THE 'S' OF WINETASTING

My first winetasting was a tad embarrassing. I have never told anyone this story but once the wine was served, I jumped right into sipping. I’m glad it was not a professional event but I still got embarrassed all the same. No one saw me sip the wine (I hope) but I looked round and saw people smelling and swirling and that’s when I decided to observe and learn.
This is my 100th  post in this blog and I decided to write a great post that will set the stage for the direction I want the blog to take.

 Winetasting is a fun experience. It is great because you have to indulge all your senses.  I have become very passionate about wine this year and I have developed my pallet so that I can know what wine goes with what food. Being a wine enthusiast, (I don’t want to use connoisseur or sommelier because having that title needs certification). I have learnt a lot. Let’s just say I am in the journey. Today, I will explain to you what a great wine tasting experience should be like. I will also show you what to look for and how to uses your senses to get the best in the wine. A friend of mine recently asked me that I should do a post that sheds some light on the issue. Wine tasting is a process of many ‘S’.

Set the Stage

Winetasting can take place in different places. If it is an event, the organizers should make sure that they set the stage and the area is free of noise and interruption. The area should be clean with no smells or strong perfumes from people. The presence of strong smells and noise will inhibit the senses and hinder concentration respectively.

Serve

The organizers should make sure that they have a container where people can pour their leftover wine and the wine that they don’t like. One of the best winetasting plans is where there are tables with groups of people. This makes it easier to serve. The correct way of serving wine is serving it halfway in the glass to let it breathe. I will do a post on the glass ware. Whites, reds, sparklings and rosĕs are served indifferent glasses.

Swirl

Swirling is shaking the wine n a circular motion. Another reason why people serve wine halfway is to make sure that people don’t pour wine at the swirling stage. I wrote about legs and tears on a recent post.. Wines that have good legs are wines with more alcohol and glycerin content, which generally indicates that they are bigger, riper, more mouth-filling and dense than those that lack the legs.

See

There are many ways to use sight when winetasting. I did a post here. But just to recap, one should look at into the glass then hold the glass to the light, and finally, give it a tilt, so the wine rolls toward its edges. This will help one to see the wine color range. This also gives a clue on the depth and density. One method that I learnt was to try and read through the wine. Less dense wines will let you see through while denser ones won’t let you see through. It also helps you know the grape variety. Purple-black color comes from Syrah or Zinfandel, while a lighter, pale brick shade comes from Pinot noir or Sangiovese grapes. Another way to view wine is to view it against a white tile/white background. Wine should be clear and devoid of sediments and particles. If it has there were problems in fermentation, aging or the cork would be infected. Here is a cheat sheet on how to describe wine colour.

Smell

After swirling put your nose at the mouth of the glass and smell. Don’t merely stick your nose into the wine but hover around the top and decipher different smells. Let your brain process the smells and write down the different things you register. Get the aroma of the wine. Wine aromas range from fruits, herbs, wood and other scents. Smelling can help you identify if wine is bad. If it smells like an attic, damp clothes or damp newspapers (You know that smell) then the wine is bad.

Sip

 It’s about time you tasted that wine.  Take a modest sip and aerate the wine with your tongue. This initial taste is very important.

Savour

Next take a ‘generous’ sip and let the wine sit on your tongue. Register the taste as the wine is on the tongue, to the sides of the mouth and to the back of the tongue. Register the aftertastes if any. Apart from simply identifying flavors use your taste buds to determine if the wine is balanced, harmonious, complex, evolved, and complete. Keep it here for more tips and explanations of wine jargon like these. This information is great because it helps you know about food & wine pairings. It helps you get your favorite wines too.

 Now that you have these tips, do not embarrass yourself in case you decide to go for a tasting. 

CHIVAS REGAL: 'LIVE WITH CHILVARLY'

Chivas Regal is a luxury blended whiskey in the Pernod Ricard portfolio. Pernod Ricard Also has Ballantines, Jameson in their whisky collection. Chivas Regal had a Father's Day sale in different outlets in the country where they were showcasing their gentleman edition. As usual I took some time to learn a bit about the drink. 'The live with chivalry' tagline and the 'Made for gentleman' concept was great for the ocassion and it would be a great Fathers day drink for the dads who take Whiskey.
I loved the stylish packages. Chivas linkesd up with patrick Grant who is a style icon and a luxury menswear designer to create this limited edition. The cases had four silhouettes that each featured a different style accessory associated with modern gentlemen: a tie, a cufflink, a watch and a pocket square. this is a gentleman's drink. A man who know his stuff and loves his whiskey.

Notes
The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of class, style, substance and exclusivity.

 It includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old. 

It is made by the Chivas Brothers.

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard.

Tasting Notes
Colour was amber.
Smell was an aromatic infusion of wild herbs, heather, honey and orchard fruits.
Taste was Rich and fruity, Chivas bursts with the smooth taste of ripe, honeyed apples, and notes of vanilla, hazelnut and butterscotch.
Finish was lingering.

I had fun learning more about this brand.
Chivas and all companies within the Pernod Ricard group carry on a long-standing tradition of dedication to responsible drinking. It is not for sale to persons under 18 years.

O-o

DID YOU KNOW THAT WINE HAS LEGS?

It has been a while since I did an educative post on wine. Well what are wine legs and what do they really mean? I heard the term sometime last year and I must admit that I was appalled. Well 'wine legs' are what forms on the glass after you swirl the wine during wine-tasting. I will do a post where I will list all the wine jargon so that people understand what swirling, sipping and savouring means.
Wine legs are an indicator of the wine quality because the better the wine, the longer the legs. The legs also indicate on the alcohol content of the wine. Wine is a mixture of water and alcohol. the two fluids have different evaporation rates. Alcohol has a lower surface tension than water and a faster evaporation rate.This dynamic makes the water's surface tension and concentration to rise. As a result, the legs are pushed up the glass until water forms beads. Because of gravity, the liquid moves down the glass in a streak.if you shake wine in a clear bottle you will not observe this because there isn't any evaporation taking place.Yes, thats a Physics lesson right there! Some people call them tears of wine. In scientific terms it is the  Marangoni or Gibbs-Marangoni Effect.

WORLD CUP & FATHERS DAY SPECIAL AT THE BREW BISTRO

World Cup 2014 at The Brew Bistro and Lounge from 12th June 2014 to 13 July 2014
Enjoy The World Cup Live on HD at the Brew along with The Special World Cup Brew
There will be an Extended Happy Hour on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 5-8PM,
Food Specials ,World Cup Shooter Countdown every Friday & Saturday and there will also be a World Cup T-Shirt for Kshs. 1000.

I'm not a football fan but this is a great plan for the guys.

Enjoy..

SELECTING A FOOD AND WINE LIST TIP #1

I'm adding something new to my blog.  I'll be posting some Cheat sheets about different subjects on Food&Wine. Sometimes it is fun to have a summary of things in form of a cheat sheet. I'll be giving tips on

•  Food
• Wine
• Cocktails
• Drinks and so much More.

Selecting a food and winelist for an event or a dinner is one of the most daunting tasks. Whether you will have one or a hundred guests, you want everything to be perfect. Try something that you have some background knowledge on. Do not do a themed dinner if you don't know anything about the theme. Do not be afraid to research 2 to 3 weeks prior to the event. Research on the Internet and ask people. Cater for the vegetarians. Ask about the guests preferences. in the winelist Do a tasting n make sure that the food and wine pairings will be perfect. Entertain like a pro.
Enjoy...

SNAPP AND TAMARILLO COCKTAIL

How did I end up with cans and cans of Snapp Apple? Long story…

It was a crazy week. I’ve had my share of ups and downs. By Friday evening I was tired and worn out. What I had really envisioned for my Friday night in, was to make myself a great meal, have a glass of wine and watch ‘mixology’ or ‘the 100’ under a warm blanket. I’d say ‘sit by the fire’ in a bid to sound more poetic or moving but I have no fireplace YET. When I got to my house, it was like the walls were closing in on me. I need some excitement. Some release. A simple sleepover with my pals or hanging out for an hour or two would do. We all have that friend on speed dial. That friend who you call when things go south or when you have a crisis like mine. Cate picked up the phone and said that she was bored too. And because misery loves company, I smiled when I heard that and we met in order to machinate a random plan.

Ever since my campus hey days, my desire to go for a night out in town has diminished considerably. I think we shook it all back then. Now I’m all for a good conversation, a good drink and great company. Call it growing up or growing old. We decided to go to a place in Thika Road so that we would be home early. Plus we didn’t feel the need to go to a place where kids would be yelling TGIF and listening to whatever music is in this season. We went to Saape Lounge to meet some friends then headed to 'the local' for lack of a better catchphrase which I won’t mention because their service was terrible. By 11pm we decided to head home and since we had some unopened drinks we asked for the waiter to subtract that from the bill. He went on and on about how their system does not have that provision. He told us that the only way was to exchange our drinks for canned Snapp Apple. 

I went home with cans of Snapp and I didn’t know what to do with them. On Saturday afternoon, I had a friend over and I decided to make us Snapp Cocktails. This was interesting because Snapp is already an apple cocktail and it was like making a cocktail out of a cocktail. I intended to make a fruity drink. The drink had to be potent enough to be a sipping drink and that’s where the vodka came in. The tree tomato fruit (Tamarillo was great because it added a lot of flavor, colour, plus it is nutritious). We called it the blood fruit when we were younger because of its characteristic deep red juice.

Ingredients
2oz Snapp Apple
I part Maya Green Apple Vodka
The juice of 6-8 tamarillos (With or without seeds)
Apple wedges for garnish

Procedure
Use the back of a spoon to gently push the tamarillo puree through a large fine sieve into a container Set aside. Put the first three ingredients in a mixing glass, stir with a bar spoon. Fill a glass with ice (It’s up to you whether you want to use a highball, a Collins glass, etc.). Pour the mixture on the ice. Garnish with an apple wedge, straws etc.

 

It was a splendid drink for an afternoon. It was very fruity and fresh. I skipped the ice because it was a chilly day. You can get Maya Vodka in Chandarana Supermarket and Tamarillo at the fruit vendors. I got the inspiration for this recipe here.

Enjoy.