I think of myself as someone with a pretty good palette.  I can usually identify the herbs in a sauce or what kind of nuts where used in a stuffing, but when it come to wine I have never developed a refined palette.  

In my early days in the restaurant business I was working with a new General Manager who had come to our family style restaurant from a very high end establishment.  He decided that we needed to change the house wine so he did his best to teach me to properly taste wine.  In my twenty year old (at the time) opinion all his sniffing, swirling and spitting seemed a bit ridiculous.   

When it comes to wine I have always been one of those “I like what I like” girls; but I could never really tell you why I like it.  I’ve often been mystified by people who say they taste coffee in this wine and smell freshly cut grass in another.  Really? They don’t actually put things like coffee and grass in wine you know!  When someone asks me what fruit I taste in a particular glass of wine, I’m embarrassed to say “I taste grapes”.

Recently, I’ve been spending time with a friend who has a passion for wine; I decided it is time for me to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of various wines, and how you use my mouth to figure them out.  So when I was invited by a co-worker to girls night out that involved a wine tasting lesson, how could I refuse?

A large group of us descended on De Luca’s Fine Wines’ on Saturday night for our private wine tasting.  Our instructor walked us through each step of how to asses the colour, clarity, smell (AKA nose) and taste (AKA palate) of our wines.  We learned how to taste a sparkling and a port as well as a variety of white and red wines.  We learned a bit about where each wine came from and how it was produced.  Certain wines were matched with certain cheese and chocolate to enhance their flavour.  And I am pleased to report that after learning the right way to aerate and sniff my wine, I smelt the illusive fresh cut grass in one of the night’s selections.  I even smelled leather and tobacco in another. 

It was a fun evening and I learned a lot.  I am still far from being a coinsurer. I still find it   a struggle to not giggle as everyone around me is slurping air through their pursed lips. But at least I am starting to get a feel for this thing. 

I like wine, but I love food, so if nothing else this experience has caused me to be even more intrigued with the concept of pairing the right wine with my food.  I hope to do much more of that kind of research in the future.

Kath’s quote: “Everyone eats and drinks, but few appreciate taste.”Confucius

Love-that is all.

Share on Facebook