Christmas is approaching and we will be sharing a table with friends, co-workers and, of course, family. Wine, this wonderful product, will at some point be the subject of conversation and in this post we invite you to discover a few basic notions to ‘look good’. We are not encouraging them to ‘take the high road’ and appear as an expert at a table where the vast majority are acquaintances or intimate acquaintances of theirs: “You’ll catch a liar before you catch a lame man”, so first of all, what you cannot lose is the prudence. Secondly, and no less important, whatever you say about wine, you should say it with confidence. Next, we are going to give a small review of the forms, the gestures, that we must assimilate to guarantee a good ‘postureo’.
- The cup: the way of holding the cup is fundamental. We must be delicate but at the same time decisive. We will take it by the stem or by the foot, never from the calyx or even with the whole hand, but forming a clamp with the thumb and forefinger or the heart. If it is our turn to serve, we will have to do it just enough, a couple of fingers approximately.
- The color: it is not a question of raising the glass above our heads to appreciate the wine’s tones at a dinner with friends. However, if you eat on a white tablecloth at a certain moment, you can tilt the glass on the white background, more or less discreetly, and even say something like: “the wine is very whole, there is no trace of oxidation” (oxidized whites have a more yellowish color and reds, more tarnished) if the case arises.
- Moving the wine: this is a fundamental gesture that, if you have noticed, all oenophiles do to help the wine show its aromatic palette. Care must be taken and, if you are not dexterous, we advise you to move the wine on a surface (the table) with oval movements and with decision and delicacy at the same time (practice beforehand if necessary). After swirling, bring the glass to your nose and appreciate the aromas.
- Smell: we have smelled the wine without ‘cutting’ our nose in the glass. In the vast majority of red wines we can find aromas of red fruits, more primary (fruity) the younger the wine is. If we know that a reserve red or a wine with a long aging period has been opened, we will find them combined with those of the wood. Complexity’ and good ‘fruit and oak assembly’ are short but sufficient definitions to ‘look good’ for sure.
- The sip: when drinking, of course, little by little and not gulping the whole glass, we must retain the liquid and discreetly move it throughout the mouth. If we want to ‘jump in’, we bring the liquid to the tip of the tongue and, discreetly, although the ‘little noise’ can be heard, we suck in air a couple of times. This is what tasters do to intensify flavors in the mouth. If you have launched into ‘postureo’ keep in mind that you cannot conclude this gesture with a simple “it’s tasty”. You should take a little risk and, even without going into too much detail, use words such as “complex wine”, “balanced”, “fruity”, “tasty in the mouth”, “very well-integrated wood”, etc.
Keep in mind that this is a product capable of generating numerous and different sensations for many people.. If you are prudent and show confidence, both in your gestures and in what you say, your table companions will probably leave thinking that you do know about wine. and that he is not a bore, because wine can be the subject of commentary and conversation, but unless you are surrounded by true oenophiles and enthusiasts (if so, you’d better listen), surely there are many other more important topics to talk about.
