Wine vs cocktails,  Is wine the winner ? of course!

These days cocktails are all the rage. Versatile, crafty bartenders around town toying with infusions, herbs, oak treatments.  I have much respect for them and their craft, but at the same time, I really can't say I enjoy cocktails more than wine. 

Maybe over the years I've become used to wine and frankly, spirits will never change. Boooring. A vodka is a vodka today  and in a hundred years (barring any lead leaching from the bottle). Sure there will be new brands and labels and etc, but a spirit has the only advantage of not changing over time.

What is more interesting, a cocktail that can be replicated over and over or a bottle of wine that can only happen on year from one region? Id rather meet one Leonardo da Vinci than 100 Justin Biebers. Im sure he is a nice kid and all, but wont have much to offer at the dinner table. Same for cocktails. 

Plus, spirits tend to make me belligerent (in a poltergeist kinda way). I contend that there is something very factual of how your body handles the absorption of wine vs spirits that is very distinctive. Lets say you had the same amount of alcohol per volume. A buzz of wine is a mellower affair over martinis, as anyone who has tried can testify to. Why is that? It couldnt be just the alcohol. There are other factors at play that we have just starting to understand.

Even a biggest irk: some craft makers that take 20 minutes to make a drink. People, seriously, we are not saving lives here!. A drink  is meant to be a beverage of pleasure and I dare anyone to tell blind if the drink was poured out of a jug or crafted one ice cube at a time. Doesnt make sense from a restaurant owner point of view, or a barkeeper in a busy spot either.

I predict that cocktails will fade away again. The rise of interesting wines of obscure regions is inevitable. And when that time comes, people wont ask for a glass of white, but instead reach into the void and take a chance.

In the debate of cocktails vs wine,  I propose you try at at home responsibly. Science is an endless pursuit that anyone can take part in. I encourage you participate in this worthy endeavour, in moderation, of course.

Adrian Marquez

Sommelier, Anthropologist.

Oh sweeet Cheesus!

How do you maximize the pleasure of the combination? get the most of your wine and cheese?


Surprisingly, the answer is to make a little mess.


Here is what I've found that works best:1. Grab an equal size piece of cheese and bread. Best bread is white, plain, no frills. Anything else would really interfere with the cheese. Science first.
(once you know what cheese and wine works best, then you can change the variable of the bread)
2. put said cheese and bread in your mouth. mush around, but keep it in your mouth. You want to make a paste, that will be warm. Long story short, this is to get the most, This is the crucial part.
3. take a sip of wine. swish it around, mixing it with the cheese. maybe take a slight intake of air, to really make the flavors 'pop'.
4. enjoy the beautiful ride. swallow the cheese / wine combo, enjoy the finish
5. repeat as needed, or until you run out of cheese. Or wine.


And if you do run out of wine, give me a call, and I'll calm you down, talk you on the comedown. It happens.
You might find that some cheese doesnt jive with some wines, but eh, what can you do. 

You might find that whites are actually better and more flexible with a wider range of cheese. Neat, innit?

You might find that some cant be helped and shouldnt be had with wine. Beer can fill in those blanks.


Yours,


Adrian M.

In praise of: Low alcohol wines

I, for one, am tired of drinking high octane wines. The difference between a 16% alc wine and a 12% is a couple shots of tequila. And we all know what a couple more shots of tequila can do to you.

  Sure, fruit and alcohol bombs are good in a tasting and they are easier to understand, but at the end of the day,  there are things that can be told in whispers and be still just as good.   Everyone goes through stages like this, but Americans (and the Canadian cousins) just seem to stay stuck in the Faster, Higher, Stronger key. Culture can work in surprising ways, subtle as a breeze.

In my teen years it was Metallica all they way, but now I need to chill out and listen to something mellower. Maybe we do change with time, our tastes change, what we know changes. Maybe that is why the end of the road in wine is wine that is pleasurable and fragrant and light yet rich:  Paradoxes are good for the mind.

Yours,

Adrian Marquez

Sommelier, Anthropologist

In praise of a gem: Chateau de Sainte Gemme 2005

Chateau de Sainte Gemme 2005
Haut Medoc, Bordeaux. 13% $24 dollars or so.

www.sainte-gemme.com

I love when the LCBO brings in gems like this. Why is it a gem? it delivers great bang for the buck, of course.

To elaborate:

+ It shows that a wine doesnt have to be expensive to be great to drink.
+ It already had mellowing time in the bottle, so when you get it it's ready to drink. And what a joy to drink (no extreme decanting needed).
+ It shows the region and the producer well. This is a great example of what happens to a humble Haut Medoc of a great year (2005) after a few years in bottle.

So you want a classy wine that will swoon your date? fear not, this delivers the goods. No need to drop mad loot for a classy experience.

This will make believers of heathens, I dare you to find a Californian wine this tasty and sexy for this price.

Tasting note? sure:

Clean. Polished aromas of very ripe cherries, roses, and a bit of vanilla. Im daring to say a bit of lead pencil. Low to Mid acidity, soft tannins, great body, lengthy finish.
A joy to drink.

I invite you to pick up a bottle, pick pleasant company and enjoy this sweet ride.

EXTREEEME decanting

So you wanna decant? sexify you wine? Or you are just not patient and want something juicy and ready to go RIGHT NAO!

Fear no more.

Here is a humble rough guide for novices and lovers alike. Go buy a couple of bottles of white and red and try what you see below.

When to decant:

A great wine that you have no patience for. (by that I mean you cant wait for it to get better)
A wine that is too tannic (from youth, type of grape or just not that great)
When you know its a good wine, but its not showing much (when you drink it, there is nothing to smell)
White wine (the best whites can improve amazingly with a little bit of air)

Extreme decanting:
putting the wine in a blender or along those lines. Doable, but wont give you the fireworks you really pay for. It will soften the wine, but not 'age it'. Aging takes time.

When not to extreme decant:
An old wine, 10+years ( the sediment will be unpleasant, and it aged enough already!)


What to watch out for:

Sediment. Part of natural processes, and sign of a good wine. Extreme decanting will give your bottle and glass a mouthful of fine tannins. Not a bad thing, but the texture can be off-putting when you expect something silky smooth.
Its hard to know if your wine will have sediments, so I advice to check for that first.

Alternatives:

1. Decant the night before. Best done for brdx blends of decent quality. Though Pinot Noir might surprise you. Dont stir much, let air do its thing. (simple enough, innit?)

2. Decant and try it over several days. You'll notice how the wine changes and when its right for you. At some point it will hit a soft spot when the tannins are softer, and the aromatics jive better. Finding that sweet spot is where you want to be. This is good. Why?

a) gives you an idea of how long the wine will live (you will taste the difference)
b) gives you an idea of when do you like the wine the most (Might take time. Shocking, I know)
c) gives you an idea if you like the evolution of the wine. Some will show better than others, some grape varietals will show things you may or may not like.

3. Decant and stir. Legend has it that a young Mondavi used to do this backstage at wine tastings. Decant and stir to your hearts content.

4. Extreme decanting (use the blender). Many wine geeks have done this over the years. Some even have dedicated blenders for this. I heard about this years ago in erobertparker.com (an incredible fountain of knowledge, if a bit highbrow at times).
I think this introduces a bit more air than what is really necessary... but if the wine is a beast it helps make it a bit drinkable.

5. Time Traveling. Also from the geeks at erobertparker.com. Grab the leftovers, and throw them in the freezer. Label and drink at leisure. I find the flavor changes, but not as much as one would expect.

And at the end of the day, air will improve a wine, but the complex chemistry that needs to happen will take time. It will be faster at higher temperatures, so if you keep your superfancy wine at 55F 'your grandkids might enjoy it before you do', as Parker says.

Ive done more experiments with decanting, and what works best for me is to decant hours ahead, and air as necessary. No big mystery here. The catch is having enough patience and self restrain not to drink all the wine as it sits quietly in a decanter giving you comely eyes.