Reader’s Digest Articles by Ben Killerby
Recently, wine writers Huon Hooke and Max Allen teamed up with Ben
Killerby to write a special feature for the Readers Digest on wine.
Here is one of Ben’s articles as it appeared in the Digest…
Wine Tasting Like a Pro
By Ben Killerby
“Follow these steps and you’ll soon develop a finer appreciation of
the
drop…”
Look at it
First, check the wine has no obvious faults. That is, it isn’t
cloudy or fizzy and there are no solid elements floating around.
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Second, check it is the right colour for its type and
age. A young white (one-to-three years old) is usually a
pale straw colour with a tinge of green around the rim.
As a white gets older, it becomes yellower. Later, it
turns golden and when it is old, brown. |
A red wine is usually a deep crimson with a purple tinge. Then it
takes on a brick red colour. When really old, it turns to brown.
Nose it
The simplest way to “nose” a wine is to lift up the glass, swirl
the wine around a little to help release the aroma, put your nose
over the top of the glass and take one short sniff. Try shutting
your eyes and asking yourself, Is this wine clean? That is, make
sure it does not smell like wet hessian (corked wine), vinegar
(volatile wine), rotten eggs or sulphur (too much sulphur dioxide at
bottling).
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Next, ask yourself, Is the smell typical of the variety?
This requires a little knowledge, but generally, there are
one or two key indicators. For example, chardonnay often
smells like melons or peaches. If it smells like fruit
salad, it probably does not have the typical chardonnay
characters. |
Taste it
Finally, you can drink it! Two things are now going to happen.
First, you will get some impression of the sweetness, acidity,
tannin and body of the wine via the tongue. The rest of the taste
sensation comes from the aroma of the wine in the nose.
Take a generous sip and hold it in your mouth for a few seconds.
Then swallow it or spit it out. (OK, spit it out only if you are in
a wine-tasting session, not in a restaurant.)
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Winemakers have another trick that helps them uncover a
wine’s nuances – but it takes a little practice. Take the
wine in your mouth and tilt your head down. Now open your
lips slightly and at the same time draw air in through your
mouth so that the wine is aerated. This makes a slurping,
gurgling sound. Weigh up the flavour components. Pay
particular attention to the “persistence of flavour” – how
long you can taste the wine after you have swallowed it. The
longer the taste, the better the wine – assuming, of course,
the flavour was enjoyable! |
A Little Match Making
By Ben Killerby
“The Right Food. The Right Wine. Perfect”
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Chardonnay
Seafood with butter sauce, pasta with cream
sauce, veal, chicken, turkey, ham.
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| Riesling Mild cheeses, mussels,
prawns, Asian dishes, sashimi, ham, pork, lobster, tandoori
chicken.
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Sauvignon Blanc Oysters, salmon,
seafood salad, Irish stew, goats cheese and strongly
flavoured cheese.
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| Gurwurztraminer Spicy
dishes, Thai or Chinese food, curry, smoked salmon, pork and
sauerkraut, onion tart, spiced/peppered cheese.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Duck, spicy beef, pate, rabbit, roasts, spicy poultry,
cheddar, blue cheese, sausage, kidneys.
Pinot Noir
Braised chicken, cold duck, rabbit, roasted turkey,
roasted beef, lamb, veal.
Merlot
Braised chicken, cold duck, roasted turkey or beef, lamb,
veal, stew, liver, venison, meat casseroles.
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Shiraz Braised chicken, chili,
peppercorn steak, meat stew, barbecued meat, spicy meats,
garlic casserole, ratatouille.
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