Wine 101
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Remember the friend who wanted me to do tourist-guide duties for her visiting cousins? Well, she called again the other day asking me to go to a wine-tasting function of a particular hotel.
Apparently, her cousins are crazy over fine dining and drinks. Since the only drinks she's familiar with are beer and brandy, she wanted me to go so I can familiarize her with the different kinds of wine and help her appear to be more "cultured and civilized". What the?!?!
"What made you think that I know something about wines?" I asked.
"Aren't you the wine connoisseur back in college?" she answered.
She's definitely not talking about me.
Seriously, I know nothing about wines. Well, not really nothing, but they're not enough for me to be called a "wine connoisseur." I know that red wine is paired with red meat, like beef, lamb, and horse meat. Wait, I think lamb meat is considered as white meat, together with pork, chicken, and fish, and they are best paired with white wine.
As far as I know, there are so many other kinds of wine, and if I'm asked to name any kind that I know in 60 seconds, I can only name two that I've heard of and not necessarily familiar with: merlot and chardonnay.
I understand merlot is some sort of a wine base, something you mix with other ingredients to create another kind of wine. And this I assumed when I overheard, about a couple of years ago, a foreign-looking man tell his friend over dinner that "Merlot-based wines have hints of currant and plum and berry." It pays to listen to other people's conversations sometimes. :)
On the other hand, I heard of chardonnay thanks to Alanis Morissette and her song "Ironic". When I first heard the line, "It's a black fly in your Chardonnay...", I asked my dad what a chardonnay is. He said it's a kind of grape used to make white wine. End of story.
So there. That's what I know about wines. Now you tell me if, in case you're in the shoes of my so-called friend, you'' bring me to a wine-tasting event to help you broaden your knowledge on wines. And hey, even if you think I know enough, I still have to clear with my OB what kind and how much wine I could drink, IF I am allowed to drink at all.
Apparently, her cousins are crazy over fine dining and drinks. Since the only drinks she's familiar with are beer and brandy, she wanted me to go so I can familiarize her with the different kinds of wine and help her appear to be more "cultured and civilized". What the?!?!
"What made you think that I know something about wines?" I asked.
"Aren't you the wine connoisseur back in college?" she answered.
She's definitely not talking about me.
Seriously, I know nothing about wines. Well, not really nothing, but they're not enough for me to be called a "wine connoisseur." I know that red wine is paired with red meat, like beef, lamb, and horse meat. Wait, I think lamb meat is considered as white meat, together with pork, chicken, and fish, and they are best paired with white wine.
As far as I know, there are so many other kinds of wine, and if I'm asked to name any kind that I know in 60 seconds, I can only name two that I've heard of and not necessarily familiar with: merlot and chardonnay.
I understand merlot is some sort of a wine base, something you mix with other ingredients to create another kind of wine. And this I assumed when I overheard, about a couple of years ago, a foreign-looking man tell his friend over dinner that "Merlot-based wines have hints of currant and plum and berry." It pays to listen to other people's conversations sometimes. :)
On the other hand, I heard of chardonnay thanks to Alanis Morissette and her song "Ironic". When I first heard the line, "It's a black fly in your Chardonnay...", I asked my dad what a chardonnay is. He said it's a kind of grape used to make white wine. End of story.
So there. That's what I know about wines. Now you tell me if, in case you're in the shoes of my so-called friend, you'' bring me to a wine-tasting event to help you broaden your knowledge on wines. And hey, even if you think I know enough, I still have to clear with my OB what kind and how much wine I could drink, IF I am allowed to drink at all.
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