Wines of the World - Rules of Engagement

Wines of the World
PO Box 36330
Denver, CO 80236
Phone 1-888-827-8484 (1-888-TASTINGS) FAX 303-986-0058
email flightcommand@StarNetSite.com

``Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."Anonymous


Rules.

In my opinion, there are few rules for the understanding and enjoyment of wine. There are only guidelines, some of which are ever changing. However, I do believe there should be one rule regarding wine – relax, try wine your way, if that doesn’t work try a different wine a different way, or with different companions.. Above all, wine should be an enjoyable acquaintance rather than a homework assignment.

My views on wine are simply a series of “I believes”.

I believe wine is a food, not a beverage.

I believe wines should be good companions to the foods with which they are paired. Like a good marriage or relationship, they should be comfortable without either being overbearing or subservient.

I believe all wines should be given at least a second chance. Maybe it was the food, the weather, the surroundings or even your mood that relegated a particular wine to the scrap heap. Reseal it and try again in a couple of days with something (or someone) else.

I believe most wines should not be served at normal American room temperature of 68 to 72 degrees. However, It’s not beer and shouldn’t be served at 42 degrees. I prefer to have most red wines chilled slightly to somewhere around 64 degrees (about 20 minutes in the fridge before drinking should do it) and most whites a few degrees cooler.

I believe all red wines benefit from being poured into a decanter so they aerate for a short time before being served.

I believe most wines and cheeses are delightful - just not together.

I believe a tasting should be a tasting. Tastings were originally intended to concentrate on a wine or wines without the distraction of food or a cocktail party atmosphere. In a way, tastings are more about the knowledge of wine than about having a party.

I also believe a pairing should be a pairing. To me, one of the endlessly amazing characteristics of wines is how dramatically they can change when paired with a different food (to test this statement, try a piece of unfrosted chocolate brownie with a full bodied Pinot Noir and with a Sauvignon Blanc). Pairings are about finding delightful combinations of food and wine.

Finally, I believe a party should be a party. For me, a wine party is primarily a social event, leavened by information and conversation about wine.

I believe wine was the “peoples choice” of beverage before beer and liquor were either available or reputable.

I believe you can enjoy good, companionable wine for $6 to $12 a bottle and you can enjoy good, companionable wine for $150 a bottle - unfortunately it isn’t the price that makes the wine good. You can pay $6 or $150 for Plonk!

I believe the moral of the story The Emperor’s New Clothes is applicable to too many who write about, judge or pretend to enjoy wine.

I believe much of the currently popular language congregating around wine, its consumption, your potential pleasure in it and its relative merits and value is meaningless, pretentious drivel! I have never met a wine that fled so that I couldn’t “approach” it!

Most of all, I believe that learning about, tasting and enjoying wine and learning about all the ingredients, people, weather, “terroir”, soil and other complexities, including Lady Luck, make for a fascinating, never ending, enjoyable educational and gustatory journey that never ends.

A votre sante.





The Cellarmaster at
Reds N Whites