Wine Tasting

In conjunction with a networking group based in Tokyo, called “Enriching Lifestyles,” I am presenting a series on wine.

Nice dark color!

Seminar 1: Wine: Old World vs. New World

Over thousands of years, Europeans have learned to match grape varieties and winemaking techniques to local environmental conditions, cultural traditions and cuisines. Wines are made to reflect the local “terroir,” and wine regulations seek to maintain continuity with the past. Unfortunately for novices, “old world” wine labels can be difficult to understand. By contrast, many “new world” wine regions produce wines that reflect the whole spectrum of great European wine styes.  In the Napa or Barossa Valleys, you can find wines that emulate Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, the Rhone and the Rhinegau, and the labels, highlighting the varietal, are more consumer-friendly. Winemaking in the new world is driven still further by research, technology, consumer demand and mass marketing. In this seminar, we will learn how winemaking in the old and new worlds are different but also how they have been learning from each other to create a new synthesis. We will taste six wines that show the contrast between old and new world approaches to winemaking.

The first seminar was held April 4, 2010 at Berry Bros. & Rudd, in Tokyo. These are the wines that were served:

Welcome Drink
Berry’s Extra Dry Cremant de Limoux (Domaine de l’Aigle, Languedoc-Roussillon, France)

Flight 1
2007 Pulenta Estate, Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina2006
“Berry’s Own Selection” Chablis (Domaine Du Colombier – AC Chablis, France)

Flight 2
2006 Ostler “Caroline’s Pinot Noir” Otago, New Zealand
2006 J-Y Devevey Volnay 1er Cru (Bourgogne, France)

Flight 3
2006 “Berry’s Own Selection” Shiraz, Australia (Elderton, Barossa Valley)
2005  Domaine Mouton, Cote Rotie (Northern Rhone Valley, France)

Seminar 2: White Wines / Red Wines

White grapes make white wines and black grapes make red wines. Of course, it’s not really that easy. What you taste in a glass of wine is a combination of three major factors: the grape variety, the terroir (environmental conditions) and winemaking. How much flavor is the result of a particular grape variety? What do winemakers do to achieve finesse, elegance, longevity, or easy drinkability? Which aromas and flavors are from the grapes and which arise through winemaking? In this seminar we will taste some white wines and red wines that show “varietal character.” We will learn about the process of red and white-wine making and discuss some of the many decisions and choices facing winemakers when they want to make good wine.

Seminar 3: Use Your Senses!

“Drinking” wine is easy. You can take an attitude of “I’m no expert, but I know what I like” and let wine fuel your conversation or wash down your meal. But “tasting” wine may take some learning, some practice, and, more importantly, discussion with like-minded friends.

Winemaking has made so much progress that few wines these days can be classified as “bad.” That is, you are unlikely to encounter commercial wines that are turning to vinegar, that are cloudy, that are over-sulphured, or that smell “off.” On the other hand, even supermarkets can provide you with vast combinations of grape varieties, terroir, aging, technology and winemaking style. What kind of wine do you like – and why? How to make sense of so much variety? Answer: learn to use your senses.

In the third seminar, we will learn how to improve our experience of wine by using our senses of sight, smell and taste. We will identify those aspects of wine that can be described objectively. We’ll also learn how to enhance our enjoyment of the subjective – the imaginative and poetic – aspects of wine. We will learn and practice the techniques wine tasters use to judge color, aroma and flavor and, most importantly, become familiar with the words and phrases that allow us to engage in intelligent wine conversation.

As always, the main point of the evening is to learn what works for you – and to have fun in a relaxed atmosphere with a group of like-minded friends. And of course we will try six wines – chosen especially for their ability to refresh our minds and bodies on a hot Summer’s day!

Download the original flyer for Enriching Lifestyles: EnrichLifeStyle-WineSeries

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