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Wine Not Give It A Try? By GUY BOURSOT
Guy Boursot is a wine presenter and consultant and is based in West Cork. Over the last 30 years, he has given upwards of 1,000 talks on wine - in person, on radio, and on television. Guy comes from a long line of passionate wine enthusiasts, and you can experience this passion in An Culúrlann on Friday October 20th. Contact guy@boursot.ie The words “wine” and “tasting” are enough to frighten off many people. It is assumed that there will be much swilling, sniffing, gargling and spitting. But that’s not necessarily what it’s about.
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The appreciation of wine is subjective, like reading a book – everybody has different taste and what one person loves, another doesn’t. There’s no right or wrong and it’s all about what you enjoy: pure and simple. Some people think they should know something about wine. This is based on an Guy hosts a variety of talks all over, as well as in old regime in which media. people with money bottle also leads to deeper colour, were generally more again via oxidation from the wine wine drinkers than beer drinkers being in contact with air through and so, whether they liked it or the cork. Wine is alive and evolves not, wealthier people had a hand constantly. in linking wine to money. But wine For a bit of fun, you could smell drinking is now universal, whether it. There should be no smell of it’s a bottle from the supermarket cork – assuming of course that at a knockdown price of €9.99 or the wine has a cork! What do you whether it’s a fine Bordeaux at smell? Elderflowers, blackcurrants €500. or gooseberries –almost invariably However if you are curious, signs of Sauvignon Blanc? Or look at the colour of the wine. A a more cherry-ish aroma, and it white will be anything between could be Pinot Noir? There’s a colourless, through lime to a whole array of flavours, but the deep golden colour. A red can be curious thing is that wine seldom anything between deep purple smells of grapes! through to brown. Colour depends Before swallowing the wine, try on various characteristics such as rolling it around in your mouth a grape variety, climate, winemaking little, perhaps breathing in through techniques and age of the wine. your mouth at the same time. Colour change, in the main, is Take at least five seconds and caused by oxidation. you should find that its flavour is A warm multiplied. climate is likely There is no science to tasting to give a deeper wine – it is more useful to coloured wine, professionals who, in one session as does putting might try tens or hundreds of the juice into different wines, trying to work out oak casks, which will fit their buying criteria. when the Appreciating wine should be fun liquid breathes and don’t get too hung up about (oxidises) the “what should I do?” - after all, through the you’re only pouring it down your oak. Time in throat!
DiscoverDuhallow@irdduhallow.com
Issue 100; October 20th, 2023
