"'HAVE tent, will travel" seems to be my watchword this summer. With the weather so glorious, there's a huge demand for "under canvas" group wine tastings. As a result, I'm hosting events all over the place and moving my tent more often than most travelling circuses!
Here then are a few wine tasting tips guaranteed to enhance your drinking pleasure.
It may look slightly silly and possibly pretentious but "nosing" is essential when considering a wine. Crucially, the most sensitive bit of what we refer to as our sense of taste is actually our sense of smell, hence our inability to taste when we have a bad cold.
So, put aside any misgivings and have a big sniff of your wine, then gently swirl the wine in the glass to release its vapours, and then have another little sniff or two. Don't overdo it; if you feel faint you're trying too hard!
Wine in its many guises releases an almost countless number of different aromas, some more pleasant than others. For example, a corked wine will be detectable on the nose and the unpleasantness of tasting it can be avoided. Curiously, "cat pee" is a description often used to describe the aroma given off by the Sauvignon Blanc grape.
At the other end of the spectrum, big aged reds from Burgundy in France commonly smell "farmyardy" – a polite euphemism if ever I've heard one! Other common aromas to look out for in white wines are lemon, lime, apple, peach, honey, butter, vanilla and gooseberry. In medium-to-full-bodied reds, you'll often find blackcurrant, plum, spice, pepper, chocolate, leather and cigar box aromas.
When it comes to the actual drinking of the wine it's useful to know which areas of the mouth are receptive to different sensations. I'll deal with these in the order that the wine hits them.
The tip of the tongue gauges sweetness, the upper edges check for the all- important acidity, the back of the tongue for bitterness, insides of the cheeks for drying tannins, and the entrance to the throat for any hot excess of alcohol. The aromas that have been detected on the nose should, in most cases, translate to tastes on the palate.
Anyway, that's more than enough theory; it's now time for a couple of food and wine matching suggestions. Sauvignon Blanc, a perennial favourite in the UK, is prized for its crisp directness but its suitability to cheese remains a little-known secret.
To get in on the act, pair a classic Sauvignon Blanc – Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé – with goats' cheese for a real taste of the sublime. Sounds strange, having white wine with cheese? Well, the French have been putting them together for years and who's to doubt them when it comes to gastronomic pleasure?
Malbec has surged in popularity in recent years and, despite originating from Bordeaux, it has become synonymous with Argentina, a country famed for its carnivorous diet where an adult annually consumes 68 kilograms of beef. No great surprise then that Malbec, widely regarded as the perfect partner for steak, is so cherished there.
For an earthier European take on this pairing, try the French wine of Cahors, famously called the "black wine" and comprised mainly of Malbec. A word of warning, make sure the Cahors is at least four years old as it needs to soften – it's never fun chewing a wine!
Finally, never forget that wine tasting is all about having fun. Taste is entirely subjective and there are no right or wrong answers. So, relax, sniff, slurp and enjoy.
