How to enjoy wine with its companions!!!

It’s always great to enjoy something which has been enhanced by the use of a foreign material. Like the use of a garnish to enhance the appeal of a dish. I remember as a student, my faculty use to shower us with garnishing tips, explaining the reason that the guest eats from his eye. A strange statement though, it’s nothing but a fact. Now after this vague example, let’s shift our thoughts to apply the same practise in wine drinking etiquettes.

Arguably, any wine drinker or specifically a connoisseur will agree that “accessories” in wines plays a vital role in enhancing the overall wine drinking experience. Experts have innovated many, but few prove to serve the right purpose and very essential whilst some are just an alternative.

It was only until when I was left with no choice, but to enjoy my wine in a water glass, I realized, how important role a shape of a wine glass plays in the appreciation of wines. Piny Elder is the man behind introducing glass as a tool for drinking wines, which earlier use to be a clay cup and a brass metal eventually. The shape of the glass enhances thebouquet of the wine, be it red or white and allows it to fall on the part of the palette, where one will benefit the most out of it. Let’s just say that you avoid one bad comment about a wine or a brand, if it was not for an appropriate wine glass.

The first time when I saw a “decanter”, I unhesitatingly guessed it as a flower vase without thinking much that this glassware is an important tool to bring out the complex aromas and flavours from a wine. Technically defined as “breathe”, its use is twofold; firstly, old wines which are meant to be aged and relished at a later stage, usually containsediments which are natural and unappealing. Decanting helps to get rid of those unwanted sediments by holding a candle or a torch at the neck of the bottle, and pouring the wine on a tilted angle. It allows the sediments to settle down at the neck of the bottle. Secondly, it helps to release and maximize aromas and flavours in an old and a young wine – both red and white. The older and deeper the colour of a wine, the longer it needs to breathe.  Notably, a decanter should not be used for a sparkling wine, since a wide breathing space will allow its fizz to escape and the wine no longer persist its refreshing character.

What’s the fun in spending a $ 100 on a bottle of wine whose aromas cannot be enjoyed? Humans have always found a solution for everything and this time it’s yet another accessory called “wine aerators”. Personally speaking, this accessory is a life saver for the famous chateaus and producer’s, whose quality expectancy, owing to the brand loyalty is much more in the minds of a consumer. The purpose of a wine aerator is quite simple. It is designed to fully aerate and allow your wine to breathe. This in turn lets out all the flavours and enables you to taste and enjoy the wine as it was intended to be enjoyed by the winemaker. To give it a try, pour 2 wines of the same kind in a glass, one directly from the bottle and the second through an aerator, the difference in the smell is quite an answer for my question asked earlier.

I have always, in almost every wine session, welcomed this question. “For how many days can we store an open bottle of wine, without deteriorating its taste”? A crisp answer to this is an easy 2-3 days, wherein the cork has to be properly inserted right in the bottle. However, for better results a “pump” and a “stopper” is one of those accessories which comes as a saviour in case you’re sure to not finish a bottle of wine for the next  4 days. Pumping helps remove the air from the bottle, which is simply described as the “enemy of wine”. The more the wine you remove from the bottle, the more you have to pump to get the air out.  For example, pouring only one glass of wine will need only 3 pumps to create the vacuum, but if you pour 3 glasses from a bottle (750 ml) may take 8-10 pumps. It’s fun to pump, try it!!!

Defining about accessories will be never-ending, but as I said earlier. Many are invented but only few serve the right purpose and the rest is just an alternative. - Agnel Gilbert

Mystery of an unopened bottle - Agnel Gilbert

Though I am professionally attached to wine, my favourite drink which I usually relish on is always a beer. As exclaimed by the great Benjamin Franklin, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”. In no circumstances I’ve been ever put down by a bottle of beer, unless it’s gone flat. It’s obvious that a drink like beer is hardly hampered by its storage and handling condition, unlike a bottle of “wine” whose destiny is written in the hands of its customer or ethically said its parent. A bottle of wine can well be managed or even damaged by its handling, just like a baby whose success meter can be measured on the amount of teachings nurtured by his/her parents

When we converse about “Mystery of an unopened bottle”, there goes a lot of technical saga which describes about the complete process of making wine. Right from the grapes being harvested at the vineyard till its bottling at the winery. One petite mishandling could lead the whole effort of the viticulturist and the winemakers go for a toss. Since it’s the wine that speaks of their skills and expertise, it’s also the process of transportation, handling and storage that may completely forsake their efforts and spoil the vintage experience of the particular year. Given the needs of an amateur, he/she might not look for quality at first instance, since it’s tough for him/her to judge whether the wine is still living or dead. But a connoisseur having a sensational experience and hoards of expectations from a brand could be simply deprived

Shockingly, the other day I came across a store which had beautiful Dom Perignon Champagne on display under a 100 volt bulb. But before anybody could savour it, I was through to my opinion that Rs 18,000/- worth of wine has already gone bad. For simple reason that wine hates direct light, be it natural or artificial. Other factors like continuous disturbance, incorrect temperatures and storage positions etc are also quite your enemy in hindering the wine experience. Hence, apart from deciding which wine to drink, it’s highly recommended to decide on the right vendor who is supplying the wine. In the view of the fact that the vendor would just add up to your experience in relishing a bottle of wine. 

In my 3 year career in the wine industry, I must say that, out of the assorted mix of questions asked by wine drinkers, the most common one arguably is “For how long can we keep a bottle of wine open without its taste getting deteriorated?” Well, call it a myth or the view of an expert, who suggests that an opened bottle of wine will be at its best for the next 2-3 days. Though, the same justification has not been proven scientifically. Hence, as challenging it is to understand the “Science of wine” it’s equally important to know that wine is not just a drink to be opened and gulped down to get intoxicated. It deserves an appreciation for its colour, look, feel and not forgetting the pleasure which is the most ultimate of all. That’s where you feel contented that you’ve got your “ethics” right in judging the “Mystery of an unopened bottle” – Agnel Gilbert