By Holly O'Dell
Bring up the subject of
wine around the right person, and you’ll have a friend for life.
Nothing seems to bring about good conversation and camaraderie like a quality
bottle of wine. Whether discussing the aroma or sharing thoughts on taste nuances,
wine aficionados know what they’re talking about. But for newcomers, it
can all seem a bit intimidating. What if you make a faux pas? What if you ask
the wrong questions? Fortunately, most enthusiasts are more than happy to share
their wisdom; in fact, we’ve found three of them from the chiropractic
field to offer their thoughts and advice on starting your own path to wine enjoyment.
Before you know it, you’ll be confidently joining discussions on wine
and truly understand why people are so passionate about it.
Ready, Set, Swirl!
If you consider yourself a novice, there are some natural starting points to
familiarize yourself with wine. One of the first steps is determining price
point, says Brian Heslip, D.C., a chiropractor for 40 years and owner of Heslip
Family Winery in Novato, Calif. “Decide to buy what you can afford,”
he says. “In most cases, the more expensive a wine, the better it is.
Better means easier to drink, smoother, less astringent, less tart.”
Another safe way is to begin with recognizable names of wines, says Stephen
Eckstone, director of admissions at Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward,
Calif. “Stick with chardonnay, bordeaux, burgundy, or cabernet,”
he advises. “If you can find one or two white wines that you really like
to drink, stick with them for a while.”
Eckstone also believes that there are some things to avoid as well. “For
me, mistakes include offering or ordering anything but red or white. Skip the
white [zinfandels]. Avoid wine that is sold in anything but traditional bottles.
Try to avoid screw caps, although more and more good wines are switching away
from cork. And don’t try to convince people that you found a ‘great’
bottle for under $5.”
Take a trip to a reputable wine shop and inquire about what they offer. “Share
your naïveté with the proprietor, and ask advice. Don’t come
off like an expert because you’ll be treated like an expert and not a
novice,” Heslip says. “Tell them you’re trying to get into
wines. Ask what are drinkable wines.”
A natural next step is ordering wine by the glass at a restaurant or wine bar,
as it gives you a great opportunity to start testing what tastes good. “There’s
nothing worse than buying a $30 dollar bottle of wine that tastes awful, but
if you get a $5 to $8 glass of wine that tastes awful, just get something else,”
Heslip says. “If you find something you really like, jot the name down
and go out and buy it.”
Tastes Like …
When it comes to tasting wine, many wine devotees believe that certain methods
can help you appreciate the flavors more. Many wine drinkers prefer white wines
slightly chilled and reds at room temperature. If you’re unfamiliar with
what you’re being served, check the bottle and labels for style, vintage,
and any other clues to how it was made. Eckstone, who is writing a book about
wine, also advises that wines be served from “little” to “big”:
“Serve the lighter, white wines first and move up to the ‘big guns,’”
he says.
Most wine drinkers employ a standard technique when first tasting a wine, says
William Updyke, D.C., associate clinical professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic
West in San Jose, Calif. “The standard technique is to gently swirl the
glass, get your nose into a position over the glass, inhale through your nose,
and then pause to consider exactly what aromas you pick up. Following that,
pour a small amount into your mouth and taste it,” he says. “You
can aerate the wine at that point by puckering your lips and sucking air through
it, which will enhance your ability to taste those flavors. Don’t swallow
the wine right away. Think about what you taste; think about the inside of your
mouth and how it feels. When you do swallow, consider how the flavors change
and how long they linger.”
Here are some common terms used in reference to the taste, look, and
even feel of wines:
Body: Comes from alcohol and dissolved grape extract; used to describe the weight
and richness in your mouth. Hence, a “light” wine would have a lighter
feel, and a “full-bodied” wine would feel heavier.
Nose: Aroma that wine produces.
Fruity: “Fruity does not mean fruity in the sense of sweetness of the
wine. It has to do with a fruit smell to the wine,” Heslip says.
Varietal: Name of the grape used in the wine. The generic term for multiple
varietals used is table wine.
Finish: Lingering flavors.
Initially, though, novices need not get hung up on “proper” terminology.
“I would recommend starting out with just ‘yum’ or ‘yuck,’
because when it comes down to it, the entire wine-tasting lingo is just a description
of combinations of those two words,” Updyke says. “When you identify
something you do like, you should try and figure out exactly what it is that
you like about that wine.”
If, however, you crave a more formal approach to describing tastes, consider
using the Wine Aroma Wheel. Developed by Ann Noble of University of California
at Davis, the wheel uses terminology to help wine drinkers explain what it is
they’re smelling and tasting. Some descriptions include apricots, green
beans, and blackberries, and more earthy terms like “dusty.”
What a Pair
You’ll find that once you start learning more about wines, you’ll
want to start experimenting with food pairings. “Trying it with food is
easier to get into wine,” Heslip says.
The general rule of thumb for wine and food pairings is to drink white wine
with lighter foods (fish or chicken) and red wines with heavier foods (meats,
pizza or rich pastas). “I think bold food requires bold wine, and food
with subtle flavors requires a lighter-bodied wine,” Updyke says. “Salty
foods and vinegary-type foods make the flavors of wine less bold. Somewhat sweet
foods, as well as foods with rich, fatty flavors will make a wine taste more
potent.”
Updyke puts these theories into practice in a food and wine pairing seminar
he teaches at Palmer West, which serves as a fundraiser for the Student American
Chiropractic Association. “The class involves pairing three very different
wines with several standard foods,” he says. “We taste each wine
with an apple wedge, a lemon wedge, mushrooms cooked in a savory and slightly
sweet sauce, aged sharp cheddar cheese, French bread and salt. It is amazing
how different each wine tastes with each of the food flavors in your mouth.”
If you are going to host or are attending a food and wine pairing event, be
sure to have plenty of water on hand to clean the palate between tastes.
Some wine drinkers have found that breaking the “rules” of wine
and food pairings can produce pleasing results. “The new rules says to
eat and drink what tastes good,” Heslip says. “People shouldn’t
be afraid or intimidated. Don’t be afraid to experiment and cross the
conventional lines. It’s not going to wreck the chicken. If it tastes
good together, it’s OK.”
If you’re still stumped, restaurants will often suggest a wine that pairs
well with a particular menu item.
Aging Gracefully
The process of aging in wine is similar to the way we age: We may have a wild
period when we’re younger, but eventually, we settle down over time. “A
wine’s flavors are much more robust when they are young. Most people age
wine because they want it to settle down a bit. As with children, wine is rambunctious
when it is young.”
Simply put, aging wine makes it more drinkable. “Wine is a living organism,
versus liquor, which is dead. That’s why vintners leave a bit of air in
the bottles and seal them with porous materials [such as cork],” Eckstone
says. “Wine continues to ‘live’ or at least to age long after
it is in the bottle. Very well-made wines are designed to improve with age.”
Wine does have a point when it’s been aged too much. “The key is
to not overdo it,” Updyke says. “I have, unfortunately, had too
many bottles that should have been consumed a few years prior.”
If you choose to serve or drink a younger red, Heslip suggests decanting it.
“Pour it into a special wine decanter to allow the wine to ‘open
up’; you shake it and aerate it, which softens the wine and makes it more
ready to drink.”
Additionally, many wine enthusiasts advise against refrigerating red wine. “The
refrigeration of red wine restricts the flavor from coming forward,” Heslip
says. “It has to be room temperature to give off the aroma and for the
flavors to open up.”
Life with Wine
Whether you’re trying your first glass or venturing into more sophisticated
wine tastes, be prepared for an enriching experience.
Updyke gets together with a group of six men about once a month to drink wine,
discuss its nuances and simply enjoy the camaraderie. Updyke and his wife, who
live in San Jose, Calif., take day trips to world-class wineries nearby and
vacations that revolve around wine. “Wine is nothing more than a bottle
of life enhancement,” he says. “I have this saying, ‘A day
without wine could have been a little better.’”
As a vintner, Heslip has a special relationship with wine. “The whole
process from growing it to pruning it…is just a nice, reflective time.
The whole process is like a miracle to me, turning this cloudy grape juice into
a wonderful wine. It’s like any other endeavor. There’s a challenge
to make a good product. It’s great to be around people who really appreciate
wine, who talk about it, who know about the various things you’re tasting
and how to talk about the body of the wine, the year, and so on.”
Eckstone feels the same way. “Of all the things I could be enthusiastic
about, wine is the most affordable, the least dangerous, the least aggravating,
the most rewarding, and, when the end is near, you can just lock me in the cellar
and say goodbye.”