The lazy jedi’s way to buying wine
Ok, with the 5 killer rules on buying wine burned in your memory, your palms are no longer sweating when heading to a wine shop or when you are pointed out as volunteer to choose a wine from the wine list in a fancy restaurant.
So you like your wine, you know why and you have found your trusted wine merchant. You are fully aware of surrounding effects and the influence of your own mood on wine and have even been experimenting with these external and internal factors. And, even more important, you are wearing your topee and went already several times on some successful expeditions.
In other words, your are now a full blown wine jedi. So may the wine be with you.
Being a wine jedi, now it is time to tattoo in your chest the most important wine buying rule of all. And you can be sure that it is a lazy wine jedi rule:
You master the game as no other one, so now it is time to have fun (and I may hope you already had loads of fun on your way to becoming a wine jedi). Wine, after all, is made to enjoy, to have fun with friends. Hey, I just like to analyze a wine, to go into depth into all these layers of aromas, to let the flavors roller coaster in my mouth. But then there comes a moment of joy, of letting it loose with love and just have fun!
So with the next wine you sip, do not forget to have fun. As an author has put it (and I can say it no better):
“What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.”
- William Sokolin
Have a fun wine today!
Bart
Quotes on wine
“I can certainly see you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn’t know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret.”
– Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) in Fawlty Towers
TN –Château Hostens-Picant, Sainte-Foy Bordeaux, 2004
The combination of merlot (70%), cabernet franc (30%) and cabernet sauvignon (10%) brings a refined spiciness in the glass. Next to this some reminiscents of the barrel aging expressed by notes of mocha and espresso poured over by a sauce of black currants, strawberries and raspberries.
Okay, so the barrel aging is present but I never got that sensation of overwooded wine. Hell no, the fruit is omnipresent, luscious and a lust for the nose. Hey, if I’m ever sick, pretty please with sugar on top bring me a basket with such sexy fruit and I guess I’ll be out of my bed in no time.
So, as you could guess I couldn’t wait a moment longer to sip this wine and let it rock and roll in my mouth. The first thing I noticed was “finesse”. And oh boy, do I just love elegance in wine. Healthy tannins, present but like a good butler in the background, a refreshing acidity and an overall great balance. Again, the sensual fruit is lingering in the mouth with a softness and roundness that is exquisite. Great and exciting finish!
Stéphane Derononcourt is the consultant behind this wine. Voices whisper that this is the new school Michel Rolland. This self made man has entered and conquered big part of the Bordeaux scene without any diploma in his pocket. He just digs sensual wines loaded with fruit. I guess the wine above is one of his scholar examples.
One conclusion, I’m going to grab me some more wines with the stamp of Stéphane Derononcourt.
Wine: Château Hostens-Picant, Sainte-Foy Bordeaux, 2004
Bought at: Pin’art (Belgium - Mechelen)
Price: around 15 EUR (around 20 USD).
Have a nice and sensual wine today!
Bart
3 secrets for a 100% score at blind tastings
The other night I attended a blind tasting. Well, actually it was a so called semi-blind tasting. This implies that you get the name of the grapes and/or the region where the wine is produced.
In this particular case, a flight of nine wines were to be tasted, and this is the information we received:
Pinotage – South Africa (3 wines)
Pinot noir (1 wine)
Cahors (1 wine)
Zweigelt – Austria (1 wine)
Zinfandel (3 wines)
And guess what, I got them all nine correct: a 100% score. Great, isn’t. Was their luck involved? Well, I guess so since I had some doubts over a couple of wines and switching just one of these couples would imply already a penalty of two and then I would have ended up with 7 out of 9.
But that is not so important, the most important thing is how to approach such a blind tasting. Well, let me kick of with the first well kept secret:
Just an example, one of the wines had a low intensity in color. A type of color through which you could easily read your newspaper. Just on the basis of color I could easily exclude Cahors, which produces in general heavy colored wines. So this one I could easily exclude. Also wines on the basis of the pinotage grape are in general more colored. But I played it on the safe side and did not immediately eliminate these ones.
So my list would be as follows:
Pinotage – South Africa
Pinot noir
Cahors
Zweigelt – Austria
Zinfandel
Then the nose, a not so intense nose dominated by fruit, mainly cherries which were even a bit like candy. Next to this there was some nice spiciness whirling.
What decisions did I base on the aromas? Well, this in combination with the color, now I was certain that pinotage could be excluded. In my opinion pinotage has a certain element which can be best described as vegetal, although burnt rubber would be also a nice denominator. Also some big doubts aroused about zinfandel, these types of wines are normally more expressive. Also zweigelt is in general more expressive but could have this type of fruit. So, again I was risk averse and only excluded pinotage.
This was my list up till then:
Pinotage – South Africa
Pinot noir
Cahors
Zweigelt – Austria
Zinfandel
Then I sipped a bit of the wine and instantly I noticed loads of acidity and rather low alcohol degree. Furthermore, also tannins were very low. And there was this slight sweetness, just a bit of dry.
These impressions confirmed my earlier decisions (pffft) and lead me again a bit further on the path of elimination. High acidity and low alcohol, better forget zinfandel.
So now it was a grape-to-grape fight: zweigelt versus pinot noir. It lacked that typical Beaujolais fruitiness for a zweigelt, zweigelts are often also a bit darker in color and, finally, it had that off dry sensation. Austria is a so-called old world country and there wines are mainly made in a dry style. So reasons enough to exclude zweigelt.
So I ended up by elimination with pinot noir. Easy, no?
This brings me right to the second secret when blind tasting.
Again elimination, but now on a macro-level. Once I had eliminated one grape only eight more were left and each time the elimination would be easier. In this case, indeed the pinot noir was the easiest grape to start with and it made my blind tasting live already a lot easier later on.
Third and last secret and for the people who have intensely read the example above no longer a secret:
I often see people decide on the basis of the nose, the aromas. No, do not do this, a blind tasting is not a quickie, you will need some foreplay and after play. So crawl your way through all these different elements, eye, nose and mouth, just as I did above in the example. Combine this with your elimination technique and you’ll get your home run…or at least you’ll reach the first base.
Have a nice blind tasting today!
Bart
PS If you have other secrets for a blind tasting, just share them in the comments section.
Wine Blogging Wednesday
I just recently learned about this great initiative started by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours: Wine Blogging Wednesday.
The set-up is as follows. Monthly a theme is announced and then on a predetermined Wednesday all bloggers and wine lovers are invited to blog or send a mail to the Wine Blogging Wednesday host about the wines they have tasted.
The last one (WBW#34) was about Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. The round up can be found at Through The Walla Walla Grape Vine blog.
The next Wine Blogging Wednesday has just been announced and will deal with Passionate Spain, Spanish wines below the 10 USD. Well, since I’m living in EURO country I will try to fetch some below the 10 EUR (a bit more than 10 USD, but I guess I will not be punished for this). This will be my maiden trip and I’m already anxious to figure out which wine(s) I will comment upon.
Have a nice passionate Spanish wine today!
Bart
5 killer rules when buying wine (Part 2)
In part 1 of 5 killer rules when buying wine, the first two rules to have a nice buying experience were uncovered.
- Drink the wines you like
- Get to know why you like these wines
Here are the remaining three killer rules to take into account when buying wine.
3. Trust
Rule number 3 is plain vanilla:
Find yourself a wine merchant that you trust.
This trust person will help you on your adventures on the wine route. A good wine merchant will listen to you, give you a helping hand and lead you to the wines you like. In addition, he could help you to understand why you like these wines.
But again, never forget rule number 1. Oh yes, it could indeed happen that your favourite wine merchant makes you a recommendation that does not suit your palate. After all even your favourite wine merchant is only human. So do not be afraid to tell him the next time, so he can look for some other wines to recommend. Sometimes it is just looking a bit around for you to find the right way through the maze, but once you have find that road, your happiness will grow and your wine evenings will become unforgettable.
4. Be aware of the dog
Ever visited a house where there was this little sign posted: be aware of the dog? I recently did and it was a lazy Sunday afternoon where the heat just made you sluggish. Ok, I have seen the sign, but the only thing I heard were birds twittering a bit. So in quite a relaxed state I entered the front garden. And then, then there was suddenly this evil monster, barking at a level that it seemed that my head was going to explode. I saw it running towards me in slow motion. Foam was dripping from his mouth making his teeth even look sharper. My sluggish state of mind was in a second changed. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, while different options run in a millisecond through my brain. I opted for the flea tactic and ran like a devil towards the gate and security…
This little side story, just to indicate you that the surroundings, a particular moment in time can set you in a certain state of mind. But a change in the atmosphere and your state of mind can change entirely. The above was a rather drastic change but every moment in time there are a multitude of factors influencing your state of mind.
How is this related to wine?
Well, it is the same with wine, there are a multitude of factors influencing the taste of wine.
An example: remember those incredible holidays in Greece. A fantastic sun, steel blue skies and all happy people, dancing the sirtaki together and then some shots of ouzo. Well, I had my great shot of ouzo while they shattered some plates on my head, just an unforgettable experience. And oh boy, tasted that ouzo good!
But then, have you ever tried to drink ouzo in Belgium? Well, I did, and it just tasted horrible. Great deal of the explanation lies in the fact that you are in a total different state of mind.
Same goes with wine. So be aware of, among others, the serving temperature of the wine and the outside temperature (ever tried an high alcohol red wine when it is over 30° Celsius?), your state of mind (try the same wine when your happy and when your sad. Will it taste the same?) and the influence of food on the taste of wine.
Conclusive rule number 4 is all about the dog:
when tasting wine, be always aware of the dog or, in other words, be aware of the influences!
5. Take the Livingstone-approach
Now you like a certain wine and you know why you like this wine. Are you going to stick with this wine? Hell no. Be adventurous, go on an expedition, to boldly go where no man has gone before!
So rule no. 5 is:
Be adventurous!
Suppose you like Bordeaux wines. Kick off that expedition with a little stroll outside the Bordeaux region and head for Bergerac. Same type of grapes and similar style. And so you discover that also a Bergerac wine is one who ends up in the “I like it” category. Come on be a bit more adventurous and go outside the France borders. Why not go over the Alps direction Tuscany. Here you find the so-called Super Tuscans. Often made on the basis of some kind of Bordeaux blend and aged on Bordeaux type oak wooden barrels. But here your adventure does not stop. Now you can go for a totally different continent. Take for example South Africa, this country is a heaven on your discovery for stupendous Bordeaux blends. And so your adventure could cross the whole planet.
Just take one piece of advice into account: let go of all these prejudices and just think you are Dr. Livingstone heading for a great expedition. You will encounter trouble (bad wines) but you might also be the first to see the Victoria falls (excellent mind blowing wine)!
I would like to thank Michel Vandeneuker and David van Gils for offering me some useful insights.
If you enjoyed this post, make my day and buy me a glass of wine.How to know what not to buy - Quotes on wine
If you enjoyed this post, make my day and buy me a glass of wine.“Never buy the cheapest wine in any category, as its taste may discourage you from going on. The glass, corks, cartons, and labor are about the same for any wine, as are the ocean freight and taxes for imported wines. Consequently, if you spend a little more, you are likely to get a better wine, because the other costs remain fixed. Cheap wine will always be too expensive.”
— Alex Bespaloff, New Signet Book of Wine, 1986
TN - Ravishing carignan: a Belgian with a Plan
Ever had a race car in a bottle? I just did:
Dirk Vermeersch, a former race driver and Maserati dealer (okay, he was also involved in dealing Volvo’s and Lancia, but these cars are not so sexy) sold all his belongings and went with his family to the Southern Rhône pursuing his dream.
There he started up a winery and damn does he make good wines. Just (re)tasted (well, sipped with loads of enthusiasm) his GT-C wine. Nope, no Gran Turismo but Grand Terroir Carignan. Monovarietal carignan are few and far between, I can assure you. This grape is often declared as being too dull to do a solo.
But boy, theory can be so wrong. Dirk, mister 100%, makes 100% right choices: low yields (around an astonishing 25 hl/ha), green harvest, old vines (on average around 40 years), etc. Result: what vibrancy on the nose. Peppery at first, subsequently liquorice and tons of black and red fruit are fighting for your attention. Talking about a concentrated nose… Then a sip and you can almost feel the sunny South on the tip of your tongue. Warm fruit, tannins that belong rather to the softies’ category, lean but no so mean acidity. In one word balance. This is a carignan I dig!
Oh, by the way, on the label it reads “powered by nature”. I’m really happy that nature can make such smooth running turbo engines.
In Belgium you can find this wine at (among others) Pin’art (Mechelen), and in the UK Vignerons de France (BN3 3JJ HOVE) are taking care of distribution.
Wine: LePlan Vermeersch, GT-C, Vin de Pays de la Drôme, 2005
Price: 8,20 EUR at Pin’Art (Belgium-Mechelen)
5 killer rules when buying wine (Part 1)
Ever stood in a wine shop in front of all these inviting wines and you were just not able to see the wood for the trees? Your forehead was beaded with sweat and the only thing you thought of was how to get out of the store as quick as possible?
Well, these days are over…just take with you the 5 killer rules and you will be calm like a Buddhist monk and focused like an eagle the next time you enter a wine shop.
1. I like it, aha, aha!
Let’s kick of with the basic rule:
“drink, and for that matter buy, only the wine that you like!”
And it is plain simple: You like it or you do not like it. As regards the second category don’t be afraid to throw it away. The crocodiles living in the sewer beneath our house have a serious alcohol problem due to all the wine that I have poured in our sink.
Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Master of Wine (and they know a lot since this is the highest degree in wine you could obtain) states it in a bit different words:
“Own your own palate.”
Hey, it is you who have to drink the wine, it is your own mouth where the white or red gold is going to be swallowed. Ever encountered a wine critic with your mouth, ever encountered a wine label that was made up on the basis of your palate. I didn’t.
So trust yourself and trust your palate. Let the wine critics, wine labels, wine connoisseurs be what they are: a small light in the darkness, a light that could possible guide you but not a light that will be so intense that you will be blinded…
2. Give me a reason
The second rule is:
try to find out WHY you like / dislike a wine.
Do you like fruity wines, aged wines, wines on wood, powerful, fleshy or elegant wines or sparkling wines (link)? Or do you like a particular grape, such as a merlot? Or, do you prefer blended wines compared to monovarietal wines? Or do you dig a specific country, a certain region?
So next time get some basic information when you buy a bottle of wine, such as:
- Grape variety
- Country
- Region
- Wood aging
And some more components if you like. The more components are known the easier it will be for you to determine why you like a wine.
Memorize this components each time you drink a wine or even better set up your own database. And in such way you will find out what it is that you like/dislike in a wine. And this will make your future purchases much more easy and, even a bigger advantage, you will have to throw less in the sink.
Buy in a relaxed way a nice wine today!
Bart
Part 2 is now available -Five killer rules when buying wine (part 2).
A concentrated nose
Kaat showed me a nice blogpost about a concentrated nose of blackberries, coffee and violets. If you understand Dutch (yes, that obscure language spoken in, among others, Belgium and the Netherlands), then I would kindly invite you to read the post, which can be found at Edward van de Vendel Blog.
If this blogpost would have been a wine, then it would be a supple, full bodied and easygoing wine. One of these that just beg for a second glass…(and third and …). In short, recommended reading.
This great written piece got me thinking about denominators for wine. Actually a “concentrated nose” is quite a common one when spending some time under winelovers. When I dig into my memory, a lot of more particular denominators pop up.
What do you think for example about:
- the air of an inner tube,
- crushed ants,
- a hair dried labrador,
- ballet shoes of a young female ballerina (yes, not an old lady and not a male ballerina, these shoes smell quite differently),
- a plastic bag filled with used diapers?
Do you have preferred denominators for wine? Or do you have encountered some pretty strange ones? If so, I would kindly invite you to post a comment…
Have a nice wine with a concentrated nose today!
If you enjoyed this post, make my day and buy me a glass of wine.-
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