MEET SOMMELIER AND WINE CRITIC CAROLYN HAMMOND EVANS
‘I’m a firm believer that living well doesn’t have to be pricey or pretentious. Just takes a little know-how, and maybe a corkscrew’
What makes you a wine expert?
I received my formal sommelier qualifications from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust in London and I’ve written two bestselling wine books. I’ve also judged wine competitions, conducted tutored tastings and reviewed wine on television. And to support ethics and excellence in the wine writing profession, I hold the role of vice-president of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada and am a member of the Circle of Wine Writers in the U.K. In short, I’ve earned my street cred. Now I spend my time tasting wine and telling it like it is.
How much wine do you drink?
I’ll drink a glass of wine two or three nights per week — usually with dinner. But I taste wine almost every day at trade tastings, in meeting with winemakers or at home — opening a few bottles sent to me by wineries to sample. When I taste wine professionally, I spit rather than swallow because, of course, alcohol can hamper judgment.
What defines good wine, in your opinion?
A good wine is well-balanced, clean and well-made. It offers concentration, complexity and length. And it displays reasonable typicity, meaning it expresses its grape variety accurately. If those technical elements are in place, the wine will at least taste good. Great wines build on that foundation to offer finesse, subtlety and the ability to improve with age.
How do you know what wines to recommend?
I recommend wines that are technically sound, taste delicious and offer honest value for money. These are bottles I would drink myself and want to tell my friends about. They range from deeply impressive to simply having the capacity to improve a day. For the most part, I tend to recommend wines that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Although it’s fine to splash out once in a while on a truly great bottle, I’m a firm believer that living well doesn’t have to be pricey or pretentious. Just takes a little know-how, and maybe a corkscrew.
How do you think Ontario wines measure up to the rest of the world?
World-class bottles are now being made in Ontario, many of which offer quite good value for money. Ontario is a young wine region and I’ve seen it make huge strides over just the last 10 years or so. And I’d argue the pace of improvement is accelerating due to topnotch winemaking talent and attention to terroir. It’s exciting times for wine in Ontario — and for Ontario wine enthusiasts.