THE LANGUAGE OF WINE CAN BE CRYPTIC
The biggest impediment to finding that perfect bottle is communication
It has been more than two years since I returned to the restaurant floor as a sommelier at 40 Westt. All wine critics should roll up their sleeves, put away their keyboards and do this from time to time. There’s nothing like recommending a wine and getting a reaction on that first sip. While I pride myself on choosing the right wine for a client more often than not, I find the biggest impediment to finding that perfect bottle is communication. The language of wine can be cryptic. For many people, why you like or dislike a wine is often a challenge to verbalize. While it might be the aromatics, and by extension, the flavours, that might turn someone on or off a wine, it’s rarely the “make or break” quality. After all, many people have a hard time verbalizing what they smell. I have always believed that texture and structure are what’s most important for people. Often they start by saying what they don’t want. I hear people say they don’t want a white wine that is too acidic, or contrarily a wine that’s too rich. So if you drink wines like sauvignon blanc, you like high acid wines. If you are a chardonnay fan, aside from Chablis, you like richer, low acid wines. Try using these key words when telling whoever is helping you choose a wine, especially if you want to try something a little different. After that, it’s a question of whether you like white wines with lots of fruity aromatics, or more subdued, mineral wines. But for red wines, communicating what you want tends to be more difficult. And the most confusing descriptors for me are “powerful” and “full-bodied.” The big problem is that these words are relative to the range of wines that you drink. For example, if you are a Burgundy drinker, you might consider a Brunello or a Bordeaux a powerful, full-bodied wine. Many people I serve, especially those familiar with Californian wines, describe these European wines as medium bodied, or even “light” because of their higher acidities when compared with California. They also tend to have tannins that are much more drying, which can make the wine feel a touch thinner in the mouth. These folks tend to associate power with many of the wines that have higher residual sugar levels, which tend to amp up the aromatics and give a richer palate. When you drink a wine that you consider “powerful,” take a picture of it. It will help your sommelier understand if you want powerful tannins, flavours or texture. One person’s definition of power might be someone else’s “light.”