Don't drink without thinking. Take the time to savour some fine wine with food in good company. It's a heavenly combination and well worth the effort, writes JOHN WILSON
THIS WEEK I offer 10 simple ways to maximise the pleasure gained from drinking a glass of wine. I cannot claim these are unique, world-shattering ideas that will change your life forever. However, I know that I am guilty at times – and suspect many of you are too – of drinking without thinking. I hope these suggestions will improve your enjoyment of wine, no matter how modest the bottle.
1. Drink slightly better wine
I know we are going through tough times, but spending a euro or two more makes a huge difference to the quality of your wine. It doesn’t mean paying a fortune; a €10-12 bottle will taste so much better than a bottle for €8. Once you pay €15, you should get something really good.
2. Use decent glasses
It makes a real difference. Riedel glasses are expensive but look great and they make wine taste better. At home, I always use either the Riedel Sommelier Sangiovese glass or, for everyday use, the Riedel O glass, which fits neatly into a dishwasher.
There are cheaper alternatives available. Just make sure you choose a large tulip-shaped glass and only ever fill it a third to halfway full. That way the wine can breathe in the glass, releasing all those wonderful aromas. This applies as much to inexpensive wine as to your very best bottles.
3. Use a decanter
They are not always necessary, but can really help. I generally use them for very young wine, or for a posh dinner. For the former, a jug will do fine.
Pouring a bottle of young tannic red into a jug from a height will smooth out the rough edges and allow it to mellow. For your dinner party, it isn’t necessary but a nice glass decanter really adds to the sense of occasion.
4. Think as you drink
Wine is a sociable beverage made to enjoy in the company of family and friends. Having fun must always take precedence over the wine. But I try to stop for a second each time I take a sip, assess how good the wine really is, and enjoy the moment.
5. Think before you drink
Anticipation can be as enjoyable as the event itself. For me, part of the thrill of wine is learning about the history, the culture and the people behind each bottle. If you have the time, read up a little beforehand. It will help to explain why a wine tastes the way it does and give you pointers on what to eat with it.
6. Drink it with food
As often argued in this column, most wine tastes better with any food, and the reverse is also true. You can try to match the two more precisely, but don’t get too hung up about finding the perfect partners. The standard advice to serve red wine with meat and white with fish is as far as most people need to go.
7. Have it with friends
As mentioned above, wine is a social beverage. Sharing a glass with friends (including your most expensive bottle) will make the occasion so much more enjoyable.
8. Drink at the right temperature
You will be amazed at the difference it makes. The taste of a wine changes completely depending on the temperature it is served. Many restaurants serve white wine too cold, thereby killing the flavour, and red wine too warm, making the alcohol leap out of the glass.
For red wines, room temperature means unheated Victorian rooms, about 16-18 degrees Celsius, cooler for light reds. Light dry whites are best at 7-10 degrees, richer white wines a few degrees warmer.
9. Age it a little
As I outlined earlier this year, many wines will benefit from a year or so in the cellar. First do a little research to make sure your wine will improve, and then find some cool dark space, and stash away a few bottles to see how it develops and improves over the space of a year or two.
10. Don’t think too much
The sole purpose of wine is to give pleasure. Ignore any so-called rules or suggestions I or anyone else may make that prevents you from enjoying your glass.
For some reason, a few people (usually male) use wine as a vehicle to demonstrate their supposed greater knowledge and superiority.
I have a nerdy wine dinner a couple of times a year where we discuss little else except wine. The rest of the time, I try to keep my mouth shut (unless provoked) and to concentrate on that wonderful trinity that is people, food and wine.
Bottles of the week
Bierzo Joven 2010 Bodega La Serrana 13% €12.50Made from the local mencia grape, this is a lovely easy-drinking wine with fresh sweet and sour cherry fruits and a smooth, clean finish. Stockists: Honest2Goodness.ie and their market in Glasnevin
Lirac 2009, Chateau Boucarut 14.5% €12.99Possibly not the most subtle wine, but certainly very satisfying. Big, rich and powerful with dusty, dark fruits and leathery spice. One for a barbecue or with robust red meat. Stockists: Molloys Liquor Stores
Pipoli Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Vigneti del Vulture 13.5% €12.99From deepest Basilicata in the south of Italy, Aglianico del Vulture can sometimes have fairly grippy, dry tannins that overwhelm any fruit. In the hands of the right people, however, it can be very good. This example with its tight, dark cherry and damson fruits, touch of tobacco and leather, and balanced dry finish is well worth trying, preferably with some roast red meat. Stockists: The Corkscrew, Chatham St, D2; The Drinkstore, D7; Blackrock Cellars; The Vineyard, Galway; Florries Fine Wines, Tramore; JM Vintners, Rush; World Wide Wines, Waterford.
Condrieu 2010, Pierre Gaillard 13% €43.99This is an impeccably made wine, from a range imported by Mitchells, with lovely medium-bodied nectarine and apricot fruits, balanced by good acidity, no obvious oak; refreshing, yet mouth-filling with good dry length, and not a hint of clumsiness. Stockists: Mitchell Son, IFSC and Glasthule, Jus de Vine, Portmarnock
