Drink Better, With Ease!
-wine styles, design, Bordeaux & much more
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Wow, the third week of January is behind us already!
I know! It has flown by, hasn’t it! I have only just now started reflecting on last year. I was pretty burnt out after an amazingly successful fall and holiday season! And things are still going strong, albeit at a less frenetic pace than December!
But I thought it was dry January, so no one was drinking?
Not in Shades of Grape-ville. Perhaps because I mostly recommend dry wines.
Haha!
Ultimately, build it and they will come. I learned that while working as an engineer. In this case, the key is making ease the focus. Turns out wine lovers appreciate good design too!
Why are you talking about ease and design? I thought this was a wine Substack.
Ease of drinking better!
Ohh! I am all ears now!
I figured! Think,
Ease of access,
Ease of decision making, and
Ease of understanding
As wine consumers, our goal is to get a good wine into our glass. Outside of restaurants and bars, this can be done several ways depending on the local liquor laws; namely online, in-store, winery, wine clubs, etc.
So how do you choose?
When I worked at a winery in the Okanagan, many patrons who lived nearby would just buy from the 5-6 wineries in the area. They were often part of the winery’s wine club. They came in, they tasted some wine at the tasting bar and bought the ones they liked.
EASE-Y!
What if you don’t live in wine country? Or what if you live in the new world (not Europe) and you prefer European wines?
Yes, let’s face it, most of the world’s population don’t live in wine country and they may drink wines from other countries or at least other jurisdictions.
Wine clubs can be popular for some, though the biggest complaint is having to commit to buying a specific amount…
I strongly dislike (read hate) commitment.
Me too, especially when it arrives in a box every three months and I forget it was part of my life!
Yup, I only did that once. People end up receiving wines they don’t like which accumulate at the back of the wine pile.
Okay. So that leaves online and in-store for most people.
Yes, online is great as you can do it from the ease of your home particularly if the site has a good selection. The reality is unless you are drinking mass produced wine, the wine availability changes continually.
Yeah, why is that?
Vintages change and wines may sell out or are unavailable for weeks or months until the next shipment arrives from out of country. If you find the wines you know and love then Bob is your uncle. Unfortunately, that is often not the case.
Pun intended, I am sure. But I like variety too, and I find I get hooked on a wine from a smaller producer and then they sell out and I have to start over.
Yes, and that takes time.
Right – and the point of this Substack today is ease … so I am starting to get what you are laying down!
Having a person helps.
A person?
A wine whisperer.
A translator if you will.
One or a few people who you trust to recommend you wines that suit your palate. This can be hard to find but once you find a store or an online source to help you it can be easy.
But how do they know my palate.
Part communication and part trial and error.
Communication is how well you understand the following:
Your own palate, and
Descriptions that both you and your trusted person understand.
Trial and error is important as you may or may not know what you like, but you may not know what you don’t like either. And most importantly, you don’t know what you don’t know!! There is so much out there to explore in the wine world!
Huh.
All these elements are key to achieving a successful personal wine curation.
I always wondered what you meant by personal wine curation.
For me to learn to truly understand palates, I needed two things. First, the education to understand the wine’s elements thoroughly. Next, many interactions with people to create general categories for specific palates. Trial and error is required, as I need to get feedback from people to know whether I hit the mark.
I don’t want to get into it here (see link below instead), but what a client pairs with a wine really matters. If they pair a tannic wine with spicy tacos they will hate the wine, and that has nothing to do with me. So, I also test and allocate for that challenge.
But all this to say is that if you want to drink better…
…And with ease, don’t forget!
…it helps to get a little education on what “categories” of wine you like, and how to pair appropriately if you are consuming the wine with food.
So what are your categories?
These are also called wine styles; I refer to them in the description of each featured wine. Knowing your wine style will help you drink better with ease!
Starting with whites:
Dry Minerally White Wines
Dry or off-dry Fruity White Wines (I sometimes refer to them as “aromatic”)
Full body White Wines
These two following rosé styles:
Light Rosé Wines
Darker Rosé Wines
All red wines have a degree of tannin extraction from grape skins, seeds, and stems and may be oaked or unoaked.
Light Body Red Wines
Medium Body Red Wines
Full Body Red Wines
The terms old world (European) versus new world (non-European) help to further differentiate wine styles above.
And lastly, (but not the least)
Sparkling Wines are produced as white, rosé, or red and run the gamut of sweetness/dryness and complexity.
Fortified & Sweet Wines are combined here as some fortified wines, such as port, are sweet. Fortified wines have grape spirit added to them making them higher in alcohol & body. Sweet wines have significant residual sugar, also increasing the body.
The last thing I will say is wine professionals taste a lot of wine! Wine representatives visit to have us sample their wines. We are naturally obsessed with wine, so we bring bottles home, we talk about them, a lot. We are also trained to evaluate the aromas, flavours, and structure, and most importantly quality for money. We can find very good wines at any price point.
Ultimately, drinking better just means having a design that works for you!
To give you more ease! And take the guessing work out!
Exactly! Check out the featured wine as well as the links within and below for more on all this drinking better business!
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Château Lamothe-Bergeron 2016, Cru Bourgeois, from Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France
Style Old World Full Body Red Wine
Varieties: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon & 50% Merlot
This dynamic dry red wine has rich flavours of red cherry, black cherry, dried cherry, kirsch, black currant, and a hint of sage and thyme. It also has the additional complexity of earth, vanilla, dark chocolate, cocoa, and a hint of cedar. This wine has intensity, high fine-grained tannins, and a persistent finish. This wine has lots of life remaining for a 2016!
Best pairings: Grilled ribeye or sirloin, Herb-roasted lamb, Beef bourguignon, Duck breast with a red wine sauce, Stuffed grilled portobello mushrooms, and Cheese: bold, aged cheeses like Aged cheddar, Comté, Aged gouda, and Blue cheese.
Serving Temperature: 15-17 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant for about 1 hour.
Price: ~$43 Cdn
Relevant Shades of Grape links: Keep scrolling
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LINKS TO RELEVANT PAST SHADES OF GRAPE ARTICLES:
Spot on! The 'ease' framework is the perfect antidote to the wine club commitment trap. Focusing on core styles and personalized curation is definitely the way to go for anyone looking to expand their palate without the stress. Love the approach
Wine whisperers are key