Tipping Point:
Something about wine
2007-08-03
Kelsey C. Blackwell

Selecting a good wine, for me, has always been a fairly random matter. The bottle I take home isn’t chosen for its year or varietal but rather an intrinsic sense that, for this night, it’s the one. The few sensibilities I do have are the result of serendipitous circumstance, though what I’ve taken away in no way classifies me an oenephile. I know, for example, boxed wine is not suitable for dinner parties and Chianti tastes like piney-leather. Pinot Noir masquerades as a tough guy but is really peppery grape juice, and White Zinfandel is grape juice. Very dry wines may double as window cleaner but are lubricants for intellectual conversation. And after four glasses of anything, none of my convictions hold any water.

I’ve romanced on becoming a part of the oh-so-educated wine crowd—those who can rattle off a course-by-course list of perfect pairings based on the days produce selection. But, it’s all a bit beyond me. That swirling, sniffing and gurgling seems too elaborate an affair for a drowsy buzz. And the adjectives used to describe wine—fruity accents, hints of oak, chocolate? A pretentious show. My wanton aisle wandering has served my wine selection process just fine, thank you. But still I’ve been curious. Could I be missing out on something? 

With a diverse selection of wines and a most-unpretentious sommelier, I decided to do my own research. I compared my untrained wine impressions to those of Rodney Alex, owner of Juicy Wine Company in Chicago and five-year certified wine expert. I read little about the wines before sampling and based my impressions solely on my immediate experiences. Before pouring, Rodney lined the samplings stylistically from lightest to fullest to give me -- and my taste buds -- a little traction.

We started with a 2006 Riesling from Esterlina Vineyards in northern California. After a color examination, which I’m still unclear on the importance of, and a swirl (to release the scent) I gave the wine a good gargle. Let me here note drinking with a sommelier is at once enlightening and intimidating. After this first wine, it became clear Rodney and I were going to have wildly different experiences and while I didn’t want to fake any fruity notes, my tasting abilities were on the line. “This wine is very simple,” he said. “I’m getting Maui gold pineapple—a touch of this petroleum thing which is very typical of Riesling. It has this Singer sewing machine oil thing going on. It’s not a bad.”

Hmmm . . .  Maui pineapple? Petroleum? I got sweet, very close to White Zinfandel without the box. I liked it, but was wondering if I was doing something wrong. How could I get petroleum? That’s when I learned the magic of wine is that no one is expected to have the exact same experience. Particular varietals do have defining characteristics—Pinot Noir is plumy, Cabernet Sauvignon is cherry—but along with this, is personal association. For Rodney, all Rieslings taste faintly of petroleum. For me, this Reisling was Zinfandel minus the cardboard.

We moved to a 2005 Chardonnay also from Esterlina vineyards. “It’s very complex. It’s toasty. The first thing I get is warmth,” he said. “There’s definitely wood. Maybe a little bit of that fruit cocktail juice.  Smells a bit like canned cream corn.”

I got the wood and the Chardonnay was certainly not as sweet as the Riesling but my analysis ended there. Rodney explained Chardonnays differ from Rieslings because their grapes have thicker skins and take longer to ripen on the vine. Because Chardonnay hangs a little longer, the grapes have a higher sugar content leading to a higher alcohol content. (I could get into how this all goes down, but it’skind of a snoozer). Anyway, look for Chardonnay when you want a healthy buzz. I didn’t get the cream corn, but at least I was getting an education.

Things didn’t change much when we moved to the reds. We looked at a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Black Coyote Vineyards in Napa Valley. Rodney immediately got eucalyptus, bell pepper, dried herbs and black cherry. This wine certainly wasn’t as sweet as the whites but I wasn’t getting any peppers, maybe (maybe) an herb or two. After a good swish I came away not with eucalyptus but a puckered, sticky mouth. This, I learned, was the result of tannins in the wine, which basically give it its texture (like the finishing spices on a meal). 

We then tried 2005 Zinfandel from the Brown Estate in Napa Valley. “It smells very spicy but in the mouth I’m getting raspberries and black raspberries. There are bright fruit tones coming up over the glass like raspberry sweet tarts.” At this point it felt like he was showing off, but I could tell Rodney was sincere. I was exasperated considering my palette seemed to only extend to what was sweet and what was not.
We finished with a Viognier from the Rideau Vineyards in California. “Viognier is an esoteric grape varietal. It’s a wine lovers wine. It’s a wine growers wine.” And, apparently, it was my wine. With that disclaimer I wasn’t expecting results, but what came through was sweet (of course) and then citrus like oranges or grapefruit. It was light and juicy, absolutely wonderful. “Anyone can do this, all you have to do is sit and think about the wine,” Rodney said. While I don’t really know about that, I did take away a few things from this experience.

1. Wine is all about balance between sugars and acidity. A good wine has good balance. It’s as simple as that.
2. Rieslings are our friends. They’re light but complex making them a great option for your next dinner party (no more White Zinfandels).
3. Select a wine based on what you’re going to do with it. Is it a cocktail, or is it going with a specific meal? Find a vendor you trust and ask their recommendations.
4. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If one wine is too sweet and the other too tart mix ‘em together. Viola.
5. Your experience is your experience. Be it cream corn, petroleum, butterscotch or just plain sweet, nothing is incorrect..

Launch the slide show to get the full experience.

I know next time I’m wandering for wine, I’ll have more than my gut to the lead the way.