The Mission, a rookie wine drinkers plan to learn and share

Sep 18 2009

The mission

As the Apostle Paul wrote, and President Obama much more recently paraphrased, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Today I undertake the ambitious footsteps in the shadows of those great men, and I put away my own childish things.

I am making a commitment to put down the beer. When given a choice, my beverage of choice will be wine. A note for any children in the audience– I am not suggesting that beer or liquor are childish things, in the legal definition of “child.” I do not condone children drinking beer. For these purposes, I am considering my first three years of legal drinking age as my childhood. This note is also extended to men much bigger than I, who have had a lot of beer to drink and would not appreciate being called children, and who might defend their beer drinking to the point of channeling their inner-Serena Williamses and shoving cans of Natty Light down my throat.

A little background

Here’s what I know about wine: it’s made from grapes. The end. I come from a household where the only familiarity I had with wine was the shot of it I took at church every Sunday and the sneaking of sips from the bottle of the cheap champagne left in the cold on the porch every New Year’s Day. Sure, I grew up in Prosser, where there were more blossoming wineries than there were seniors in my graduating class. But even with this proximity to vinification greatness, I absorbed nothing.

In college, I always chose beer. It was cheaper and more abundant. Easy sell; that’s all it took for beer to win my heart. Now, I want my heart back. I’m moving to a big city next year for more school. In a few years, I will probably be in a much different environment than those that I grew up in and went to college in. In preparation, I want to have a good idea as to what wine’s all about. I want to go much further than the only lesson I learned about it in college: a box of Franzia can get you really messed up.

I want to fully understand wine. I want to harness my palate, if I can ever find it. I want to be able to detect the difference between varietals and complexes. I want to be able describe the bouquet. These are all words I learned from the lovely Claire, but they still mean nothing more to me than whatever it is that comes out of Ozzy Osbourne’s mouth.

The purpose

In my quest, I will not only choose wine when given a choice, but I will actively seek out opportunities to advance my palatal training. Here on Palatebomb, I will regurgitate the events and stories that take place while I’m doing so. I know I’m not alone in knowing nothing about wine. For those who are with me, maybe I’ll inspire you with ideas for your own education. Hopefully you will learn from my successes and my failures. Hopefully those of you who already know about wine laugh with me at those failures and give me ideas for more successes. The bottom line is that I’m here not to teach you about wine— there are currently three ladies here more qualified than I’ll ever be to do so. I’m here instead to celebrate the process of enjoying it as I seek to enjoy it myself.
Wish me luck.

And cheers! Do you even say that while drinking wine? Or is it something in French? Italian? Or Californian?

Wine 101: A Beginners Guide – Chapter 1

Sep 3 2009

“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.” ~ Anonymous.

This quote is beyond true in my experience! While at a family barbecue several years ago, I tried a taste of my cousin’s wine, was disgusted, told my family they are nuts for drinking wine and I’ll just stick with beer, thank you very much. They all laughed and said, “Just wait a few years. By 22, you’ll be one of us.”

They were right; I now consider myself a wine-lover. And how did I get here – from college beer ponger and vodka tonics, to loving a good bottle of cabernet? I jumped in with both feet. There is no better way to start drinking wine than to do just that – drink and enjoy!

Remember to have an open mind to the possibilities of wine; this is supposed to be fun! When you go into tasting rooms, tell the attendants that you are just starting out and would really like to learn from their knowledge. They will be thrilled to teach you the building blocks of wine; which ones to start out with, how to taste wine, wine vocabulary, and what to pair with it. In this series, I will be the attendant, and give you my hints and suggestions.

If you have never enjoyed wine before, I suggest starting with a sweeter wine. A chenin blanc, riesling, viognier, gewurztraminer, or even a late harvest or ice wine will be your best bets to success. These wines are not going to knock you on your butt, because they have more of a fruit forward nose (smell) and palette (taste). Sweeter wines should be chilled to about 50degrees. If they are cooler than that, the flavors of the wine could be destroyed.

After you open the bottle and pour a glass, give it a little swirl. This allows the wine to breathe and will open up the aromas. Stick your nose in the glass, literally, and take a big whiff. For most of the above mentioned wines you will get a floral or fruity scent. After your nose has had the pleasure of the wine, let your taste buds in on the action. Take a drink and wash the wine all around your mouth. It will surprise you how it tastes different in the front of your mouth than in the back of the your mouth.

When this is all done, you are victorious! You have successfully tasted your first wine and are hopefully excited to move onto the next one.

My tip of the day: Take your time and enjoy wine; the bottle empties quicker than you think!