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By Woodrow J. Hinton
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Baby boomers rejected many conventions during the tumult of the 1970s, including the type of social drinking depicted on TV and in movies. James Bond's familiar quip about his preference in martinis -- "shaken, not stirred" -- while cool, was not universally adopted as the drink of choice by my generation.
By the 1980s, Americans in large numbers began to drink more wine than they had in decades. But as we progressed from jug wines to box wines to fine wines, many of us felt as if we had been AWOL when the wine chip was distributed. The language of, for and about wine seemed as unfamiliar as a Chinese dialect.
In gathering resources for this article, I called a friend who's considered a wine connoisseur and asked him where to start. "Oh, well, there's no question: You must talk with David. He knows more about wine than anyone I've ever met." This from a man who phones in bids on rare vintages of Chateau d'Yquem in auctions in New York and London.
Within moments, we were on line with David Schildknecht of Vintner Select. Schildknecht's background includes 10 years of fine wine importing and direct marketing in Washington, D.C. He was recruited by Party Source to get the Bellevue, Ky., store stocked and staff trained about the world of wine. He then went to Vintner Select as an import specialist dealing with French wines.
When I called him later, I realized that this was the David I had met and wandered the aisles with in the early days of my fascination with Party Source. (It's still one of my favorite places to learn about wine from knowledgeable, friendly staff.) I remember asking about a particular California Merlot we had enjoyed. Although they didn't stock Pride Mountain, he was able to introduce me to several wines he thought we might also enjoy. He was right: a memorable French red table wine and a zesty Syrah spring to mind.
Without knowing it, I had done the best thing in helping a savvy wine retailer help me sample wines. I told him what I liked. I even remembered the bottling year. (By the way, a stellar year doesn't necessarily mean the following year will be a winner.)
David pointed out, "There is a pervasive and preposterous notion that, before you can enter the Temple of Wine, you have to check your common sense at the door and enter a maze of mystification." Forget about the wine snobs you know or see in wine shops or restaurants. You just need curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and a few of the pointers outlined here. With this in hand for the 10th Annual International Wine Festival on April 7 and 8, you'll leave the mystery behind and enjoy the experience of sampling hundreds of wines.
According to Schildknecht, the first step in learning to appreciate wine is to find a wine merchant you are simpatico with, one who listens to you and will help you experiment. You'll want someone who will ask you questions about what you like and offer suggestions about what to try next. Sample wines other than those from France and California and don't be swayed by advertising hype.
The most important factor is to lighten up and experiment. Wine is an agricultural product and so is influenced by nature, varying the product from year to year, in spite of many of the formal mechanics in the winemaking process. Do you reject strawberries because they aren't from California or beer that doesn't come from a certain microbrewery outside Seattle? Of course not. David stated, "Wine is about excitement, change, transformation, the unexpected, variety and personality. It's what you value in your friends, in your food -- so why not in your wine as well?"
When you think about it, wine sippers could learn a lot about enjoying, truly reveling in beverage experimentation, by looking to our beer-guzzling brethren. Hops fans are not likely to insist you should drink this particular beer only with food, but rather suggest that you try anything from the variety of microbrews they have collected and enjoyed.
If you're interested in learning more about wine, don't be swayed by an "expert" who appears to be a member of a secret society that will only give you a few cryptic clues about what is the "best." Best for whom? If you can select the food you choose to eat without advice from experts in restaurants and markets, you can select wine worthy of your interest. But what you like today might not be what you like in years to come. Remember Boone's Farm?
Wine tasting is not a test or a competitive sport (unless you've entered the male-dominated world of vast collections and blind taste tests). If it tastes good to you, it's a good wine. There is also no exact science to tasting. And wine choices vary tremendously from cultural as well as psychological factors.
Once you've found a wine store you like and have a relationship with a wine vendor, tell him or her what you've liked in the past, what foods you're serving with the wine and your budget. Buy a bottle or two of the suggested wines, sip and sup and then using the detail on the receipt, put a star beside the ones you particularly like or jot down enough information from the label so that you can buy it again or tell your wine merchant you liked it. But you can learn quite a lot from the wines you didn't like.
David insists that wine drinking is a process of "constant discovery." You'll encounter surprises with how food and wine go together on the palate, to say nothing of the serendipity brought by the individuals you invite to surround the table.
So relax and enjoy your saunter through the International Wine Festival. You already know what's a good wine -- at least for today.
Wine Spectator's wine tasting elements
Appearance
Fill the glass one-third to one-half full. Pick it up by the stem. Although this may feel awkward and clumsy, holding the glass by the stem allows you to clearly see the liquid. Your fingers also transmit heat that can alter the wine's temperature and chemistry enough to change the experience.
To determine the true color of the wine, tilt the glass and look at the wine through the rim. Intensity can be judged by looking straight down through the wine from above. Looking sideways through the glass best showcases the wine's brilliance and clarity. Enjoy the color: No other beverage can be so varied and vivid, conjuring up descriptions such as ruby and garnet, topaz and gold.
Swirl
The easiest way to swirl is to rest the base of the glass on a table, holding the stem between the thumb and forefinger and gently rotate the wrist. Counter-clockwise motion is easiest for right-handers, while lefties should try clockwise.
Let the wine dance nearly up to the rim, and then stop. The transparent film that falls along the inside of the bowl is known as the wine's "tears" or "legs." It implies that the more tears, the more alcohol in the wine.
Smell
After you stop swirling and the tears are still falling, enjoy the smell, which has been intensified by swirling. The bowl of your glass should be narrow at the top, helping to concentrate the aromas. It could be two or three quick inhalations or one deep sniff. The idea is to get enough to fully charge one of the strongest and most sensitive of our senses. It's been estimated that humans can detect upwards of 10,000 smells! No wonder we become intimidated by describing what we sense in our glass.
Wine does smell of more than just grapes. Much of that is related to the weather while the grapes were grown, how long the skins were left in contact with the fruit, how the wine was fermented and how it was stored for aging.
Taste
Now comes the best part. While you're still savoring the bouquet of the wine, take a small (but not too small) amount of wine into your mouth and roll it around your mouth for about 10-15 seconds, bringing it in contact with every part in order to decode the different aspects of the wine. Then, purse your lips and gently inhale through the lips and nose. This increases the vaporization and intensifies the aromas. Chew the wine vigorously, to get every morsel of flavor.
The finish comes after you swallow. Exhale gently and slowly through your nose and mouth. If the aftertaste is short, the wine is simple and probably meant for early drinking. The more complex and longer-lasting it is, no matter what its age, the better the wine.
The 10th Annual Cincinnati International Wine Festival will be at the Cincinnati Convention Center, International Ballroom from 6:30-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
