Answers about wine from those in the know
May 20, 2006
BY KELLEY L. CARTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
KRISTIN JONNA, owner of wine bars Vinotecca in Royal Oak and Vinology in Ann Arbor
QUESTION : What are people doing when they swirl their wine around before drinking it?
ANSWER: People are volatizing the esters. The phenolic, or smell, components lie just beneath the surface of the wine. When we swirl, we are allowing these phenolics to come floating out of the glass to create aromas.
Q: When people sniff wine, what are they smelling for?
A: We are first and foremost smelling for flaws. Nail polish remover, vinegar, sherry, burnt matches, cork and wet newspaper are all the tip-off aromas indicating the wine is spoiled or bad. After we have ruled these out, we are then smelling for the bouquet of the wine. Certain smells can indicate specific varietals or regions and give us a hint about the level of complexity. Remember, 80% of what we taste is based on what we smell, so this is a very important step in the process of evaluating wine and food.
Q. I'm going out to dinner with five friends to a seafood restaurant, and we want to order a bottle of wine. What kind should we order?
A : First of all, drink what you like! If you are a red wine fan, you are not bound to white wine here just because it is the classic pairing with seafood. Simply choose a lighter red. Secondly, food pairing is mostly about contrast or complement.
If the fish will be covered in a butter sauce, then try a slightly oaked chardonnay to complement, because it will often have a buttery quality. If your fish is spicy, contrast it with something slightly sweet. Food pairing is an art and difficult to apply in many settings. Just beware of the very bad combinations like oily fish and cabernet or sauvignon blanc and steak. Light foods, light wines. Heavy foods, heavy wines. Other tips: Consider sauces as much as the base of the dish because this is usually where the predominant flavor is.
Q: Why should I pay more for expensive wine when I can't tell the difference?
A: Most people can tell the difference, but they are simply not exposed to great wine. In every tasting I do, both the novices and the experts can find the most expensive or well-made wine in the room when tasting blind. You can drive a Pinto your whole life and feel good about it, but the day you sit in a BMW, you know that you were missing out on quality.
ELIE BOUDT, owner of Elie Wine Company in downtown Royal Oak.
Q: What does it mean when someone says a wine has legs?
A : That's a lingo that refers to the way that the wine would cling to the inside of the glass and the way it drips down on the inside and as it moves down. What that means is that it's the glycerin in the wine that leaves marks on the glass. Glycerin is complex sugar molecules. It's something you associate with fuller, mature grapes. A good wine has to have legs. A riper grape would be much more flavorful. If the wine has the legs, it doesn't mean the wine is good. But a good wine has to have the legs. It's something you see typically with younger wines.
Q: Give me some wine names that are mispronounced most frequently, and tell me how they are really pronounced.
A: It's much more phonetical than people think. Pouilly-Fuisse, a French red wine, is pronounced poo-YEE foo-e-SAY and Beaujolais, another French red wine, is pronounced bo-jo-LAY. They're two of the most common names that you see. They're both French and typically people have problems with French.
KELLY REED, 26-year-old Ann Arbor resident who has been drinking wine for about two years
Q: I'm new to wine drinking. What's a good type of wine to start out with?
A: I find that the pinot grigio is a very easy flavor to incorporate into your palette. It works well with several different foods. I like really light, crisp wines. The flavors aren't that strong. They wouldn't offend someone while drinking it.
ED BOSSE, owner of Simply Wine in downtown Birmingham
Q: Can you give me suggestions for five must-have starter bottles under $25?
A: They come in and out of stock really quickly, but whenever anyone is putting together a cellar, I always tell them to start with a base of inexpensive wines. For me, it would be like Vila Malbec; Salice Salentino; Chateau St. Jean chardonnay; Horse Haven, which is a sauvignon blanc, and Chumeia pinot noir. If you want a great French champagne, get Varichon & Clerc.
Q: I want to explore the world of French wine, but I can't understand the labels. What are the basics to help me understand what I'm drinking?
A : I would get a handle on the grapes of France. There are probably five or six major grapes there. Find out what those grapes are, which is pretty easy.
One of the grapes would be merlot, for example, and so there are some merlots that are juicy and easy to drink and then there are merlots that are earthy. It would be real fun to pick those five grapes and then try it made in different parts of France.
Normally, people will come in, pick a grape and get two or three bottles from that area and then have a lot of fun with it. Also, with French wine, almost all of the wine is meant to be had with a little bit of food. Sometimes people get thrown off when they don't have it with food.