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| September 2006
Host A Wine Tasting Featuring The Wines Of Autumn by Kelly Magyarics
Schedule Your Event Think about your friends and their schedules. Would they prefer to attend a weekend party? Or would a weeknight gathering (say, a Wednesday or Thursday evening) better fit into their schedules and break up the work week? Two hours is enough time to try six to eight wines, and you can get about 15 pours out of a bottle of wine. When you invite your guests, remind them that this is a wine tasting party. Spitting is not only allowed, but also encouraged! And, of course, remember the importance of planning for the possibility of designated drivers. Select Your Wines And Plan Your Menu This is the fun part! Here are six wine choices that are perfect for a fall wine tasting, including producers to look for and food pairing tips. While a cheese and fruit tray is always a safe bet, you might want to select a few of the following food pairing suggestions to make your wine tasting party even more special.
Chile has an ideal environment for wine production. The vineyards are protected by the Andes, the mountains' melting snow provides for irrigation and the grapes are free from most pests and diseases. The Central Valley is Chile's major wine growing region, while Casablanca and Aconcagua are up-and-coming areas. Chardonnays from Chile offer flavors of peach, as well as some tropical undertones like pineapple and mango, along with integrated oak and a smooth mouth feel. Good producers include Casa Lapostolle, Concha y Toro and Santa Maria. Nice food pairings are mild cheddar or provolone cheese, creamy crab dip, and a tropical fruit tray (mango, peach, honeydew, pineapple).
Gewürztraminer literally means "spicy grape" in German, and after one sip, you'll see why. Intensely aromatic, with honeysuckle on the nose, it has crisp fruit and an exotic spiciness (including ginger) on the palate. Gewürztraminers can run the gamut around the world from bone dry to dessert wine, and the American styles tend to be "off-dry," which means they have a bit of residual sugar on the palate. If you could take a spicy fall potpourri and put it into a wine glass, you would have Gewürztraminer. Good producers include Hogue, Chateau St. Michelle, Fetzer and Firestone. Nice food pairings are Camembert cheese topped with dried apricots and drizzled with honey, Asian appetizers and Dim Sum (such as pot stickers and dumplings), and ginger-peach crisp.
Red Côtes du Rhône wines can be blends of up to 15 grape varieties. Wines in the northern area of the region are made with primarily Syrah, while those in the south tend to have more Grenache. Grenache adds body to the wine, along with red fruit flavors such as strawberry and spice. Syrah adds color, tannin and acidity, as well as dark fruit flavors like blackberry and black cherry. Basic Côtes du Rhône wines tend to be earthy, and pair well with any mushroom dishes. Those in the $10 range listed simply as "Côtes du Rhône" offer a lot of "bang for the buck." Seek out 2003 wines since that was a great year in the Rhône Valley due to weather and rainfall. Good producers are E. Guigal, Andre Brunel and Georges Duboeuf. Nice food pairings are stuffed mushrooms, grilled baby lamb chops and Coq au vin (chicken with red wine and mushroom sauce).
Australian wine, in general, is big, bold and fruit-forward, and the Cabernets are no exception. Although Cabernet is grown in many different wine regions in the country, Coonawarra and Margaret River are known for their stellar Cabernet Sauvignons. Flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant and black cherry abound, along with good tannins. Occasionally you can even detect mint or eucalyptus in the wine. Aussies like to blend their wines—look for Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot, or with Australia's signature varietal, Shiraz. Good producers include Rosemount Estate, Penfolds, Peter Lehmann and Wynns. Nice food pairings are smoked meats like salami, sausage, calabrese and chorizo, hard cheeses like Parmeggiano-Reggiano, and appetizers with beef or lamb.
Repeat the following: "Zin is red, Zin is red, Zin is red." Not for the faint of heart, the Zinfandel grape produces red wines that are big and bold, with intense raspberry and cherry flavors. Because these wines can have an alcohol content upwards of 16 percent, they can benefit from 20 minutes or so in the fridge to avoid that "alcohol burn" in the back of the throat. Good producers include Ravenswood, Ridge, Rosenblum and Renwood. Nice pairings are grilled beef skewers, smoked meats and sausages. Remember too, Zinfandel is the perfect match for your Thanksgiving turkey!
Think that Port is a drink for old men in smoking jackets? Think again! A glass of Port can be a perfect drink to enjoy by the fire during the cooler months. There are several different styles of Port. Tawny Port has been aged at least seven years in oak casks, resulting in a brown color, and aromas and flavors of chocolate, coffee, nuts and caramel. However, like all good sweet wines, it's balanced by a fair amount of acidity so it doesn't taste syrupy or cloying. Good producers include Fonseca, Osborne and Graham. Nice food pairings? While Tawny Port can be enjoyed on its own, it also pairs very well with desserts made with chocolate and nuts. Set Up For The Tasting Provide one or two wine glasses per guest. If you don't have enough, ask guests to bring their own! Put a few pitchers of iced water around the room for drinking and rinsing out glasses between wines. And "pour out" buckets are a must. If a guest doesn't like a wine, or wants to taste rather than drink, he can pour out the rest. Also remember plastic cups for guests who prefer to spit the wines. Make sure the wines are served at the right temperature. Whites should be served at 45-50 degrees F., lighter reds at 50-55 degrees F. and heavier reds at 55-65 degrees F. Do not serve whites ice-cold or you will dull the fruit flavors and nuances. Likewise, don't serve heavy reds such as Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon at true room temperature or you may feel an alcohol burning sensation in your mouth when you taste them. Fifteen minutes in the fridge before serving can prevent this from happening. Get Ready for Some Fun! When guests arrive, hand them a wine glass along with a sheet of paper and a pen so they can write down notes. Start with the white wines. Pass the bottle around the room to make pouring easy. Encourage guests to use all their senses to appreciate and critique the wine. They should look at its color against a white background (a lighter color indicates lighter body). They should swirl the glass to release the aromas (even covering the glass with a hand works well). Remind guests that their sense of smell is extremely important in wine tasting. They can only taste four basic flavors (sweet, sour, bitter and salt), but a human can detect thousands of smells. As they taste the wine, suggest they aerate it to release the aromas and flavors, swirl it around or simply let it roll back on their tongue. Remind them to refrain from being too quick to judge a wine after their first sip. It's important that they go back for another taste. Suggest trying the wine by itself, and then with one of the appetizers or snacks provided. It's amazing how different a wine can taste when paired with the right food. With each of the wines, encourage discussion of color, aromas, what fruits and other flavors are apparent, and what kind of finish the wine leaves in their mouth. Remember—wine tasting is very subjective. There are no right or wrong answers. Guests should feel free to take notes which will help them the next time they are wine shopping. Between the whites and the reds (as well as before the dessert wine which should be served last), guests may want to rinse out their glasses and have a cracker to cleanse the palate. When your friends have tasted all six wines, they should compare notes and feel free to re-taste any that are remaining. See if there are favorites among the group. After having so much fun during your first wine tasting party, you and your guests may find that you want to start a monthly wine tasting club. Cheers, and happy sipping! Kelly Magyarics is a wine educator and writer living in Northern Virginia. Her company, Kelly Magyarics Wine Consulting, conducts interactive, educational wine tastings for private and corporate events. Kelly can be reached through her website at www.trywine.net |
Soon you'll be trading in your shorts and tee shirts for sweaters and jackets. Instead of sitting on the deck, you may be relaxing in front of the fire. Rather than whining about the end of warm weather and long nights, invite some friends over and spend the evening wining—tasting and enjoying wines to drink throughout the cooler weather. Wine snobs need not apply! This relaxed gathering is all about good friends, good conversation and discovering more about your wine style. So review the details, plan your party and celebrate the arrival of autumn!
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