| An Introduction to Wines this article maybe copied whole or in part please acknowledge the author By Charles Stephan Wine has become such an extremely important beverage that NO decent restaurant, Pub or hotel would ever think of being without wine on their menu. In Singapore the popularity is fast replacing other drinks and it has become extremely fashionable and trendy to sip wine at functions and parties instead of being a “beer guzzler”. There appears to be an incredible amount of mystery surrounding wines, however we hope to solve those mysteries with this introduction to wines. It is true that there are so many wines on the market and “how do I choose? “ seems to be the question I am asked most of the time. We shall cover that aspect too. The most important thing that you need to know is that you enjoy wines and would like to explore more about wines. Like every other subject, you can delve so deeply into wines that you can spend a lifetime learning about it and still not cover every detail. However this introduction will give you the basics and will allow you to talk and discuss wines and through that process learn even more about wines. This booklet only covers the very bare essentials to get you on the way to tasting and enjoying wines and if after you have finished reading this and enjoyed the wines, you do want to know more about wines, then you are definitely on the way to becoming a connoisseur, so stroll into any bookshop and browse through the many wine books available there. Of course you can also just go out and start buying different wines but always remember the wines you liked and the grape variety, then try some different ones always knowing that you now do know some wines which YOU personally like. |
| The most important thing I can tell you is that it doesn’t matter what the so called “experts” tell you about a wine. Unless you taste it yourself and find it acceptable, then go ahead and buy it. Basically there are 2 things to remember. You either like it or you don't like it. NOTHING MORE ! By all means experiment as much as you want by trying different varietals from different countries and remember what you liked and didn’t quite like. I like to compare the passion of the first sip of wine out of a new bottle like opening up a durian (for those who like durians), we all wait VERY expectantly for that first bite and then either savour the splendid richness, bitter sweet taste,smoothness etc OR we cringe at the hardness of the flesh and the dull flavour. Wine is no different and can be savoured exactly the same way. So enjoy yourself with this new found "hobby" and don’t be afraid to ask questions about wine, this only helps enrich your knowledge and awareness. You can also email me with any questions you may have and hopefully join us at our Wine Lounge at North Canal Rd to savour some delicious wines and mix with more cool people having a grape time ! Till then……… Cheers !! Charles Stephan www.winebos.com charles@winebos.com White or Red Wine ? This question is often asked of me here and my answer is simple. If you have never tasted wine or just starting, then go for the whites first. This will give you some idea of the flavour and texture of wines. Until a few years ago there was more white wine consumed worldwide than red, however with the advent of medical discoveries on the benefits of red wine, it has just overtaken white wine production. On a hot day and if you |
| feel like a sip of cold wine, there’s nothing better then a cool glass of Chardonnay or Semillon so make sure your white wine is well chilled before drinking it. At a recent wine tasting I did with about 20 staff from a trendy club, where we tried both white and red, the majority of staff, aged 21-26 preferred the cool cold white and it’s the same white wine as you find in this kit if you chose the one with white wine. In any case after trying wines, it just becomes a matter of personal taste, so don’t be afraid to tell people what you like and why you like it. After all you drink it, you taste it AND you pay for it too. It is important however to know that when you decide to open both white and red wines, you should begin with the white and finish with the red. Cold/Room Temperature/Ice ? Some places serve red wine chilled, especially those out in the open air (Al Fresco) is this correct ? Again this is subjective, personally I do not mind red wine that is chilled above room temperature or served straight out of the fridge, however not below 16-18 degrees C. If your outlet only serves chilled Red,you can always ask them to serve you non chilled wine or wait for the wine to “breathe” and “warm down”. It’s an interesting experiment for you to taste the wine at different stages of warming down and you will definitely notice the change in the taste of wines. Some places even put ice into wines which is again not advised, however if your customer or guest says he wants ice in his wine, are you going to say “ NO” ? The standard rule of thumb is White wine must be chilled and red wine at room temperature (aircon room). |
| How do I tell a good wine from a bad wine ? There is no such thing as a BAD wine. It is just not your taste. Most beginners would probably find a $5000 Burgundy or Barolo "bad" due to the high tannins. So just taste the wines and you have to judge for yourself. So the question is How good is the wine ? This is difficult because if YOU are the judge then only YOU can tell me what you do or do not like. Again it comes to simple tasting knowledge about the various wines and it doesn’t matter what the “experts” think is great, if you and your friends don’t like it. I have selected some wines which I have tested with many Singaporeans and Expats which come in my recommendation list at the end of this booklet. Try some of them and if you agree with my tastes, then that’s great for future reference. However make sure you try other wines too so that you create a mental reference point for many different wines. When I am asked "What would be the Best wine for Them or what is the best wine in the world ?" I say that the best wine in the world is the LAST wine you tasted and really enjoyed. Is the label important ? I can only quote from one of the many Wine Guide books and couldn’t put it any better. “Most importantly, never forget that, however smart the label and illustrious the name, a glass of wine is essentially a drink that has to taste good to YOU.” What about ratings and points scores ? Some people pride themselves by only drinking wines that have been “highly rated” by certain judges as being excellent or score over 90 points at wine judging events. These are “wine snobs” and not really wine lovers who appreciate the differing tastes wine may bring no matter what the name, age, price etc. I am sure you have heard the three famous story published recently in most news papers where one person who bought a case of wine returned the wine because he didn’t like it. The following week it scored 97 points and he rushed back to the store in a hurry to see if he could buy it again. Then the famous story where in France they put a medium range wine into 2 different bottles. One was a fancy high class top of the range bottle and the other a very mediocre table wine bottle....................Guess What ???? |
| Yes, you guessed it, the judges found the “fancy” wine wonderful with lots of body and length etc whereas the “unfancied” wine was classed as light flavourless and lacking almost everything the fancied wine received accolades for. Finally the masterpiece of judging came when some smart cookie decided to tint a white wine red and see if the judges could tell the difference or pick it as white wine…….they all failed !!! So as I said before, the most important judge is YOU and not me nor anyone who pretends to be an expert. Is wine really healthy as they say ? In one word YES, but let’s define this properly OK ? In the early 1990s several studies questioned why obese and non obese French men who ate all the ‘wrong” things like cheese, cream, butter and lots more cholesterol food, had such low levels of heart disease. It was credited to their consumption of red wine and is now a proven medical fact. Closer to home and from my own experience a close friend who had very high cholesterol levels started to regularly drink our red wines and after a continuous reading of 260-280, was recently diagnosed with a level of 180 after a 6 month red wine course. So how does it actually help ? We all know that the development of cholesterol will block the arteries and in simple terms, red wine helps to reduce the cholesterol level that block the arteries thus lowering the chances of a complete block which causes heart attacks. Furthermore it is an anticoagulant which makes blood less likely to clog. Red wine is also an antioxidant and this contains resveratrol, an important ingredient for cardio protective effects of wine. This does NOT mean you should start drinking copious quantities of wine, instead my advice is to drink moderately. One glass per day for medicinal purposes and up to 2 if you really enjoy wine |
| Too much wine is just as bad as too much whisky too much beer etc etc. Now for the Wines in your kit……..(for those of you who bought our starters kit) Opening the bottle This seems to be a very mysterious and often difficult job, but once you’ve opened one bottle “professionally” a sudden urge seems to develop to open more and more bottles just for the practice. 1. Place the bottle on a table or, if you’re sitting down put it between your legs 2. With the little pen knife at the end of the opener, remove the foil cap by sliding the sharp edge just below the top edge of the bottle (see illust) 3. With the foil removed take the corkscrew part and insert it in the center of the cork and start turning it clockwise until the coiled part is all the way into the cork 4. Use the hinge lever on the edge of the bottle and place your fingers around it |
| In most cases it really becomes better and better as you get to the bottom of the bottle. This means one of two things. Either the wine is “ageing” and maturing and the full flavours come through OR you are becoming drunk and the alchohol is completely overriding your taste buds. If you are not continuing with the wine I suggest immediate re corking and putting it in the fridge, even the reds. White wine will stay OK for another day or so and the red for another 2 days or sometimes 3. If you have a vacuum pump then you can double the life span. With the advent of the Screw Cap (Stelvin Closure) it is now easier to open and close the wine bottle and in most cases this will allow you to keep the bottle a little longer. I have personally tested a bottle of red which I opened everyday to pour one glass and close it again and the bottle lasted 5 days and the last glass tasted perfect. I am a big fan of the Stelvin Closure and now it looks like the "Big Boys" Like Henschke and Penfold's Grange are also using the Stelvin. In fact tests done in Australia rcently comparing a 10 year old wine under cork and 10 year old under Stelvin showed that the Stelvin closure kept the freshness and bold fruit taste far better than the cork closure. How to Analyze/Judge/Taste a wine What I am asking you to do now is not quite the norm when you get a glass of wine at a party or at a friends, however it can be done when you are asked to give your views on the wine. In most cases just sip it and then decide…… just like that durian..either “damn shiok man” or just so so. 1. Fill the glass about one quarter full with wine 2. Start twirling the wine in your glass in circular fashion, this releases the aroma. 3. Now you have to smell the wine and you do that by sticking your nose well into the glass and inhale……..let whatever thought your senses tell you come to mind, be it citrus, melon, petrol, cinnamon etc etc 4. After you have distinguished that, put the glass to your lips and take a sip don’t swallow. Twirl the wine in your mouth almost like a mouth wash, also try sucking it by pursing your lips and suck air through it so that the spray hits the back of your throat. |
| Slowly lever the cork out as shown below. If you remember to apply downward pressure with your arms, keeping the bottle firmly on it’s base and then hinge the lever upwards, it becomes relatively easy Good etiquette dictates that you do not make a “popping” noise when pulling out the cork. This requires subtle practice and takes a little while.Don’t worry too much about this for now, after all we want to taste this wine right ? If you have opened a red wine then allow it to “breathe” for a little while 10-20 mins is fine, quicker still if you pour it out in a glass. If you can’t wait then just go ahead. Take the wine glass to your lips and always just try very small amounts first. Let the wine trickle down your throat and start your taste buds working. White wine will remain the same unless it becomes warmer,however the red wine will change flavour as it reacts with the air |
| Some of the wines we have found that go so well with spicy Asian dishes are the Spanish Tempranillo, Californian Cab Sauv and German Riesling. Chilli Crab goes well with Viognier and certain softer reds Spicy Asian Foods always seem to go better with fruity wines so don’t be afraid to pull out a Riesling or a Viognier for these dishes as well. When going through a whole wine dinner course, always start with the light whites first, then the heavier whites followed by light reds (Merlot/Pinot), then move to the Cabernet Sauvignons and Shiraz If you are a cheese lover,here’s some good news ALL wines go with cheese. Try the Dutch Gouda and spicy Gouda also Australian Cheddars. In many cases the sauce will dictate the wine used. So for a rich strong sauce use a strong wine (Our Altue Cabernet Sauvignon) . For evening barbecues use a light red like a Merlot or a Chardonnay. Here are some “local” recommendations, but that’s all they are recommendations not MUST match type. Chicken Rice Type dishes……..................Kara Bay Sauvignon Blanc Stir fried Vegetables dishes…..............Good Hope Chenin Blanc Claypot Rice Chicken………………….......Goldleaf Red, Kara Bay Pinot Noir Claypot Rice Beef……………………, Goldleaf Classic Red, Searidge Merlot Beef Rendang type……………….Amesbury Shiraz, Watershed Shiraz Cabernet Roti prata with fish curry……………………Bianco Leggero Beef Kway Teow……………………………Altue Merlot or Goldleaf Red Mee Rebus……………………..………Kara Bay Pinot Noir Tahu Goreng……………………………………….Rosso Leggero, Searidge Merlot |
| This may make you cough, however this is a good way to test the wine flavour and alcohol content. 5. After fully sloshing it around your mouth, swallow it, although at proper wine tastings you spit it out. 6. Then give your honest views of what you think it tasted like. Now remember wine very seldom taste of grapes, favourite descriptions are berry, tropical fruits, chocolatie, spicy (e.g shiraz) leathery 7. So now you can start analyzing wines but the most important thing is to be honest with yourself. I remember sitting with some judges who invariably judged well known labels far better than the unknowns and missing the chance to savour some delicious bouquet wines of unknown makers, which I gladly took home. Wine and Food Another much asked question especially here in Singapore, with such a rich variety of Eastern, Western, Indian, Mediterranean etc foods available. Having done many Asian Food dinners (Thai/Indian/Peranakan/Si Chuan etc) I have found that really the only way is trial and error. So often I have been to exotic matchings and also read about pairings of Chilli Crab with Shiraz (awful) that I cringe when I see the supposedly made in heaven pairings done by so called "Experts". I have even seen an Expert apologize after a dinner when he realized that the wine and food pairing was actually way out and nothing matched. You dont need the best Wines to macth some of the great local foods. Chilli Crab, Most Currys, Thai spicy food etc have all been succesfully matched by us through a simple process called trial and error. I will never host a wine dinner if I have not been asked to match the wines and the foods myself. Here’s a quick reference for some dishes and which wines we recommend, now remember, after a while YOU will become an expert at deciding this because you have developed the right taste buds by drinking the many wines available. The old rule always said Red wine with meat White wine with Fish/Poultry. I think in a lot of cases that rule has flown out the window especially with the strength of red wine and the delicate nature of Asian dishes |
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| Nasi Goreng………………………………….Goldleaf White Nasi Lemak…………………………Kara Bay Sauv. Blanc Goldleaf Classic White Beef Satay (peanut sauce)…………………Watershed Shiraz, Goldleaf classic Red Chilli Crab ……………Lanz Thomson Viognier, Harlow Ridge Cab Sauv (avail. at Jumbo) Durian and Durian Puff………………………Lillypilly Sweet Harvest Sashami (Salmon)………………………………Deinhard Pinot Noir Char Kway Teow…………...............……Rosso Leggero or Goldleaf Classic Red Take home favourites Pizza’s…………………………….… Amesbury Shiraz or for Mirafiori Chianti KFC…………………………………............Goldleaf Red/Searidge Merlot If you are having people over for dinner and you are not sure what wine to serve them (maybe they’re Expats) then I can assure you that the Goldleaf's Classic Red and White is fine as a white and a red and so is the Amesbury range red and white, also you can take the Q series red and white which will not disappoint you nor your guests as it is served in the first class lounge of Cathay Pacific. All the above wines are used throughout Singapore in Hotels/Clubs and First class lounges and not just old stock desperately looking for a home Do visit our web site www.winebos.com or email us at sales@winebos.com with any enquiries you may have. Copyright - The Author has NO objections to the copying of this article with due acknowledgement |
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| Rosso & Bianco Leggero |
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| Goldleaf Classic Red |