Kronick Wino

For The Love Of Wine!

Friday, January 2nd, 2009 | Hopkins, Tasting Room Stories, Wine Stories

“I really don’t like wine, but I WANT to! How do I learn to love it?”

Do you know how often I hear that question? It’s the strangest thing. I would be in the tasting room at Hopkins pouring wine for someone who has really only ever drank beer or hard liquor, and then they are in front of me tasting something they conceivably don’t even like. But they WANT to!

I guess the most obvious idea would be to figure out what it is they do or do not like about it in the first place. Kind of reminds me of my love / hate relationship with broccoli-rabe. For the longest time I really despised the stuff; I usually love ALL vegetables. But every time I had it, it was bitter and tart and just not pleasing to my palate. That was until one fine evening I decided to cook it MY way: lots of garlic, butter, lemon and sautee for EVER. I tried cooking the tartness right out of those dastardly stalks. And it worked. I now have an appreciated love for the plant. Plus, it’s amazing with Italian sausage, almost a perfect pair, and freshly shaved Parmesan! But I digress……

Ok, so wine. Where does one start? I would say from the majority of folks I talked to about their ‘hate’ of wine, when you really got down to the truth of the matter, they didn’t hate ALL wines. They seemed to like the sweet ones at least, or the semi-sweets. I myself, in my earlier wine days, could not appreciate red wine in all the world, but I liked the whites. I personally really got into Spanish Albarinos mostly because that was what was available to me at the restaurant where I hosted. It was easy, light, not too much crazy flavor going on, good with most vegetable dishes and any and all fish entrees.

I’d say the most important thing to keep in mind is that your palate is kind of like an instrument. You can’t just pick up a violin or sit at a piano and start playing from day one and know how to read the notes. Your tastebuds may or may not like flavor shocks and the brain can’t comprehend all it’s experiencing in some wines. It needs a little easing and understanding about what’s going on. It’s a learned skill, something that can be finely tuned, but can also handle some broad notes. The broad notes in the wine tasting world would be your big 6: Pinot Gris or Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonney, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I usually find that a fellow taster will always find at least ONE of the big grape varietals to suit him or her. Next, start buying that kind of wine from all different regions, like France, Chile, Spain, Australia, California, Italy. You’ll really start getting a sense of flavors, sweetness, dryness, foods you like to go with it. Some wines even act like fragrances that conjure up memories of a past experience or a person or a place. Those are my favorite because you can always remember the wine by how you feel.

After you feel like you’ve tackled a wine or varietal of grape, then move on. You’ll get bored if you stick to the same thing forever. And believe me, there is a VAST SEA of wines out there to experience. Sometimes the best wines are those you stumble upon by accident. And it doesn’t hurt to have a little wine journal handy to jot a few notes down. “Love it”  “Hate it”  “Great with Lobster” “Too sweet” “Tastes Like horse leather” (it’s been known to happen) whatever.  You get the idea. Here’s a form you can download to have around the house for your next tasting experience or with friends.

If you are curious to know what my favorite wines are, send me an email. I’ll have to make a list one of these days as that seems to be the other constant question I get all the time. Until next time…… Cheers!

Tags: food pairing, novice tasting, tastings, wine appreciation

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