by sy (architect by day, entertaining maestro any other time)

I am not a great wine connoisseur but here’s a little fundamental knowledge of the different types of wine available in the market. You will find that wine really enhances your enjoyment of a meal, people get more chatty and boisterous as the evening progresses… not to forget it can serve as a wonderful prelude to a romantic evening…

Here are the ABCs of wine :-

Old World Wines – wines made traditionally in countries with long history of wine making (Europe) – France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany – many from family owned vineyards. Generally let to mature in oak barrels.

New World Wines – wines made from European grapes brought over by new settlers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina – some of the vineyards can be high tech – some matured in stainless steel vats.

Wine Talk

Nose or bouquet

• predominant inhaled smell of the wine after twirling it in glass to let it ‘breathe’ before drinking.
• can be fruity smells with certain fruits dominating, oaky, minerally even vanilla and tobacco hints
• There can be a whole range of associated smells from a bottle depending on its complexity and age, grape variety, soil and climate

Tannins

• comes from the skin and seed of the grape – leaves an astringent (cleansing feel) on the tongue more prominent in red wines

Acidity

• Wine taste is sharper, tart or sourish – usually a very young wine has this sensation

Finish

• Lingering after taste which all good wines have

Dry or sweet?

• Wines with higher level of tannins and acid – less sweet – it is considered ‘dry’. There are some very sweet dessert wines like ice wines, Gewurztraminer(floral tones) and Muscat (lovely grape flavor)

Common Red Wines – red grapes

• Cabernet Sauvignon – sometimes abbreviated to ‘Cab Sav’ – thick skinned grape – dark colour and full bodied
  wine – nose of blackcurrant, may have hint of chocolate in really matured grape
• Merlot – pronounced ‘merloh’ – less tannic flavor – softer and juicier taste than Cab Sav – plums and blackcurrant
• Pinot Noir (a difficult grape to grow) – a smooth wine with ripe fruit flavors of raspberries, cherries – is lower in tannin.
• Shiraz – all of us know about this full bodied wine due to Australian influx in the market – has a spicy peppery blackcurrant and often with a hint of cinnamon – heavier on the tannins. Sometime labeled as ‘Syrah’

Common White Wines – light coloured grapes

• Savignon Blanc – dry side with nose of pear, gooseberries, grassy tones – NZ is producing excellent S Bs
• Chardonnay – fruity hints of apple, citrus and honey after taste. Sometimes blended with Semillon – great tasting combo
• Riesling – German ones are best – light and refreshing with fruity citrus flavors, green apples, passion fruit
• Chenin Blanc – soft, crisp and fruity wine – hints of apples, apricots

Others Common Wines

• ‘Zinfandel’ – an almost rose kind of wine – light and semi sweet mainly from California
• Sparkling wines – the Italian ‘Asti Spumantes’ and ‘Proseccos’ are wonderfully refreshing on a hot afternoon when served well chilled.

Matching Food and Wines

The classic ‘red with red meat and white with white meat or fish’ is only a guide. There are so many different types of wines ranging from light to heavy bodied that one can really experiment with for different flavors of food especially in Malaysia where one has to pair spicy food with a suitable wine.

Chinese food – steamed fish, seafood good with light white wines – Rieslings, Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis or light Spanish white (Rioja). Chinese dim sum and shark’s fin goes well with champagne and a Merlot, Shiraz for Peking Duck and crispy fried chicken!

Indian food – sparkling wines like Zinfadel and Rieslings go well with dry curries e.g. mutton peretal and light red wine – Beaujolais Nouveau with food spiced with coriander, turmeric, cumin and ginger. Note that wines do not go well with very hot (pedas) spicy food as the tongue is already tinglingly numb and a cold beer is better to dowse the heat!! Good wine will be wasted!! Light Shiraz can go well with tandooris and naans.

More on wine forays in the next episode…

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