Written by I spent twenty-six years watching people order wine based on the prestige of a label or the sheer weight of a gold-embossed neck tag, and frankly, it breaks my heart. Most critics will sit you down and drone on about “microclimates” and “geological compositions” as if they’re reading a textbook, but they miss the point … Continue reading “Why the Same Grape Tastes Different Two Valleys Apart”
I once watched a young man at a table in my old dining room spend ten minutes staring at a bottle of Bordeaux, sweating through his shirt because he couldn’t figure out how to read a wine label without looking like an idiot. He was terrified that if he asked the sommelier for help, he’d … Continue reading “Reading a Label When You Do Not Know the Region”
I remember a Friday night in my old dining room, about ten years ago, when a regular ordered a massive, high-alcohol Zinfandel to pair with a delicate sea bass. I watched him take one sip, grimace, and then spend the next twenty minutes trying to politely explain to a very eager young waiter why the … Continue reading “What the Alcohol Percentage Tells You Before You Open It”
I remember a young sommelier at my old place—bright eyes, expensive suit, and a vocabulary that could make a stone weep—trying to explain to a regular why her Cabernet felt like she’d been chewing on a handful of pencil shavings. He spent ten minutes dancing around the chemistry, using words like “polyphenols” and “molecular structure,” … Continue reading “Tannin: Why the Wine Dries Your Mouth”
I remember a Tuesday night in my old dining room, about ten years ago, when a regular ordered a heavy, jammy Cabernet to go with a delicate sea bass. I watched him take a sip, wince, and then stare at the glass as if it had personally insulted him. He didn’t need a lecture on … Continue reading “Acidity Is the Thing You Feel, Not the Thing You Taste”
I’ve sat through enough dinners to watch people perform a ridiculous, choreographed dance with a glass of Cabernet, sniffing it like they’re trying to solve a crime and swirling it until they’re dizzy. Most of the “experts” will tell you that learning how to taste wine properly requires a degree in chemistry and a vocabulary … Continue reading “Tasting a Wine and Knowing What You Noticed”
If you think you need to spend three hundred pounds on a bottle of Bordeaux and a leather-bound textbook just to figure out how to start learning about wine, you’ve been lied to by people who make more money from the labels than the liquid. I spent twenty-six years behind a pass, and I can … Continue reading “Learning Wine Without the Vocabulary Getting in the Way”