Why foreign women and wine have a bad reputation in India - Part 2

Now -or if not check this out - you know why foreign women have a bad reputation in India. The reason, basically, is ... Bob Dylan

But what about wines? 

Why is everyone so adamantly – and wrongly for that matter –convinced that Indian wines are disgusting?

Goa.

Again. I know, it is starting to get nerve wrecking.

The city of sin has done it one more time.

The reason why Goa is at the center of the international despise towards wine is not because Hippies used to produce wine along their hashish plantations.

Neither is it because Saint Xavier and the Portuguese Inquisition viciously pored wine on the wounds of the poor Hindus they had just scorched.

The reason is much simpler. 

And not as entertaining unfortunately for you (and for this site’s bounce rate).

But first, let me take you through a little history:

Experts believe the grape vine was introduced in India from Persia around 2500 BC as wine is mentioned in the Vedic texts as Soma and Sura. Throughout the middle-ages and modern times, wine was the drink of warrior castes (the Kshatriyas), along with beer and other spirits made of wheat, barley or maize in the North and rice in the South.

The Mughal emperors developed and maintained vineyards in the Deccan region as did the British during the 19^th century.

However, almost all of India’s vineyards were wiped out by phylloxera in the 1890’s. 

After the independence, the Indian Constitution strongly deterred the consumption of alcoholic beverages and imports were severely monitored. These principles were expanded with the graduate prohibition of imported alcoholic beverages throughout the country and the introduction of constraint licensing under the control of the Central Government.

Despite these heavy constraints some areas continued to produce wine such as the state of Goa where vintners used ‘Bangalore Blue’ grape to make cheap wines.

Now this is the interesting part for us.

Bangalore blue wine has the status of wine, it has its color, its alcoholic content and its name.

But that’s about it. All other similarities are pure fantasy. Some say even drunkards don’t appreciate it and that its sole purpose is to get you wasted. And it succeeds in doing it very nicely.

The problem is that Goan wine was basically the only wine available in India for 25 years. So of course people now believe Indian wine means cheap, yuky, undrinkable grape juice.

But that is far from the truth. 

As I explained it in a previous article about selling wine in India, Indian wineries have developed throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s and now produce some very decent wines. It all started out with Indage – known as Champagne India now – who built a first winery in the valley of Nashik in 1985. From then on, other players stepped into the wine industry and wineries continued spreading in the valley of Nashik, Maharashtra. There are up to 65 wineries in the state of Maharashtra today, producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chenin, Zinfandel and even Viognier. 

I tasted wines I actually enjoyed very much here. Like Sula Dindori or Nine Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Actually, I was even surprised at the level of achievement of these wines. 

I'm not saying they are perfect but they surely are enjoyable with a nice curry masala dish. 

Here's one of my tasting note for Nine Hills, Chenin, 2009

Nose: nice fruity tanginess. Orange, passion fruit and pineapple. 

Mouth: the structure is really straightforward. The wine doesn't drop in the mouth, its crisp yet full and the length is good. 

Overall this is a very easy wine to enjoy. Perfect for beginners in wine drinking because the fruitiness is really appealing to the palate. 

So you see, its like I explained it in my previous article, there's a misconception about Indian wine. 

In the same way as Goan based westerners don’t walk about naked smoking hash and pot all day anymore, Indian wine is not the low-quality grape juice it used to be. 

Yet they still suffer the reputation Goan history has cursed them with. Shame. 

Selling wine in India

Some of you might know this already, but I have left France to go to Mumbai for the summer.

This explains the lack of posts lately.

I am working for a French company selling Indian grown wine in the West region of India (Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa mainly) for 3 months.

What’s interesting about this mission is that wine in India is only nascent. So I’ll be at the vanguard of any further development for wine in a country whose population should outgrow China’s by 2030.

To tell you the truth, wine is only at its premises here: although Indian wineries have emerged as soon as in the 1980’s (Château Indage) and developed in the mid 90’s (Sula), the local population is still very far from having the reflex of drinking wine when they go out for dinner.

For most Indians, there are no such things as varietals and wine is only red or white. Women are still very reticent to drinking any alcoholic beverage whatsoever.

And men … well they prefer whiskey.

So you can imagine that the quality of Indian wines has long been the least of Indian producers’ worries…

Thus, education and tasting opportunities during weddings or banquets will probably be the only means to carve in Indians’ minds that wine is not a drink whose sole purpose is to be mixed with orange juice (true story) in order to make cocktails.

The higher classes are starting to get more and more interested in wines, although they are focusing on international brands for now. The trouble with imported wines though is that they are submitted to very heavy levies. For instance a bottle of Moet champagne which revolves around 28 euros in France would be 118 euros here.

Ouch.

India has been part of the WTO sine 2007 but when you see that imported spirits are taxed at more than 250% you understand why Europe and the US are regularly in dispute with India.  

I’ll try posting when I can, although my days are pretty packed.

I’d like to let you know about my experience here, with a main focus on wines of course but I will also certainly just talk about living in Mumbai and getting accustomed to the Indian life style.

Next post will be about my first Indian wedding…

Have you seen Bollywood movies? It was just like being in the middle of one…

Bordeaux tasting: what to expect after 5 years ? Part 1

Bordeaux wines are meant to age.
One could even say that great Bordeaux wines should only be opened after 20 years.
They can sometimes last for a century without losing their texture and aromas.

But people are like children. 
We can't wait. Having a magnificent bottle of Leoville Poyferré in your cellar is like waiting until the morning for Santa to give you your new Nintendo game : it is distressing.
And most of the time, you end up sneaking up in the living room to get of peak of what your presents will be before dawn.
Well it's the same for wine. Most of the time, you want just a little taste. Just that one time.
The problem is: there is no putting the wrapping paper back on. When you're bottle is open: you just have to finish it up.

So that is why people hardly get to try out really old Bordeaux wines.
In restaurants they are unaffordable, and in your cellar, well, in your cellar they just don't make it to that point in time.
Shame.

The trouble is that when they are young, Bordeaux wines can seem a tat too tannic, even austere from time to time. And it is not always easy to make out what their aromas deliver...which is a pity when you paid 50 euros for your bottle.

So here is an introduction to what you can find in a 5 year old Bordeaux wine. You know the one you should keep for 20 more years. 


I will start my tasting with a Saint Julien (Part 1 of this series) and we will go on through the whole Medoc region with tastings of the 6 appellations  (Saint Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux, Moulis, Listrac and Saint Julien).

Château Léoville Poyferré, 2004

Eye: Deep red, with hues of brown and orange. Very bright. 

Nose: Prune, black current (typical of Cabernet Sauvignon) and cherry (Merlot). The secondary aromas revolve around spices (hard to tell which at this point, but I think I can tell their is cinnamon). Then subtle notes of cedar and unsweetened chocolate make their way, translating the aging in oak barrels. 

Mouth: the mouth is fine and subtle. The tannins are soft, round, pleasantly balanced.This is typical of Saint Julien where soft tannins are a signature. 

How to recognize Saint Julien ? 


Go ahead and read my post on how to recognize aromas if you are a beginner at wine tasting: http://alamodeaujus.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-drink-wine-recognize-aromas-and.html

1. First try to know what variety you are drinking.
If you taste black current, cherry or prune their is a big chance that their is some Cabernet Sauvignon is your wine.

2. If this is the case and you know you are drinking a French wine, it is very likely that you are drinking Bordeaux. A Californian Cabernet Sauvignon would be very ripe and fruity.

3.  Now you know you are in Bordeaux. But from which appellation comes your wine? Try to focus on the mouth. As is described in my tasting notes, Saint Julien has signature soft tannins yet intense structure. You may also find mineral aromas (because of the gravelly soil). Saint Julien is an area of Medoc on the left bank of river and is formed of gravelly soil. Wines from Saint Julien can be recognized because of their smooth and harmonious nose. They combine a rich and solid mouth yet display subtle aromas.

If this is all in your glass of wine, then you can bet it will be a Saint Julien.
I know, it's easier to say it than to actually get it right during a blind tasting.

What to drink with curry?

A week ago a good friend of mine invited me over for dinner. 

His specialty: a delicious Mauritian Curry. 

One of the characteristics of Mauritian Curry is that it is both sweet and spicy. 

Small raisins soften the spicy taste of peppers and exquisite chutneys help you cool off your mouth when you've just bitten a piece of green chili. It's an adventure: you never know on what you are going to end up. 

Although this is quite charming and delicious, it doesn't make it easy to find a good wine pairing. 

So when my friend told me I was in charge of finding a wine that would be well suited for his dish, my first reaction was: "ouch". Tough one. 

Usually when I cook a curry, I go for the only easy wine-food pairing I know for this dish:Gewürztraminer. 

Look it up on the internet if you want, if you type "what to drink with curry", you basically have this : 

• Beer 
• Riesling or Chenin
• Gewürztraminer

And it does work I must admit. 

1. The bitterness of beer blend well with the spiciness of the curry, and cools off the hottest chili. 

2. Riesling ior Chenin are also a good choice as their freshness tames the chili yet enhances the flavors of the curry with the overall acidity of the wine. 

3. Finally Gewürztraminer is both sweet and complex, rich and dense. It's not always easy to pair Gewürztraminer with food as each glass of this wine explodes with aromas of rose, lychee and spices (cumin mostly). Yet curry seems to work perfectly with it. The sweetness of the wine blends magically with the raisins of the curry. The cumin and pepper aromas mingle with the spices of the Mauritian dish. And the overall opulence of the wine disciplines this adventurous dish. 

Yet this time, I felt like doing something new. 

Living dangerously. 

Finding a wine I would usually not drink with a curry dish. 

So I went for a strong, spicy red wine from the south of France. 

A wine which would contrast rather than complement our food. 

A wine whose alcohol level would tame a sweet dish. 

Whose notes of toasted bread and spices would magnify the curry's sweet and sour aromas. 

A rich and supple texture with elegant tannins which would be in harmony with the opulence of the curry dish. 

Vin de P

And it worked out very nicely. 

I'm far from being a pro at making wine and food association but sometimes a little bit of imagination can help you find a new interesting combination. 

You shouldn't always focus on finding similar aromas in your wine and in your food. 

Sometimes contrast is the key. 

It can reveal a whole new dimension to your wine and to your food. 

Don't only concentrate on aromas, you should also take into account the texture and intensity of the wine and of the food to elaborate great associations that would not seem adequate at first sight. 

Domaine de L'Aigle, Pinot Noir, Gerard Bertrand, 2006

Languedoc-Rousillon

 Nose: Berries (black and red), pepper, clove, toasted notes

Mouth: supple and rich, well balanced however with surprisingly soft tannins for a Languedoc wine. 

Do you like cat pee ?

Ok I know this title sounds a little blunt. 

Yet as you may see later on in my post, cat's urine is one of the most typical aromas of Sauvignon blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon.
That's right.
The wine you like to drink every Friday evening.

But no worries my friends, for it is not TRULY cat pee that you are smelling (just making sure for everyone).
No wine maker accidentally forgot to cover his wine barrels and let his cat take a little swim in them.

It's simply physics. Here is an interesting extract of an article taken from the "aromadictionnary" :

 Cats urine does exist in wine! Well its smell anyway. Caused by the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde compound p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one, this sulfur containing compound smells exactly like cat's urine when in a particular concentration range. When weaker, it exudes the herbal scent of lantana bush, whilst when strong, it has an aroma that can be likened to blackcurrants. And where do you find it? That's right, in the variety where wine tasters see it the most, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon (and of course in cat's urine).

There is actually an Ontario (USA) based estated whose labels revolve around the theme of cat pee and it's a huge success. I've never tried them yet though, but I certainly will in a near future.

To tell you the truth, although I knew the existence of Cat's urine in wine, I had never actually encountered it during my tastings. I didn't even know if I would recognize it when stumbling upon it...
(I know I said training your nose by sniffing everything you come across is pivotal to become a pro wine taster, but I've never actually stopped to smell cat pee. I apologize. I know what you are thinking right now : "AMATEUR !").

Yet when I put my nose over my glass of
Champs-Chenin, 2007, by Olga Raffault, there was no doubt possible.

Cat pee. Yep. The real deal. 
And the truth is : it wasn't THAT bewildering. It was even kind of nice in a way. A little herby to put it nicely.

So here are my tasting notes on this wine. We had it with a lovely seabass.

Eye : almost greenish, it conjures up freshness and herbs. 

Nose : cat pee (obviously), little notes of citrus and orange, maybe a bit of cut grass (which is a little stronger than the cats urine) and apple towards the end. 

Mouth : very acidic (too much for my taste anyway) which is typical of the chenin variety. The mouth is not extremely long however. 

What you should know about this wine however is that the Domaine Olga Raffault is one of the most famous estates of the Loire Valley. The range of prices for this wine is between 9 and 11 euros. What may be noticed is that this wine is a white Chinon, which is extremely rare (only 2% of Chinon wines are white as I mentioned in this article). It is made of Chenin, the white variety in the Loire Valley. It can be kept for years and will benefit from aging by becoming smoother and less acidic.

So this one was probably a bit young.

Then again, it allowed me to have my first taste of cats pee. Yey !

Chinese wine and chinese consumers

Will China become the empire of Wine before 2050 ? 


Some purists say it is impossible: quality is still mediocre and people are not used to the culture of grapes and vines.
Yet, China is already the first producer of table grapes. In less than 10 years, the surface of its vineyards has known a 176% increase and now reaches 500 000 hectares (that is to say 6% of the world's vineyards).

Today, according to a report on "Wine in the world as we approach 2050" (See link here) China is the 6th biggest exporter of wines on the planet.

One can't deny that in 2010 beer and spirits are still the main targets of the Chinese market. However it seems that 10¨% of the population now drinks regularly wine.
New consumers have emerged, curious to discover new varieties and learn more about the tradition of wine. To them, wine remains a "romantic" beverage, and the epitome of social success. 

There are today five major companies that produce more than 70% of the bottles drunk by the Chinese people.
Cofco (owner of Great Wall), Changyu, Huadong, Suntime and Dynasty lead the market, leaving very little place for other countries' imports. France for instance only represents 5% of the total market.

In a few years, China could even become an important exporter thanks to many assets :
low labour costs, a low currency and low prices for raw material but most of all an extensive network of distributors all over the world thanks to the immense Chinese diaspora.

If today quantity still prevails over quality, new technologies, the help of foreign wine experts and GMO's may help to change this significantly. An appellation still needs to be created in order to track quality and certify wines.

What will be the future of wine in China: will consumers finally adopt the culture of wine or will it only remain a  symbol meant to please rising classes that are eager to show their power?
Do you believe China will become one of the top wine importers in the world? And will the empire ever change its focus from quantity to quality?

All these questions may change our way of drinking wine as well as the current equilibrium of the world's wine market. Thinking of the arrival of a whole new world of consumers may be a little bit frightening for traditional consumers like us French or American, yet it also seems like an extraordinary adventure that I would not want to miss under any circumstances.

2 steps to getting invited for dinner

Do you know if you are a good guest ?

I'm not talking about whether you're fun and entertaining or whether you can handle yourself at a dinner table.

I'm not speaking about the fact that you bring a little present for your host to show your appreciation.

I'm not even talking about your ecstatic praise of the cooks' home-made bolognaise even tough you don't eat meat.
All this is very good, and ensures that your friends will continue inviting you over.
But to be a REALLY good guest revolves around something else.

A good guest helps to magnify his hosts food. He participates to the overall success of the dinner, but without showing it.

The key to achieving this is to do more without the other guests noticing. Don't worry though, your host most certainly will.

And he will do the exact same thing when you're the one inviting him.

So here is my secret recipe to being a perfect guest:

One of the most accessible things that will make it easy for you to score big time with your host is to bring some wine. I know it doesn't really come as a surprise. All the more so as this is a blog on wine. Yet beware, it's not that simple. For my secret knack is not to bring any wine : it is to bring a special one.

1. First, try and bring something that actually matches the food you are going to have.

In order to do this, yes, you will have to harass your friend until he accepts to tell you what he is going to cook for you. Or you could just go to a mind-reader. Your choice. I'd I go for the first one though. I don't like to live dangerously.

If you manage to find a good pairing your friend's food will be embellished by the aromas of your wine. And he'll get more credit for what he cooked.

2. Second, if you can, you may want to surprise your friend, with a wine he does not know.

Try experimenting, finding something that matches the food yet cannot be found on the middle shelf of your local supermarket. It will give your party a theme to talk about and leave time to your friend to prepare the rest of his dishes if he needs to.

With these 2 simple steps you'll be sure to boost your host's party. It is not very difficult and nobody will even notice you helped. Your friend will be grateful for your modesty and he'll invite you to most of his dinner parties.

Free food for the rest of your life, that's what I'm talking about!

Here is an example of the wine I brought to my last dinner party. My little technique worked out beautifully.

Take a look at my tasting notes:

Menetou-Salon, 2008, La tour Saint Martin

Albane et Bertrand Minchin

100% Sauvignon blanc

Nose: Fresh exotic fruits, honey, raisins but also some herbal aromas and white flowers like honeysuckle.

Mouth: A rich and full mouth, with a little woodiness and acidity.

Pairing: Cold chicken salad and asparagus, Balsamic vinegar.

Here is a bit of honeysuckle so you know what it looks like

The Loire's sweethearts

Most people don't really enjoy dessert wines.

They think they are too sweet, too heavy, too powerful. And a part from foie gras nobody really knows what to pair them with.

So they usually end up being stacked in a cellar, waiting for New Years Eve or at least for you to let go of your diet for one evening.

Yet I think this is a grave mistake.

Dessert wines in spite of their ridiculous name, should not only be kept for dessert. They can magnify a whole meal if you accept to let go of your cultural prejudices.

Dessert wines contain a high level of sugar and alcohol. This characteristic comes from the fact that they are made from mouldy grapes.

I know this does not sound very appetizing.

Yet in fact this mould is not just any mould: it is a noble mould, called Botrytis Cinerea, also dubbed "noble rot".

Wine makers can really be poets.

This idiosyncrasy is only possible when the weather is sufficiently moist during the autumn.

Therefore only a few regions in the world have the adequate climate to produce dessert wines.

In France, Sauternes, in the Bordeaux region is the most famous of them all. Just check out the price of a bottle of Château d'Yquem.

But there is also great noble rot wines in Alsace (some Gewürztraminer for example) or, as my main title suggests it, in the Loire Valley.

Chenin, (the Loire's main white grape) is the variety that produces these great dessert wines. There are 3 dessert wines in the Loire Valley:

- Coteaux-du-Layon

- Bonnezeaux

- Quart de Chaume

As they are much less known then their counterparts from Sauternes, these amazing wines also have the great advantage of being much cheaper.

But this is not their only asset! Also their general acidity (typical of Chenin) gives them the ability to age easily and provides them with an overall impression of aerial lightness which is a plus when you want to pair them with non dessert foods.

So you see these wines are magical with the appropriate pairing.

For instance, try to taste a Coteaux-du-Layon with a veal medallion and mushroom sauce.

Or dare and pair a Bonnezeaux with an Orange glazed duck.

Prunes or raisins go well with these wines too. Try it out, you'll be surprised.

Anything with a little honey, dried fruits or foie gras will do the trick.

It's not very complicated and I assure you having one of those at your table will make a huge difference.

Here is a Coteaux-du-Layon I tasted last week and paired with chicken stuffed with dried prunes. It was absolutely delicious.

Coteaux-du-Layon, Saint Lambert du Lattay, 2005

Michel Robineau

Selection grains nobles

Nose: very subtle, fresh peonies, apricot

Mouth: an explosion. Dried apricot, honey, a very well balanced acidity and a round attack. Very long lasting taste.

This wine is just a drop of gold diluted in your veins. It's powerful yet soft, fragrant yet delicate, sweet yet elegant. Overall you really feel there's something different about this wine, something noble and pure.

How to select wines for your first beginners' wine tasting

As you may have read in my 7 steps to organizing a fabulous wine tasting -to view click here , it's easy to impress your friends with a few tricks and a little preparation.
You don't need to be a wine expert to show off. Trust me, my friends usually rave about my wine tastings for days and I can tell you I still have a LOT to learn.

So here are a few more tricks to make sure that you too are able to enjoy a great wine tasting.

1. The most important thing you do is select simple wines.


No need to go directly for a Romanée Conti just yet. You may settle for a 5 to 15$ bottle which I'm sure you'll appreciate.
What I suggest you should do, is buy one-varietal wines. It's hard enough to try to understand what the characteristics of Merlot are, so don't bother and buy an intricate assemblage wine ; you'd be completely lost (and worst of all, your guests would be lost too!).

2. Try to go for an all white or an all red tasting.


This will ease up a lot your task. First of all, you will only have so much aromas that you may find in these wines. For example, if you select only white wines, don't even bother to find strawberry or mushroom and stay focused on the typical white wine aromas like orange, lemon, pineapple, honey, nut, litchi, rose or pear.

3. Find stereotypical wines

What I mean by that is that should really try to find wines that display the typical aromas you would usually find in their varietal.
For instance, I would start out with a Chenin wine (not the most famous varietal, as it mostly grows in the Loire Valley in France). Chenin is a white wine that has the characteristic of showing very vivid acidity. So you would know, when tasting one that you would be most likely to end of sensing aromas of orange or citrus.
If your guests (or yourself!) have really never tried wine tasting before, it would probably come in handy to have flavors that are easy to recognize.

4. Buy a little bit of bread or neutral food, for people to chew on when they feel their mouth is starting to get numb.

Also I may add, that it could be useful if one of your guests has not have time to eat before. Once I organized a tasting in a rush and didn't have time to have a decent lunch. Well, I can let you guess that although it was very fun (for me at least), I ended up trying to convince my friends that red wine was actually white wine with tomato juice inside. Yeah, surprisingly enough the people I had invited to that specific tasting never really wanted to try it again ...

If you manage to get all this straight, there is no reason why your wine tasting shouldn't be a great success!

As an example here are the wines I tasted for a beginners wine tasting last week (red and white).

Chenin, Domaine de la taille aux loups, 2008
Vouvray

Pinot Noir, Les bons Ores, 2005
Chorey les Beaunes

Syrah, Domaine Gros, 2007
Minervois

Grenache, Syrah, Domaine de la Citadelle, 2003
Cotes du Lubéron

7 steps to organizing a fabulous wine tasting

So now you think you are good enough to deliver your knowledge of wines to others, huh?

You want to please.
You want to share.
You want to impress.
You want to show yourself and your friends that the money you've spent in wine tasting classes has not been totally meaningless.
But the truth is (and I know this because I've lived the exact same thing) you are terrified at the idea that it might just turn wrong.
What if the wines are not good?
What if people get bored?
What if you don't recognize a single aroma?
What if...

So you need some help. And luckily, as I've been there, done that, I can tell you that there are 7 very easy steps to make sure that your wine tasting will be a total hit.
Are you ready? Here we go !


1. Plan at least a week in advance and think about the people you are going to invite.

It may seem dumb, but I can assure you that a last minute wine tasting is never easy to tackle. All the more so if you've planned to drink wines that need to decant... you might just disgust your guests.
So you need to think in advance of whom you want to see at your little event. First of all, don't go for quantity. Having 50 people for a wine tasting may seem fun, but in fact you might end up with too much you can handle. Trust my experience when I tell you that 10 people is just about right if you want to keep good relations with your neighbors. Secondly, tell people in advance. Otherwise you might end up drinking all this wine alone with your cat and your grandma. That would be a pity.


2. Think about the wines you are going to taste in advance.

Yes I know, it's a shame because you will not be able to blind taste like the others. But on the other hand, you'll be very happy to have a little idea of what you SHOULD find in these wines if by any chance you can't smell a damn thing.
So my advice is to sacrifice yourself (I know noble isn't it)and ask your local wine seller if he knows 4 or 5 wines that would be adequate for an introduction to wine tasting.
And then, ASK FOR HINTS ON WHAT TO FIND INSIDE THEM.
If you have the time and feel a little unsure about yourself, you may even look those wines up on the internet to get a little feedback from the experts.


3. Open your wines in advance.

This is really important for red wines. White wines don't need this and should be kept cool until the beginning of the tasting. However remember to open up your reds in advance or you could encounter two hardships:
First, your friends will hate you for serving them something too tannic. All the more so if they have gum issues. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about (sorry granny).
Secondly, don't forget wines evolve with time and oxygen. So if you open your wine right before the first part of the tasting, by the time you get to step 6, the wine will have completely changed and it will ruin everything for you. No I'm not being over-dramatic.





4.(optional but much better) Buy le Nez du vin (if you haven't already done it).

To understand what le Nez du vin is check out my explanatory post "How to drink wine, recognize aromas ... and impress your friends ! ".
What you need to do during your wine tasting session, is begin by a little nostril momentum. You should select a few aromas (about 20) that may be found in the wines you have selected and tell people to sniff the little flasks of le Nez du Vin and try to decipher what smell they convey.
This is actually a very important element of a good wine tasting session. Most people can't make a difference between a strawberry and a banana (with their nose I mean !) so it usually really helps people to focus on their olfactory sense.
I truly believe this is a pivotal moment of a successful wine tasting so don't skip it !

5. Wine tasting per se. Finally.




After your little sniveling game, your friends will pretty thirsty and glad to start drinking. Use proper tasting glasses if you can and take your time taste each wine individual. After each wine, try to pause and have your friends explain what they felt. You should tell them that this part is actually important because there will be a little competition by the end of the wine tasting, and they will have to try to recognize which wine is in which glass.
Give you guests pens and paper so that they can jot down their impressions to try to remember later on what they tasted.


6. To be sure to win your friends over, you have to create emotion.

Competition and the promise of wining a bottle can be a very good way of having people remember your event.
People are like kids. They like to win. They like to have prizes. So you should buy an extra bottle to give it to the person who will recognize the wines you tasted the fastest. I know it sounds childish and stupid, but trust me: it works! People go crazy for a 3$ bottle of wine!

So do a blind tasting with our four wines in four different glasses dubbed 1, 2, 3 and 4. The person who answers the fastest wins the jackpot!
You'll be surprised how hard this game is actually. Most of the time, if you didn't open your wines early enough, they will have oxygenated and changed by the time the game starts. Also, if your friends didn't spit during the preceding tastings they might be having trouble staying focused by now...


7. How not to go bankrupt.

I promise that if you follow these 6 very easy steps, you are pretty sure to have a great time during your wine tasting.
The best thing to do (to avoid thinking about your diminishing bank account during the whole session) is to ask a little compensation (just the amount you paid to get the 5 bottles) to your friends. Try not to by Opus One or Château Margaux on your first try, people might be a little taken aback to pay 800$ for a friendly wine tasting session.

If you follow these simple rules, you'll experience the joy and fun of sharing something you love to do with people you care about. And you won't even get nervous about it.

How to drink wine, recognize aromas ... and impress your friends !

It was a few years ago, in a fancy restaurant in Paris. The sommelier delicately poured a crimson colored wine in my glass. The moment was tantalizing. The beauty of terroir. I leaned forward to taste the wine and tell him it was great. Everyone was looking. Waiting. Expecting me to sigh with ecstasy. So I did, of course.


But it was corked.
And I thought it was just a very heavy smell of mushroom. Or someone's bad cologne. Or my nose. Hell, I didn't have a clue.

Now I'm pretty sure this could happen to anyone who doesn't have any experience in wine tasting. And it's ok. It happens. It would just be a shame for you to spend 200$ on cork juice for your wedding day.
That's why I decided to deliver my experience of and show you with a little "how to" post, precisely HOW TO drink wine, recognize aromas... and impress your friends !

1. The first and most important thing you need to do is train your nostrils.
Nowadays our noses have just about all their core functions. They are meant to smell, whiff, sniff, snivel, inhale, and mostly identify. But that last action takes practice. You need to learn what a food or flower smells like and memorize this scent. It should be a game really. Each time you go out in a garden or stand in your kitchen (or someone elses !) just try to deeply inhale and sniff everything you can get your hands on.
Ok so you may look a little dumb if your friend stumbles upon you with your nose stuck in a jar of mushroom.
But remember one thing, it is for the greater good: you may have lost your dignity, but next time you drink a 10 year-old Burgundy, you'll know there's truffle in there.


2. The second thing you should consider is, well, cheating.
Fumbling around your friends kitchen may be fun once or twice, but what will happen if people start thinking your a kleptomaniac, or a utensil fetishist? There must be another solution.
Well, there is my friends, and I, in my immense generosity, will promptly deliver it to you. It is a well kept secret. The secret to learning quickly how to recognize different scents without loosing all your friends.
Here is my secret weapon to shine in society and impress my friends with my super smelling skills (I know it sounds very sexy):
Le Nez du Vin, by Jean Lenoir.
A kit of 54 aromas captured in little flasks (the basic fragrances you can find in wine)so that you can train your nostrils until they die. I do not work for Mr Lenoir, nor do I have shares in his business, but I still really recommend anyone who wants to learn how to taste wine to buy it.






3. Drink and taste as much as you can.
But mostly don't just drink, take the time to reflect and think about what you are drinking. Why do you like it ? or not ? What aromas are predominant. Do you smell fruits, flowers ?



So next time you sit in a fancy restaurant, and the sommelier comes up to you and asks you to taste, don't be scared, if the wine is corked, you're allowed to say so. Just think about your little flask and try hard to remember if it corresponds to the same smell. Before you know it, it'll come naturally and you won't even have to think about your magic kit !

Bourgogne mon amour

Today I went to Fouquet's for lunch.

To tell you the truth although it's a real institution in the world of French Brasserie, I had never actually eaten at Fouquet's before.
A diet coke for 15 euros; I can live without that.

Chinon Wine Makers Fair

Do you know Cabernet Franc ?

I mean do you REALLY know Cabernet Franc ?

The only true way to discover this unusual varietal in its depths and idiosyncrasies is to taste it in a wine from the Loire Valley.
Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil and Chinon are areas that usually produce 100% Cabernet Franc wines and take pride in the specificity of this unusual varietal.

Independent Wine Makers Fair

Twice a year the Independent Wine Makers Fair (Salon des Vignerons Indépendants) takes place in Paris.

It's quite an event, and the occasion for amateur wine connoisseurs like me to discover small estates that are hardly sold on the mainstream wine market.

I went there with a couple of friends to experience the frenzy of tasting wines from 9am to 5 pm in a gigantic garage-like hall that held approximately 1000 wine makers.

We started out spitting our wine, but by 2pm we had completely forgotten all about our spitting cups. So I'm not sure my judgment on the last wines we tasted is totally accurate...

In fact, I realized the following morning that I had bought 3 times as much wine past that time.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is because we got lucky and found the best estates towards the end.

26 years old, not a wrinkle.

Of course it's not me I am talking about.

I'm talking about someone special. Someone I met quite a while ago, during a dinner party at my parents' house in the Alps.

I'm talking about one of my first experiences as a wine lover.

I'm talking about Château La Lagune, 1983.

Wine tasting in Boston - Chile & Argentina

The weather gets pretty cold in Boston.

So a bunch of HBS guys decided it would be a good idea to get warmer buy trying out a few wines from South America during a small wine tasting session.

Now to tell you the truth, I'm not a big drinker of South American wines.

Not that I don't enjoy them - usually their powerful berry flavors are rather ravishing - but it's just not easy to find good quality yet affordable prices for these wines in France.

I don't know if this is French wine retailers' sly way to promote French wines by only offering the worst new world wines they can get their hands on. I know for a fact that there are great South American wines. Some are probably among the best wines on earth (like the beautiful Bodega Noemia de Patagonia) but a fact remains that cannot be ignored : each time I've tried a South American wine in France, it's been

- Either completely bland

- Or a woody vanilla syrup