Wine Appreciation – The Discovery
Welcome to the Wonderland of Wine.
For neophytes just starting out on their initiation journey into the world of wine, it’s exciting to discover that, like life, there are many different stages to explore from youth to adolescence to maturity.
Seasoned wine lovers of course will know from experience that real wine appreciation takes patience, an education of mind and, of course, the senses. The one downside to this growth can be that the more you to learn to appreciate wine, the more appealing older and more mature wines become…and the younger wines considerably less so. However, the journey itself is a path to discovery, so learn to savour every moment.
1. Youth (of wine and drinkers)
Young wines express themselves primarily through fruity notes; as you will agree if you are a fan of Beaujolais Nouveau which can be summarized each year by its banana, raspberry and cherry flavors. As appealing as this can be to younger drinkers, the disadvantage is that these wines only show a partial and as yet unachieved aspect of their full potential. Take note: wine is NOT a fruit juice!
2. Adolescence (of wine and drinkers)
Slightly older wines add an extra layer, with floral flavors or plant fragrances adding to the fruity tones. For example, expect to taste violet, lime tree, honeysuckle or box tree. What you will take from this stage is that, all of a sudden, several doors open and close to a multi-dimension reality of the divine possibilities of wine…leaving you, the drinker, more freedom to decide which door you’d like to re-enter in the future and re-focus those heightened senses on.
3. Maturity (of wine and drinkers)
Mature wine is where it really all happens. As the name implies, these wines have reached their optimum potential during aging and exhibit a pleasing combination of aromas, flavors and bouquet. The wine can finally be at ease to reveal both its mineral and earthy touch: silex, oil, truffle, forest leaves. Now, you know that the journey is complete and, like Alice herself, you have been fully projected into the Wonderland of Wine. Enjoy it.
On a philosophical note and in conclusion, the funny thing about all of these stages is that the journey just described (which should also be the one followed for any wine tasting) is actually the reverse process to the one that produced the wine in the first place. Here, it all started in the soil or terroir…then grew the vine stock or the plant…then blossomed the flowers which finally became the fruit or grape. So, you could say that by enjoying mature wines we have actually come full circle – just like the circle of life!
This article is written by Rene Wong, Wine Advisor at Bacchus & Century, shop 2 , 30-32 Wyndham Street, Lang Kwai Fong, Tel:6681 1825.
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