1/ There is a way to hold a glass. This is THE basis for not seeming off the mark (like me, before writing this article):a glass is held by the foot, whether it's empty or full, so as not to not warm the cup - and therefore the wine. In addition (notice to those who have a heavy hand):a glass is only half full at the most. No, it's not to prevent you from dancing the macarena on the table as soon as the glass is finished (as tempting as that is), nor to prevent you from staining your brand new top (or that of your neighbor). The objective is to allow the wine to aerate well to "release its aromas". Hmmm…
2/ We say taste, not drink. Drinking makes thirsty cave bear. Tasting immediately sounds more delicate. It shows that you suspect that yes, wine is a little more noble and complex than "Baaaaah there are three kinds white, red, white, huh". There are table wines, aperitif wines, fruity wines, sweet wines, etc. They can also be distinguished by region and by grape variety (there are 119 types of vine plans in France and around 6000 in the world, such as Cabernet Cauvignon, Grenache, Chardonnay, Bourboulenc,…), whose tastes can vary according to the quality of the soil, the weather,…. And I'm not even talking about the many appellations... Fine, yes. There are "designations of origin and protected geographical indications" (such as PDOs, which have very strict specifications, and PGIs - like the very creative PGI Méditerranée - which operate by geographical area), TSGs (which highlight the traditional composition of a product or its traditional method of production) or the "organic" labels... In short, you will have understood:we do not drink bottoms up!
3/ Don't be afraid to vigorously swirl the wine in your glass. Yes, because we have not filled everything! As a result, we can roll it to admire its "dress" (its color and its external appearance, also called "frame"), which gives us indications on its state of maturation and sometimes even on its geographical origin. For example, a bright, slightly purplish red wine is usually young, while a slightly coppery yellow wine is a dry, syrupy, mature wine. Second step:you can tilt it (above a white support preferably) to see its "shine". When it comes to white wine, a very "bright" wine is often synonymous with a very acidic wine. Finally, we can admire the "fatness" of its dress, that is to say examine its persistence on the walls of the glass (due to its richness in glycerol and its alcohol content). And then, of course, we feel. Without sticking your nose in the glass, we are not anteaters!
4/ You can inhale to release the aromas. ***Warning:this technique used in professional tastings risks making you look like a cave bear if you use it in the evening. To do – therefore – only if you have an informed public or if you want to explain to your guests how to better smell the aromas *** The idea? You take a little wine in your mouth, you inhale, taking care not to 1/ drool, 2/ not to swallow and choke, and there, PAF, it's an explosion of flavors.
5/ Tasting is a matter of memory. Take the example of the (delicious) "Douce Canorgue" Blanc Millésime 2011 and IGP Méditerranée (yes yes, which comes from the Château la Canorgue, where Ridley Scott shot the movie "Une Grande Année" with the very sexy Russell Crowe). This smooth and melting wine (which you can see by examining the fatness of the robe, therefore) has notes of quince, pear and honey. Do you also want to show off when talking about aromas and notes? You can do it, and it takes practice. Here's a little advice from Louise, author of the blog Quilles de filles:
“Aromas are a matter of memory. If you talk about quince or honey in tasting, it is because you have been able to identify them. And knowing how to identify tastes and smells simply means having a good olfactory memory. My advice to boost all this? When you go to the market, when you cook, when you go for a walk, open your senses. Smell the tomato you cut, the flowers in your garden, taste the parsley, do it with concentration and strength, you will thus create in your mind an olfactory library that you can call on whenever you want. Then let your imagination run wild and let your feelings express themselves. Wine is not saying complicated words to show off, it's daring to let your personal sensitivity speak through your senses – sight, smell, taste, touch. "
6/ Wine is spit out during tastings. Yes, it hurts my heart. But to avoid a macarena episode, we spit out the contents of our mouth after sucking, into a dedicated spittoon. The pros even manage not to drool in action, and do it with class. Not me.
7/ An old wine is not necessarily good. No, some wines are meant to be drunk young, like rosés, and can turn sour with age. It all depends on the grape varieties and the maturation.
8/ Wine is a journey. After the whole period of maintenance of the vine, comes the harvest - mechanical or manual - where the winegrowers start their day around 3 am (ouch), to prevent the grapes from overheating and causing their degree to rise. of alcohol. Then we move on to winemaking. There, several steps, which vary according to the type of wine (white, rosé or red) and the "recipe":we start with the destemming (we remove the leaves and ends of branches), the pressing to extract the juice, the traditional maceration (we put the red wines in vats), cold prefermentation (to obtain red wines with more intense fruity notes) or carbonic (the grapes are put whole in vats, ferment and transform on their own), we pass pumping over (to recover the must that has accumulated at the bottom of the vat during fermentation,... In short, the grapes live a real adventure before reaching our glass. Everyone has their own story...and that's is that what is beautiful.
> More info on the stages here
9/ Wine is also a matter of fashion. For example, rosé is popular in the Mediterranean, especially the lighter ones. Their color varies according to the grape varieties, the pressing (the wines passed through this stage are clearer) and/or the maceration (the pale wines are the youngest).
10/ Several stars own vines. Miraval Rose, bottled by Angelina/Brad Jolie-Pitt &Perrin, was even voted the best rosé in the world by Wine Spectator. Actor John Malkovich also owns a few vines around his house in Bonnieux and Christophe Lambert has created with sommelier Eric Beaumard an annual Côtes du Rhône cuvée, "Les Garrigues".
