Not sure what to do in the latest round of lockdowns? Learn about wine!
Every fortnight, we hand over the blog to one of the Cambridge Shapers for their take on the biggest issues affecting young people in Cambridge and around the globe. This week’s post is written by George Gekov, a technology enthusiast and member of the Cambridge Global Shapers Community.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous challenges. But one thing it has meant for those who are fortunate enough to be able to work remotely is that we have more spare time at home. So how can you take advantage? One way to spend some of your free hours is to enhance your knowledge about wine!
Despite living in France for 5 years, it wasn't until I moved to Cambridge,UK that I became interested in wine. What sparked my admiration was attending the fantastic tasting events organised by a few societies from across the University. I realised that recognising wine is akin to a science, with a systematic approach of theory and practice involved. Discussing wine in great company and describing how grapes, land and humans (known as terroir) affect its characteristics is what makes wine tastings truly special occasions for me.
To begin with, one should not expect to grasp everything about wine-tasting in a few months — or even years. It is a deep and complicated subject that requires continued effort. Making the first step is not easy but in the next few paragraphs I'll provide a succinct overview of the topic to get you up to speed.
The fundamental element of wine tasting is to be able to describe precisely what you have in the glass in terms of appearance, scent and taste. Every grape variety has its own characteristic that evolves differently with time and location. Knowing the characteristics of grape varieties and wine regions allows the taster to identify what is in the glass.
First, the look is examined in terms of colour intensity, opacity and viscosity. For white wine for example, paler colours signal younger wines whereas deeper gold colour is a typical trace of older wines (usually exposed to oak). Similarly in red wines, a light-to-medium red colour would also signal a younger wine and a grape variety that is naturally paler in colour, such as Pinot Noir or Gamay.
Next comes the scent. Recognising smell is not trivial and is subject to training. Just like how people learn to read and write, wine tasters practice smelling and naming the aroma they are exposed to for many years. If you think that is easy, just take a few boxes with red fruits like blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bilberries and try to recognise the fruit without looking at what you are holding! One simple thing you can do to improve your olfactory system is to consume the typical fruits for the season you're in.
At a first approximation, the scent of wine can be described as fruity or floral or spicy (among others) but experienced testers are able to go much deeper and name individual fruits or spices they are detecting. The taster then cross-references the identified scent with typical characteristics of various grape varieties. For example, detecting red pepper in a dark or purple-red coloured wine is a strong hint you may be tasting the Syrah grape variety. In terms of taste, the main description parameters concern the sweetness of the wine (from dry-bone to sweet), the body (light, medium or full-bodied), acidity and the tannins if speaking of red wine. Experienced tasters would also be able to identify with stunning accuracy the alcohol contents of the drink.
Once you have tasted the wine, try to create a mental profile of it - what are the dominant flavours and aromas that can be detected, what is the acidity and the body and tannins? And most importantly, do you like the wine? A good practice is to name the components of the drink you like and don't like.
Location-wise, the world is divided in two parts - Old and New World. Each country would have regions and subregions with different micro-climate and traditions that affect the characteristics of the wine. France, for example, has 8 main wine regions (Alsace, Bordeaux, Loire valley, North Rhone, South Rhone, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon) with each region having multiple sub-regions. Different regions specialise in growing different grape varieties and have different wine-making styles and thus, they produce different wines.
The world of wine is vast and wide and while nowadays it is impossible to catch up with friends over a glass of wine, you may have time to learn more about the drink itself. And when outside of lockdown you have a reason to celebrate and can't decide what to buy, don't forget you can always go for a bottle of champagne!
