passion; we must, at all costs, keep wine at once accessible but also unique, eccentric and indeed downright weird. And there are several things for which we must strive:
1. This may be nearest and dearest to my heart: the education of our fellow movers and shakers, the youth who are more willing than our parents to experiment with wine and food and all other elements of the good life. Our peers who buy wine, but who have not had the benifit of a wine primer remain in the thrall of [yellowtail] and other sugary, manufactured brands. We must, my bretheren, eandeavour to wake them from this homogeneous slumber and open their eyes to the wonders of well made, interesting wines.
2. Should we purchase wine that is meant to be laid down and forgotten for a decade (and we must buy these wines) we will drink, not sell, said wine in 10 years hence; not only for ourselves, but for our children, who must not be foced to live in a world - as we do - where many of the best, longest lived wines in the world are so far out of our price range that we will never be able to buy them. Buying wines as an investment is the antithesis of all that we stand for.
3. We must affect a Riesling counterrevolution. By this I mean that we mucst keep all those beautiful, amazing and unique single vineyard Rieslings, that are among the best wines in the world, out of the hands of investors, so that we, my bretheren, can still afford to drink them.
4. With our wallets and palates we protect idiosyncratic regional wines and vines so that they may be enjoyed by our grandchildren, but also being wary of poor quality wines being produced from regional grapes.
5. We must drink wines only from quality concious producers. My bretheren, over the past 20 years, indeed, throughout the entire history of commercial wine making, it has been proven that the industry will go where the market dictates - let us dictate that only well made wines are acceptable to the new generation, The Wine Warriors.
6. We must, my bretheren, protect against the homogeonization of taste. Contrary to popular belief, this is not spread by Robert Parker Jr. but by manufacturecd wines that show little variation on an international scale, and do not emphasize a site, or a winemaker, but instead a brand. To reiterate, Michel Rolland is not the enemy, it is the plonk that comes in boxes, and the likes of Charles Shaw.
This is an early version of The Wine Warriors' manifesto, contrubutions, editing and new ideas are most welcome.
Maj. Gen. N. Sanders
Such a forum, for the up and comers is especially vital, because at the moment the industry is dominated by old white dudes. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we (the youth) are the future of the business and it's high time, my bretheren, to carve out a piece of this pie for ourselves.
We are The Wine Warriors. Okay, so I'm perfectly aware that such a title is a bit... Dungeons and Dragonsish, but it's got more street cred than "Cork Dork", and it implies a slightly more agressive stance than the rather scrawny, bespectaled name "Cork Dork". We are not the type to go to a wine bar and have bottles of La Tache kicked in our faces like so much sand; we are tough as Nebiolo and as resilient as Madeira.
So what does it mean, my bretheren, to be a Wine Warrior?
It requires merely an interest in grapes. And a desire to put our money and energy where our palates are. It means to battle against inflated price and speculation and wine as an investment. To reletlessly search for unknown wines from around the world and enjoy them, not as relics to be kept in a museum, too expensive to consume, but as a gift from nature, meant to be relished and enjoyed; not as something to dust off occasionally to show (but never to open) to the Joneses.
We, my bretheren, are the movers and shakers of our trade and/or our passion; we must, at all costs, keep wine at once accessible but also unique, eccentric and indeed downright weird. And there are several things for which we must strive:
1. This may be nearest and dearest to my heart: the education of our fellow movers and shakers, the youth who are more willing than our parents to experiment with wine and food and all other elements of the good life. Our peers who buy wine, but who have not had the benifit of a wine primer remain in the thrall of [yellowtail] and other sugary, manufactured brands. We must, my bretheren, eandeavour to wake them from this homogeneous slumber and open their eyes to the wonders of well made, interesting wines.
2. Should we purchase wine that is meant to be laid down and forgotten for a decade (and we must buy these wines) we will drink, not sell, said wine in 10 years hence; not only for ourselves, but for our children, who must not be foced to live in a world - as we do - where many of the best, longest lived wines in the world are so far out of our price range that we will never be able to buy them. Buying wines as an investment is the antithesis of all that we stand for.
3. We must affect a Riesling counterrevolution. By this I mean that we mucst keep all those beautiful, amazing and unique single vineyard Rieslings, that are among the best wines in the world, out of the hands of investors, so that we, my bretheren, can still afford to drink them.
4. With our wallets and palates we protect idiosyncratic regional wines and vines so that they may be enjoyed by our grandchildren, but also being wary of poor quality wines being produced from regional grapes.
5. We must drink wines only from quality concious producers. My bretheren, over the past 20 years, indeed, throughout the entire history of commercial wine making, it has been proven that the industry will go where the market dictates - let us dictate that only well made wines are acceptable to the new generation, The Wine Warriors.
6. We must, my bretheren, protect against the homogeonization of taste. Contrary to popular belief, this is not spread by Robert Parker Jr. but by manufacturecd wines that show little variation on an international scale, and do not emphasize a site, or a winemaker, but instead a brand. To reiterate, Michel Rolland is not the enemy, it is the plonk that comes in boxes, and the likes of Charles Shaw.
This is an early version of The Wine Warriors' manifesto, contrubutions, editing and new ideas are most welcome.
Maj. Gen. N. Sanders
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