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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2006 > May > 10 > Entry
The best Wine 101 class EVER
What is it that you want to know most about wine?
That question was posed by a reader of Food & Wine Magazine’s June edition, and it piqued my curiosity. I’d like to hear from you: What kinds of things would you like to learn about wine? What kinds of topics do you think your friends would be interested in?
And to you retailers and restaurant folks: What do you think your customers want to know about wine? What has worked — and not worked — in your Wine 101-type events?
Speaking of the excellent Food & Wine magazine, Lettie Teague writes in the June issue on Rosé: Underrated or Overhyped? Teague mostly concludes: overhyped.
First of all, perhaps Teague should come to Dayton, because she must not have access to the fresh and vibrant and engaging rosés we are fortunate enough to have on our shelves here in our little slice of wine heaven in Ohio. In fact, in her article she states that many of the three dozen wines she purchased were older vintages and tasted over the hill. Well, um, yeah.
(Note to local retailers: if you’ve got aging pinks on your shelf, and they’re not among the handful of rosés that age or at least hold well, do yourself and your customers a favor: take ‘em off the shelf. Save them in the back room and sell them to the next customer who comes in and expresses a preference for well-aged rosé. Yes, it may be a while. But you’ll find comfort in knowing you’re doing the right thing.)
Lettie rarely gets it wrong. This time, she got it wrong.
And before we leave Food & Wine magazine, note on the magazine’s home page that editors have a feature called “Blog Watch” that presents the “Top Five Blog Posts of the Week.” Sure hope they’re reading Uncorked and Wine Sediments, as well as WellFed.net’s food blogs. We could be famous someday!
Of course, the New York Times is already famous, especially its wine blog author Eric Asimov, who weighs in this week with an entry entitled Judging Merlot but could have been titled “Slamming California Merlot.” The piece stands in contrast to my Wine Sediments colleague and Fermentation author Tom Wark’s piece last month on merlot. Or maybe not.
By the way, Wark writes today on WineSed on how he broke into the wine business — and how you can too. Just in case you’re looking for a career change.
Maybe you can teach one of those Wine 101 classes. What do you think the best Wine 101 class would include?
Thanks for reading and commenting, and cheers!
Mark Fisher
Comments
By CaptainEd
May 11, 2006 2:05 PM | Link to this
I wonder if Eric Asimov is aware of the problems with asparagus (Along with the wines, Dr. S had prepared on short notice an excellent steak dinner, along with sauteed asparagus, sauteed mushrooms and salad.) and red wines. Maybe that is why the merlots did not taste so good…There are some wines that go with asparagus (See http://www.wellfed.net/winesediments/winesediments.php/2006/04/09/duelling_asparagus).By Trish
May 11, 2006 12:10 AM | Link to this
My friends, family members and colleagues all just seem to want to know how to purchase wine they’ll enjoy without looking totally clueless. After that, it’s just details, isn’t it? But how do you do that? How do you discover what you like without looking like a newbie? Answer: You don’t. And that’s OK. Everyone’s a novice at some point, and people who drink wine all the time know that what they don’t know covers more acreage that that which they do. But to discover what you like? That’s easy. Taste. Cheers, Mark!By Dennis
May 10, 2006 4:39 PM | Link to this
I have done a variety of classes ranging from very basic intro to wine, different regional classes (France, Italy, Australia, etc), to a 10 week wines around the world class. I have also done Scotch & bourbon tastings, beers around the world, wine components, and food & wine matching. The key is to ask the students what they want out of the class and gear your presentation towards their specific interests. Some are more interested in the detailed technical info vs the history & geography vs the sensory aspects. The key is not to overload the people with too much technical jargon and to provide a written reference that they can go back to and review later. Also don’t over pour so that the students have a chance to remember what they heard.By Rip
May 10, 2006 4:06 PM | Link to this
I’d like to know if wine critics can really taste “a hint of raspberry dipped in chocolate and wiped away with old socks.” I think a wine should be judged on smoothness and depth. Cheaper wines can be smooth but better wines also have depth. I think wine reviewers make up all the descriptive language because they’ve got to fill the space with something.