Cyprus Wine Blog - June 2009

There is no other beverage like wine with its vast variety of types and prices that can match any food in any place, any season and at any time of the day. One of the joys of opening a good bottle of wine is sharing it with friends. Whether you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or just entertaining friends and family, wine will make your function more memorable. This is also an ideal way to get guests together to learn about wine and experiment with new or unusual varieties. It’s a nice way to relax after a rough day. Wine conjures up visions of good food, good friends, good conversation and a general feeling of well-being. Nothing else is as closely associated with good times as wine.

Whether you’re already a connoisseur of fine wine, or simply enjoy a glass or two now and then, one of the best ways to enjoy wine and learn more about it is to host a wine tasting for friends. Hosting such an occasion in your home is a great way for you and your guests to become more familiar with the pleasures of wine while socializing in an intimate atmosphere that is relaxed yet sophisticated. A wine tasting party in your home is an easy way to make any gathering into a dynamic and memorable event, preferably in a light and informal atmosphere.

Wine tasting can be fun, educational, and very rewarding. We all have different sensory thresholds – the ability to distinguish tastes or flavours. Group feedback on a bottle of wine helps each member develop his or her palate and appreciation for good wine. Such parties also promote a healthy lifestyle – providing the wine is drunk in moderation. It has a number of health benefits including lowering your risk of contracting heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer and cataracts. It’s a good enough reason to enjoy a glass or two every night. Whatever the occasion, your guests will have an informative, interactive and enjoyable experience they will remember.

Wine itself shouldn't really be classed as a seasonal product, however there are people who would serve big, powerful, full-bodied reds firmly in the category of “winter wines”.

White and rosé wines are more popular during the summer, when we eat lighter meals and appreciate cooler and lighter drinks. From a commercial point of view, that practice makes a lot of sense, but the reality is that at all times of year, we eat a wide variety of food in terms of flavour and texture that calls upon a wide range of wine. The most important elements of enjoying wine is not so much the season, vintage or vineyard, but rather the occasion on which it is enjoyed. Of course, these are only shifts in emphasis. And although white wines are popular in summer, so are reds to go with barbecues. Most of us follow a diet that calls for a wide range of wines.

The great part of a wine tasting party is that it is very versatile – it can be held indoors, outdoors, on a big or small budget and with a large or small gathering. Like most things in life, preparation for a wine tasting party requires some careful planning in order to ensure maximum enjoyment and success. It can range from a formal gathering to an informal, fun party. If your guests are not big wine enthusiasts, then a nice informal occasion can be used to learn and experiment with wine and foods. There are countless ways of pairing wine, food and good companionship.

Organizing a home wine-tasting party for a small group of friends is actually much easier than you might think. The following are a few organisational points for parties where fun and enjoyment are the key factors.

A. How many people to invite? This is one of the first things you need to consider when organizing a wine-tasting party. The average is 8-14 people, but more intimate friends and family gatherings of 4-6 people can be equally as much fun.

B. Select a wine tasting theme. The next thing to do when planning a wine tasting party is to choose a theme which will set the tone and atmosphere (formal versus informal) and can help you plan the rest of the event. Possible wine tasting party themes include:

… Choosing a wine from a region or country: Pick a wine region or country and ask your guests to bring a bottle from that specific location. Straightforward but fun nonetheless! Each guest brings or the host provides wine from a particular region of the world.

… Blind Wine Tasting: Another issue that comes up is whether to do the tasting blind or not. A blind tasting has many virtues. It can remove some preconceptions, and it allows you to test your ability to pick out typical aspects in the wine. In some ways, however, a blind tasting can also be deceptive. Some wines, particularly young, tight and tannic ones, are hard to evaluate in a quick taste. Knowing what they are – if you know the winery well and how their wines typically evolve – can give you some clues. However a blind tasting can be good fun for beginners as well as for serious wine connoisseurs. Have each guest write down which grape the wine is made from, which region it comes from and how much they think the wine costs.

… Bring your favourite bottle: As the name suggests, each guest brings his favourite bottle of wine. As each bottle is opened, the guest who brought it can explain why this particular wine is his or her favourite. You can further limit this theme by asking your guests to bring their favourite red or white wine.

… Old World vs. New World Wine Tasting: A really interesting wine evening could centre on “New World (Europe/Mediterranean) vs Old World (USA, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Chile, etc.)” wines. This is where the wines are usually of the same variety but from different areas of the world. Guests try to guess which wine came from the “new” or “old” world.

… Vertical Wine Tasting: If your guests are more experienced wine drinkers, you’ll want to consider a vertical tasting. A vertical tasting could show you the differences between vintages. This is where you will be tasting wines from the same producer and grape variety from several different vintages. It is interesting because is allows for just one variable, the year. A discussion on the factors that changed from year to year, thereby affecting the wine, could be very enlightening.

… Horizontal Wine Tasting: A horizontal wine tasting is also for the more experienced wine drinkers. It compares wines of the same vintage, same grape variety but from different wineries. A horizontal wine tasting could focus on the wine producers of specific region, thus enabling participants to make a more realistic comparison between producers.

… Best Value Wine: This involves suggesting a price or associating price with wine quality. The exercise implies simply withholding the price of the various wines featured in the tasting. People naturally perceive higher-priced wines to be superior to wines that don’t cost quite as much. Their task is to decide which they like better. It is interesting to see if people “prefer” the cheap wine or the more expensive. Another version of this tasting game that can also be tricky is when guests are each given two glasses with the same wine, but are told that the cost is different. They might get a shock when they are told they have tasted the same wine and there should be no difference in taste at all.

… Identify what you tasted earlier: A simple but attention-grabbing approach is to pour three distinctly different wines during the first part of the evening, and then pour one of them again, without identifying it, and ask everyone to guess which one it is. The key to increasing the chance of people correctly guessing the “blind” wine at the end is to pour three wines that are very different from each other. As everyone tastes the wines, they should feel free to suggest what they think they might be. Finally, ask one of the people who correctly identified the mystery wine to explain what clues led to the correct answer.

… Other themes based on quality and or price could be labelled " Wines Under €XY”, "On the Light Side", "How Sweet It Is", "Big Reds", “Aromatic Whites”, etc.

C. Number and type of glasses: One important aspect to remember when planning your wine tasting party is to make sure you have enough wine glasses to go around. Each person will need at least two: one for sampling reds and one for whites (if you are serving both). Always use nice, clean, clear wine tasting glasses appropriate for your wine type.

D. Bread and Water: Providing plain bread and water between wines allows for guests to cleanse their palate and sets them up to fully experience the next wine. Have some water nearby so your guests can rinse their mouths and glasses between tasting sessions. It’s a good idea for everyone to stay well hydrated. Also, have a large ice bucket or receptacle on hand to catch used rinse water or unwanted wine.

E. Food: During the tasting, put out a basket of unflavoured crackers or bread to cleanse the palette between wines. After the tasting, you can offer appetizers or a light meal. Cheese and dessert are good options since they are easy to pair with wine. Food should always be served after and never before or during a wine tasting. Make sure your menu corresponds to the wine you serve. Here are some pairings to consider:

. Light White wines: Ham, turkey, chicken, cheese.

. Aromatic White wines: shellfish, cream soups, rich fish dishes, vegetable side dishes.

. Light Red Wines: turkey, roast beef, sausage

. Big Red Wines: Roast beef/lamb/chicken caviar, smoked salmon, cold cuts, egg dishes, soups, stuffed mushrooms, BBQ spareribs or sausages – all pair well with full-bodied reds.

. Dessert wines: sweets.

F. Tips and suggestions

The following short list of tips could be used as a guideline to help you organize your wine tasting party for the maximum enjoyment of all participants.

1. Typically, when tasting wines, you will want to work from dry to sweet with white wines and progress from light to full-bodied with red wines. Also, it is ideal to start with younger wines and move to the more mature wines at the end. Have your guests sample each wine by itself, assessing the wine’s unique colour, aroma and flavours.

2. Providing plain bread and water between wines allows for guests to cleanse their palate and sets them up to fully experience the next wine.

3. If you want your guests to rate the wines, give each one a pen and a pad of paper before the tasting. Encourage them to make notes as they drink. Making notes unconsciously forces each person to make up their minds and commit themselves before they reach a general conclusion of the wines being sampled.

4. As you serve each type of wine, describe it (unless you are having a guessing party!) and serve 60-80 ml (two ounces per glass) of each wine for each guest. This is about two inches in a glass. Thus for eight people, one 750 ml bottle should be enough. All the wine glasses should have the same amount of wine.

5. You may need to have a quality wine corkscrew such as a heavy duty commercial opener that makes opening fast and effortless.

6. Usually no more than six wines should be in the tasting.

7. Wines should be served at their proper temperatures. Red wines should be served at room temperature (14º-18ºC) and whites at a slightly cooler temperature (8º-12ºC). Use a bucket full of ice and water to chill the wine to its ideal temperature.

8. The tasting should follow a pattern: Pour a small amount of wine into each person’s glass and have the group examine the wine. Instruct your guests to evaluate the wines using a three-step process:

First, have them look at the clarity and colour. Wine should have an appealing look.

Next, they should smell the wine.

Finally, have them taste the wine.

9. The type of music at a wine tasting party also helps create an international or domestic atmosphere. Choosing music for a wine tasting is a responsibility you should take seriously. The music played in the background at any event frames it, and even though it is in the background, the music will get noticed, especially at a wine tasting. Classical orchestral music is often a winning choice. Find music that suits the ethos of the wine tasting.

10. Smoking at a tasting may be inconsiderate, even offensive, to many people, but it also seriously impairs the ability of the smoker and others nearby to evaluate the wines. For the same reason, avoid heavy use of cologne or perfume.

G. Concluding remarks

The best wine tasting parties are a seamless integration of wine learning and social enjoyment. Encourage your guests to share and discuss their wine knowledge. If you have a computer or wine books available, keep them handy for your guests to use during the tasting. For an added treat, contact a local winery and see if they have an in-home tasting policy. With very little effort, your circle of friends can get together on a regular basis to enjoy and broaden their knowledge and appreciation of one of life’s greatest pleasures. By following the easy tips in this article, you too can start to become an expert in one of the world’s most sophisticated and elegant cultural treasures: the art of wine.

Never forget that the true purpose of wine is to enhance your enjoyment of life. If planning and running a wine tasting becomes a stressful and unpleasant task, you’re trying too hard. Relax, plan, enjoy, and most importantly, keep it light! Have fun, but please remember to drink responsibly and do not let others drink and drive. If possible, have someone volunteer to be a designated driver to ensure that everyone gets home safely.

Wine News and Information

« The wine cellar of the UK government is worth nearly £800,000, a Foreign Office minister has revealed recently. Gillian Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign Office, told parliament that the government’s cellar held over 39,000 bottles of wine. She said that the wine, including around 500 bottles of spirits and liqueurs, was worth around £792,000. Merron was responding to a question about the cellar in Whitehall from Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster, who accused the government of living “beyond its means”.

“They expect the rest of us to cut back, but they still haven’t given up their taste for the high life,” he said. “Rather than wasting public money on expensive bottles of wine, it could be used to help get Britain out of its economic problems.” Official figures revealed last year that ministers spent £5m of taxpayers’ money on wining and dining. More than £100,000 went on maintaining the Whitehall wine cellar.

« Women in the United States who frequently drink wine tend to prefer red wine, drink it most often with meals and make their purchasing decisions based on grape variety and price, according to a survey conducted online. The survey of women’s wine-drinking habits and attitudes toward wine was conducted in partnership with Vinexpo as part of a larger global survey of more than 4,300 women in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Among the U.S. respondents, 93% said that they drink wine at least once a week. When they do, it’s most often with meals (80%). Also, the most common occasion for all the women surveyed globally was to relax at the end of the day (67%).

When asked to choose up to two reasons why they drink wine, 92% of American women said they like the taste, while 71% said because it goes well with food – also the most common reasons among global respondents. Image is not a key concern; less than 2% of American women and 11% globally said they drink wine because it’s fashionable. In addition, 97% of the U.S. respondents believe that wine is compatible with a healthy, balanced diet. For the Americans, the two most important factors in choosing a wine are the grape variety (68%) and the price (56%). Women who considered label and package design to be important were in the minority: only 4% among the Americans and 22% of all women surveyed. American women also said that they more often like to try new wines (65%) than to buy a wine they have had before and liked (35%). The 431 women surveyed in the United States ranged in age from 21 to more than 60 years old, with the largest segment, 38%, ranging from 31 to 45 years old.

« Reading a wine label can be as easy as reading the alphabet or as difficult as trying to decode a foreign language: it all depends on whose label it is and where it is from. New World labels tend to be a straight-forward “here’s what it is” approach, with the varietal or blend clearly labelled, and the producer, where the grapes were grown and the alcohol content right there in plain view. Old World wines have a reputation for “masking” key information, but this is not the case at all. If you know what to look for, you can easily decipher the pertinent label information with very little effort. Instead of the varietal being the primary piece of information on the Old World label, it is the location - where the wine is from. Old World wines are heavily invested in their individual terroir, not necessarily the specific grape, though if you know the region, then you will also have a pretty good handle on the possible grapes that made their way into the bottle.

Monolithos Monthly News

The never-ending job of caring for the vineyard continues. This is a time, as the days lengthen and heat and goodness goes into the vines, when the winegrower has to be especially attentive against vineyard maladies. The vineyards are inspected, weeded, and sprayed, as weeds constantly compete with the grapevines for nutrients. The vines are again trimmed to encourage fruit production.

At the Winery, the last bottling of the 2008 vintage was completed with the Cabernet Sauvignon. Of course, the entire range of Monolithos wines including previous vintages is available for tasting or purchasing from your regular point of sale or directly from us. If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or sample any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember:

The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by WINE.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist)