Cheers to my first wine tasting experience :)

We all have great senses of what we see and touch, but has anybody tried to sink through your thoughts to analyse the necessity or rather judge the fact that your day to day drinks and eatables have a far wider range, and you stand the very right to judge and decide whether you like it or hate it to the core. Well the fact is, mankind has always loved what he’s been doing and overtime luxurious needs especially wine, has just evolved to be a more fashionable drink than single malts and exotic cocktails. But still, you’re the master for your choices and keeping it simple and sexy is how you conquer your thirst.

Awesome, so let’s brain storm, when was the first time you gulped this liquid? It isn’t that hard, since technically, the legal drinking age in India is 21, unless you’re been drinking illegally which is not at all exceptional. To start with, let me pitch in my first wine tasting experience which was conducted for corporate selection and organized more formally (or maybe I thought it was so), anyways I wish I had inked my diary to record the date,  but I was very much a rookie in the beginning, and hardly bothered about anything but updating. There were almost 6-7 wines that was tasted, 4 reds, 2 whites and 1 rose. Now that’s like a nightmare for an amateur taster, unless you have a host like Mr. David Banford, who, unhesitatingly took us through the whole tasting procedure. When I tasted my first wine, I was shattered and disgusted on myself for I was the only chap who was wandering in the heaven to discover some fruits, especially those like citrus and peaches which is so common to you, but challenge to get the same from the wine. But to my surprise, people didn’t criticized me for throwing my first personal nuance which I got, banana (from a white wine), and they were like “Yeah, we do get bananas”, I heaved a sigh of relief and thanked my nose, mind and tasting buds and whoever involved in getting that word right. Later I remembered what the host had mentioned, “Nothing is right or wrong in wine tastings, it’s just your personal notes that matters, unless it’s deliberately a crap”.

The tasting followed to the whites and then reds. One thing which I just couldn’t realize till the end is why the hell on earth are the taster’s spitting what they have consumed and it was only until my last sip, when I got high, I realized, I overheard a small tasting guide that, you are supposed to spit the wine after swirling it in your palate. Nevertheless, I didn’t quite regret it much, for I was convinced with the fact that the wines were extremely relishing.

Having tried more than 500 wines in the last 3 years, and successfully completing WSET level 2, I must say that the journey has been super duper exciting, especially when you organize wine tasting or be a part of it, and people say, “Dude you unarguably have the best job in the world”, I feel relaxed and contented for there’s always a moral support that follows me.

I guess a lot has been narrated about my personal first time experience. Believe me, it’s not rocket science to understand wine, all you need is just a teaspoon of passion and love for this liquid, unless you’ve been forced to try it or you’ve been brain drained and want to import your foreign lifestyle where it is considered as an accompaniment with food.  Undoubtedly, we all, by sharing our views on this can bring some revolution in the Indian wine industry, because the more the people will read the more they’ll understand that it’s not yet another alcoholic drink but something which will make your eyes, nose and palate do the talking and finally savour your drinking experience. - Agnel Gilbert

New to Wines? Here it is.....

Every drink has its own followers and they call that drink “Aqua Vitae“– Water of life.

In the early ages, all alcoholic liquid was referred to as Aqua Vitae (Latin name for water of life). The distilled or fermented liquid used to be generally produced from grapes and grains (wheat or barley). The former used to be primarily distilled, which is now known as brandy and then came wine which was a fabulous from fermentation. Now what is Wine? To express it in a layman’s term, wine is nothing but a grape juice obtained by fermenting freshly gathered grapes. It later goes through various mechanical treatments, before being finally bottled. And hence, wine is quite simply the most complex, most varied and arguably the most sensational drink on the planet.

I was astonished to hear for the first time that, there are more than 10,000 wine grape varieties worldwide. Puzzled with the thought, I desperately wanted to know, how many of them actually make it to the bottles?  The fact is, only a few hundreds of them have gained fame and recognition for their spectacular finesse and aromas. Grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Grenache, Sangiovese, Tempranillo etc., have found international recognition worldwide for red wines and white varietals like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Viognier, Muscat etc., have charmed your palate with its crisp and refreshing fruity finish.  So probably, the next time when you drink your favourite wine and somebody questions you, “What are the styles of wines you’ve tried so far?”  Well, as an amateur drinker, you might be aware that there are only 2 types of wines, Red and White. By not questioning your judgement as an amateur wine drinker, who has not yet reached the stage to understand the classifications more precisely. However, it is always an advantage to remember the right classification. Easily said, there are 3 ways in which the wines are classified.  To begin with - table or still wines, which are divided further into Red, White and Rosé, depending on the winemaker’s decision to make it dry or sweet. Secondly, the famous and most loved champagnes which are known as sparkling wines. Finally, the sweet and fortified wines like Port and Sherries which are being fortified by the addition of alcohol.

Not forgetting the temperatures. An important concern for whatsoever wine it may be. Let’s just say; are you going to enjoy your beer if it is served at a room temperature? Of course not! (At least not me). The fact is serving wine at right temperature is as important as expecting your meal to be served hot.  It is because of this reason, that the whole effort which goes into winemaking is enjoyed at the table. It brings up the whole characteristics of a good wine and helps you appreciate it to the fullest.

Listed below are the right serving temperatures of wines:-

1) White wines – 7°- 10° Celsius.

2) Red wines – 18° - 21° Celsius.

3) Sparkling wines (Champagne) – 5° - 8° Celsius

4) Rose wines – 7° - 13° Celsius.

5) Fortified wines - 13° - 20° Celsius

Simply speaking, the above guidelines are just to help you understand and enhance your wine drinking experience with a better approach. What’s more important is how well you practise your “ethics” by applying these guidelines. - Agnel Gilbert