These notes are from our experience and should "serve you well" as a foundation for guests, clients or, most importantly, for your own personal enjoyment.

Cheers!

Terry Szwec

Glassware
Only a decade ago one would have been expected to have the correct glassware for each individual wine. Your Chardonnay, your German Whites and the larger bowl requirements for your fuller bodied Rhônes (French) and Cabernet Sauvignons along with your liqueurs, all required the proper glassware to conform to standard etiquette guidelines.

Today's styles are far less formal even in the finest of eating establishments. One could start building their respective wine barware with the basics of a Champagne Flute, a good Bordeaux Glass that can also be used for your chilled Whites and Sherry Glasses that can be used for sherry, ice wine or for liqueurs. Three foundational glasses today can now replace 16-20 separate glasses of only fifteen years ago.

From Lalique or Waterford or the economical Luminark, the price ranges for stemware can range from $160.00 per piece right down to $6.00 per piece. My preference is for fine "tasting stemware" available from Riedel and their sister company Spiegelau. These are high quality, lower cost, hand-blown glasses that cater to both the connoisseur and novice wine drinker.

A few examples:

Bordeaux Glass (All Reds and Chilled Whites)	Champagne Flute (All Sparkling Wines including Proscecco)	Sherry Glass (Sherry, Liqueurs and Ice Wine)

One should also stock your barware with good quality Double Old Fashioned Glasses for mixed drinks, some Highball Glassware for taller drinks with ice and Martini Glasses for such drinks as Cosmopolitans, simple and complex martinis. These glasses can also be used for anything from serving mashed potatoes to sorbet and fruit. Additionally, a quality corkscrew, bottle opener, ice bucket, carafe and champagne cooler will be needed to complete the basic bar.

Wine Vocabulary

Don't be intimidated by the terminology that many use to describe wine. So much of wine is of a personal preference so do not feel uncomfortable providing your own opinion on your tasting experience. No one knows "everything" about wine and a comfortable discussion about the product you may be enjoying is always welcomed.

Some useful terms are as follows:

Body - How if feels in your mouth, light, medium or full bodied

Dry - simply means there is no sweetness on the palate

Aroma - How it smells to you (many entertaining descriptions are here such as flowers, apricots, chocolate, fruitiness such as apple, pear, orange or smoky, toasty, musty, moldy, spicy or earthy, tobacco, herby and grassy).

The Finish - the lasting impression that the wine leaves as you have swallowed it

Flavour Intensity- How strong or weak the flavours emerge
Oakey - the wine that has apparent and clear oak flavour, tree bark flavours like the Chardonnay caused in the aging process in fine French Oak barrels

Soft - A wine that is very smooth

Tannic - Firm and leaves the palate feeling very dry

Try to describe your impressions when you enjoy each new bottle with guests or clients.

Tasting the Wine-the Tongue and your nose

Different areas of the tongue register different sensations. Sweetness is perceived on the front of the tongue, sourness is triggered on the sides of the tongue and bitterness is detected across the rear of the tongue. It is recommended that you move the wine across the tongue in order to cover the total surface of the tongue.

When you then smell the wine effectively, you are using your nose and your tongue to experience the sensation of sweetness, acidity and the aforementioned elements.

Tasting the Wine- the Process

These simple steps are all the basic knowledge you need to have about the process of tasting a wine. Learning to recognize aspects of the wine and describe them will come with time and practice. The more challenging part is learning how to evaluate what these steps reveal about each wine, it takes practice and many tastings!
Look at the Wine: Simply look at the wine in the glass. What is its color? Is it light, dark, translucent, opaque?
Smell the Wine: Practice swirling the wine in the glass a bit. This liberates the aroma as it interacts with the air and becomes volatilized. Take several deep sniffs. Don't be afraid to get your nose in there. Think about what the aromas remind you of. Try to put it into words. Does it remind you of a specific fruit? Maybe other things like earth, wood, smoke or spices. Are there any off aromas which stand out, too much alcohol, rubber or other less appealing aromas like mould or dust? Describe them. Is the aroma complex with many facets and various aromas or is it simple?
Taste the Wine: Take a good sip and swirl it around in your mouth, sucking in a bit of air to help release the flavors and aromas. Pay attention to the flavors as well as the texture, or "mouthfeel", and the weight in your mouth. Describe the flavors. Is it fruity, meaty, vegetal, spicy? Is the texture coarse or silky and refined? Is there anything out of balance? Too much or too little acid or tannin? Too little or too much fruit? Swallow or spit the wine and pay attention to the finish, the way the wine lingers, or doesn't, on your palate. Is it long and pleasant or short with a poor ending?

White Wines

Whites can sometimes be used as an aperitif wine (prior to dinner in place of a cocktail) and tend to be more common in summer as they are more refreshing, are served much colder (generally below 50 degrees F)

Some of the more popular choices are:

Sauvignon Blanc- can still be dry (less sweet) offered in a variety of price points, the finer are from New Zealand, France and California. A good solid choice for fish and for your aperitif

Pinot Grigio- dryer, good value. Best choices are still from Italy but the Californian called Pinot Gris is very nice quality

Chardonnay- a more complex wine, tends to be a bit heavier and has an "oakier" tone to it when from California. The French Chardonnay is a bit lighter and more versatile. (Some Chardonnays are not matured in oak - an interesting tasting experiment to compare both).

Riesling - Most commonly from Germany where the grape variety originated. This wine can be a bit sweeter and can come from many countries. Can be used as a dessert wine, main course or aperitif

Soave - Good general purpose wine, from Italy and not as common so may be a pleasant surprise for your guests

Red Wines

Red wines are now becoming more common with white meats and fish. In the past, the rule of thumb was to only select white wines for this food paring but the Pinot Noir and Merlots are now quite common as a choice for white meat and fish. North Americans tend to serve Red Wines too warm, they ideally should be served at around 62 degrees F. One could chill the bottle for one hour in an ice box or 15 minutes in an ice bucket to arrive at this approximate temperature.

Merlot - A softer, lighter toned wine that is versatile and welcomed as a cocktail or main course selection

Pinot Noir - Lighter in colour than most reds, medium to high acidity. Commonly the higher quality is from the USA from the states of Oregon, California and Washington but selections from New Zealand and France are also good choices

Cabernet Sauvignon - A "bigger" and heavier more noble wine. More suitable for meat dishes or a heavier meal. The wine can come from various parts of the world and is categorized into "old world" and "new world" referencing that "old world" is Europe and "new world" is the rest of the world. This wine can be blended with other wines to reduce the acid in the "Cab" and in now becoming more common practice.

Shiraz (Syrah - Deeply coloured wine with full body, firm tannins and the flavours often suggest berries with a smoky undertone. More medium priced vs. the more expensive Cabernet Sauvignon and generally not blended with other wines unless stated on the bottle.

Beaujolais - a fresher, fruiter wine, lighter. The "Beaujolais Nouveau" comes out every November and is commonly consumed within days after a brief fermenting. It is served chilled. Less expensive varieties can be "rough" and unrefined in quality

Bordeaux - from South-Western France. Higher quality and tends to age well. Many bottles from the famous Rothschild estate of premium quality and year can cost thousands of dollars. Chateau Margaux and other wineries have become internationally famous for the quality of their product

Amarone - from Italy. A preferred choice for fine dining with Italian foods. A heavier wine of higher quality

Chianti - the famous "spaghetti wine" often in the notorious straw basket, lighter and less expensive than the Amarone

Sparkling Wines, Port, Champagne, Sherry and Ice Wine all have a place at the dining table. There is a great variety of quality and price. Learn about what pleases you the most and "pair" effectively. A few general paring suggestions:

Port goes very well with cheese (Stilton and Blue) and nuts
Sherry or Ice Wine with smoked salmon and toasts
Oysters with Chablis
Goat Cheese with Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé
Beef with Cabernet, Barolo and Amarone
Grilled fish with Pinot Gris or a lighter Chardonnay
Chicken with Beaujolais or a good white

Have fun with experimentation and serve your wines with confidence and panache!