Ask a Wine-Know: Family friendly
Ask a Wine-Know: Family friendly
We have a lot of people out there who seem to want to know more about wine, and a good question was posed: “We’re real novices about wine. We want to learn, but with small children, we can’t go on tours or attend many of the wine events very often. What would you suggest?”
I think you’re great candidates for starting your own study group (or wine club) at home. I, and 18 of my good wine buddies, have a group that’s been meeting regularly for 20 years. We’ve tasted many, many more and different wines than we ever would have been able to on our own. It works!
First, make a list of your friends and acquaintances who you know are interested in wine. Ask around the neighborhood or at work. Some of those people will have friends who are interested in learning more too. All you need to begin are six to eight people. Twelve people would be ideal as everyone could get a hefty pour out of each bottle of wine available that evening.
Decide how often you’re going to meet — every other month is usually a good idea — and find out what night of the week would work out best.
Wine and food go together. Cheese, bread and crackers or other appetizers are fine, or you can make it a potluck dinner. Our group does dinner and trades off hosting chores — each couple hosts the complete meal once every year and a half, so the burden of providing food is not great.
Each couple you invite brings a bottle or two. The host chooses a specific varietal for tasting at each meeting and the group knows this in advance — “Everyone bring a 2004 Cabernet,” or “Find $20 to $25 2006 Chardonnays for next time,” or “Let’s study Spanish wines!” The sky’s the limit on what’s available. Just follow your interests.
There will be leftovers. Always save corks when you open the bottle for just this purpose. Remember to put previously opened bottles of wine in the trunk of your car to take home! The law requires no opened containers of alcohol in your car where people can reach them! Do you know it is permissible, and legal, to take home unfinished bottles of wine from restaurants? Mention it to the waiter (if he doesn’t ask) and he will recork it and usually bag it for you. Then it goes into the trunk!
Back to our wine “meeting” — your group decides in advance whether they want to just open all the bottles, set them up in a specific order, let everyone taste before or with dinner or they can decide to do “blind” tastings. Take the bottles upon arrival and either pour them into numbered carafes, put them into brown paper bags, or wrap the bottles completely up in foil. The point is to let the guests have fun deciding which wines they like best without seeing the labels or being influenced by any previously gained information. Provide a scoring sheet or card for this purpose (and pencils and pens).
No one should be asked to guess a wine’s identity, varietal or winery, or place of origin)! Beginners should not engage in the games that long-time aficionados play.You should be focusing on learning what wine you like and thinking why you do. Ask everyone to vote on their favorite two or three. It is important to impress on each person that there are no right or wrong answers. It’s all a matter of individual taste and that’s what each person is there for — to learn more about what they, themselves, like.
Make it a real learning experience by assigning one person (usually the host) to research the chosen varietal for that evening and discussing it with the group before or during dinner. Describe its history and characteristics.
Lead your guests through the techniques of tasting. See: look at the color and describe it. Swirl: hold the glass down on the table and swirl the wine around to get air into it. Sniff: what does it smell like? Sip: take a mouthful. Savor: hold it in your mouth for a few seconds. Taste it! Really taste it! Swallow: Wow! Great! Good. O.K. So-so. I don’t like it.
Taste the wine before you eat, taste the wine with food. Does it change? Do your ratings change over the evening? They often will. Count the votes and reveal the bottles.
By this point there should be much interest in looking at labels and writing down names that were especially appealing or unappealing. You and your friends will feel quite different about making choices when next strolling the wine aisles.
Coming Events: Everyone welcome
March 22 — The Bakersfield Wine Society will feature wines from St Supery of Napa Valley at The Petroleum Club, 5060 California Ave. Floor 12. Cost $89 per person for all wines and a scrumptious many-course dinner. For more information or to make reservations, call Mike Stepanovich at 588-0783 or 342-2339.
— Questions or comments? Send Ann e-mail at: acierley@etcrier.net
