AnuvaBlog

Having a glass of house wine brings memories of my trips through Italy and France, where house wine is the most common wine ordered on all menus. The anticipation and mystery of drinking an unknown brand and unknown varietal can be both overwhelming and wonderful for wine professionals. I for one, normally look for a wine that suites my mood or the food I’m having at the time. Perusing and studying the list wherever I go is a must. But last night, when I saw vino “de la casa”, I thought, “time for a break.”

A feeling of relief came over me. Instead of increasing my expectations for an expressive varietal, concentrated blend, or young fruit forward wine, my expectations subsided. Wine became a drink, a beverage and not some nectar of the Gods. And surprisingly, it was great!! I didn’t worry about the glass I drank out of, swirling, sniffing or swishing. I just had a glass of wine, and found that in one of wine’s purest forms–table wine–there is still much pleasure to be derived.

Anuva prides itself on selecting ultra-premium micro-produced wines. But this wine lover will also leave room for simplicity, home and relaxation.

Sommeliers come in all shapes and sizes. Most sommeliers at restaurants will have been in charge or at least had a major part of the creation of the wine list and therefore know that list intimately. But this also means that they will tend to be tied to the wine they have put on their list. Understandable since they are trying to sell you wine for your dinner.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, though, this means that all of the wine will be from Argentina. Not unusual in a protectionist country. In Argentina, foreign wine hardly exists except for at the most posh of restaurants (like 3) and wine shops (literally 3). A sommelier in Argentina, therefore, and especially in Buenos Aires, will be recommending Argentine wine. Funny, that’s what I recommend.

But since wine is all about taste its good to know what you like and how to communicate that idea to the sommelier. If you like fruit forward, young malbecs, then about 50% of all wines made in Argentina will appeal to you. If you like more herbaceous, tannic wines, and actually know what that means, then a sommelier should have no trouble picking one from his list.

Why not start with the basics, though, which is probably what the sommelier will do anyway? Red or white, price range, regional preference, varietal preference. After narrowing this down then, the sommelier will usually try to push you into a slightly higher price range since s/he will work inevitably on commission.

A sommelier must  always ask what you are eating because  food combining is an art, and the sommelier should have designed his/her list around the food at the restaurant.

The same goes for buying at a wine shop. Narrow the choice of wine down by region, price, varietal, characteristics and food combining and you’re good to go.

My first question when I approach a winery to sample their wine for potential purchase is “Do you have a blend?” The tendency to make 100% varietals is all too common especially in the new world. It can actually be quite amusing to see some of these wineries lists of wines they make–extensive, well marketed, different price points–to find that they do not have a single blend or sometimes even bi-varietal.

Take this classic example: a winery will have their varietal chardonnay, viognier, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, syrah, malbec, merlot and cabernet. Not only that but they will have what they do best–say syrah, cabernet and malbec–in reserve and grand reserve levels as well. Theoretically this means higher quality grapes were used but usually just means that more oak was used.  It seems obvious to me that a blend would be a natural, normal, logical progression of such an incredible number of varietals under one roof.

But alas, many wineries have fallen prey to marketing and lack of interest….

It seems to me that the biggest reason that wineries focus on varietals is because of sales and marketing. It is easier for consumers to understand what a merlot is as opposed to a Don Juan or a Cuatro Primos. That would involve turning around the bottle and reading the label to find out what is in it, if the varietals used are even listed. Not only that but it would involve a decision making process where, instead of comparing one varietal wine to the same varietal–ostensibly a direct comparison–one has to compare the types of wine involved as well. All of a sudden the decision making process just got a lot harder. Wineries at times worry about confusing the consumer and therefore stay away from blending.

But what worries me is that blends are simply gorgeous and are what truly represent a winemaker’s talent. It takes a deep knowledge of the characteristics of one’s wine to create a better blended wine than the varietals with which one started. Not to mentions countless hours of experimentation.

So hats off to the winemakers who have faith that the final consumer will want to take that leap and try that complex blend that keeps on giving.

For those of you who feel overwhelmed in making choices about wine at restaurants or at wine shops and supermarkets that have inordinately large selections, this blog is for you. Any restaurant with an enormous wine list (say 1000 labels or more) should have a sommelier on hand to guide your decision. Remember, a sommelier ultimately wants to sell you wine but also should ask some basic questions to help guide his recommendation.

First, the sommelier will probably ask what you are eating, or what type of event the wine is for (solo consumption, a dinner, a series of hors d’oeuvres, etc.). This will help to characterize the pairing. Usually sommeliers will go with traditional pairings: stronger wines with stronger foods, like-like combinations.

Second, the sommelier will likely ask how much money you had in mind to spend. The tendency here will be to push the price higher as most sommelier work on commission.

Third, they may ask if you have any specific preferences as to the qualities of the wine. Full-bodied, a specific varietal, etc.

Then they should make 3-4 recommendations and let you choose. Very rarely will they actually choose for you as this minimizes their risk. I find they tend to be much like lawyers in this way. Giving several options but not actually exercising their opinion on you.

And in a sense this is good because each sommelier also will have his or her own personal preferences. Some hate entire regions or varietals of wine. In a recent Food and Wine article, I read about several sommeliers who used very nasty language to describe Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and other respective varietals and one who condemned the entire Alsace region’s white wines. Thus, it is  important to know the expert or critic who is giving wine advise.  I even met a sommelier once who said he actually hates ALL wine except for muscat.

Why the heck is this guy a sommelier?