My Wine Education

I grew up knowing few forms of alcoholic drinks: hard liquor (BaiJiu: 白酒), milder rice wines (HuangJiu: 黄酒), and beer. Honestly, the idea is getting others drunk and staying sober at the same time. Social cohesion and the capacity to hold liquor are more important skills than the ability to distinguish the finer flavors of the drinks.

Much older, I met Kathy and a group of wine fanatics. They taught me this new alcoholic drink called grape wines. (And yet many years later, Crawford taught me whiskey.)
I learned how to swirl, hold the glass to the light, sniff, sip, and make some comments. Those who really know me will snicker, “Sin-Yaw has no taste buds on wines.” They will be right and we all knew it does not matter. The real important skill is not to be able to tell the difference between a $15 bottle and a $20 one, but to appreciate the drink and enjoy the company or the foods. As Rich said, “The lubricant of conversation.”

Recently, I found out that a few people in China are at the same stage I was many years ago. “This is cool,” I thought. “How about wine tasting in China?”

As far as I have observed Kathy’s parties, this is how:

1. Decide a theme: First choose a theme for the tasting. This is usually arbitrary and up to the host. The typical theme surround grape varietal or region: Shiraz, Cabernet, Southern Italian, etc. At the same time, choose a price guideline for the participants.
2. Infra-structure: Wine-tasting parties need many glasses, a spit bucket, a clean water source to rinse the glasses, and a stain-resistant surface.

   Glasses should be transparent and easy to swirl. They don’t need to be expensive. Spit bucket is for throwing away wines: a normal and perfectly OK thing to do. Some people intend to taste many wines and do not wish to get drunk. Others simply do not like the wine enough to finish the glass. Water is for rinsing the glasses. Some people prefer to rinse the glass before trying a new wine. Lastly, wine pouring can be nasty on delicate surfaces.

3. Foods: Foods serve to cleanse the palate. In between wines, it is necessary to remove the tastes of the previous wines from your mouth. Eating simple, non-spicy and not too salty foods are best. Crackers, french bread, and simple cheeses are popular choices.

   Coffee, either ground or beans, is the best olfactory cleanser. Sniff the coffee in between wines to restore fresh scent.

4. Wines: The host should secure enough variety and quantity for the participants. Average person can consume about half a bottle without too much trouble. Each “serving” should be about a quarter glass or even less. The point is to taste wines and not drink them.

   The host should make sure the drivers are sober before leaving. This means at least an hour without taking any alcohol before driving.

   Of course the focus of the party is to talk about the wines just tasted. Some kinds of note taking devices will enhance everyone’s knowledge and memory.

Internet offers wealth of information on this subject. I read the quick online wine-tasting course and went to UC Davis site for its tasting wheel too.

Now I am ready to be invited.