At some point, our society entered into a tacit agreement that knowing your wines elevates you into a higher class of refinement and taste. And if you don’t know your wines, you’re not part of the club. It was also around that same time that people agreed to get really serious about golf.
As a professional chef it’s expected that I have a fine knowledge of wine, but I struggled with the subject for years. Not being a big fan of wine myself, I found it a challenge to know the perfect wine for the perfect occasion. I simply did not “speak wine.” That is, until I had a talk with a favorite customer of mine.
Mr. Joyce is one of America’s great CEO’s. He’s traveled the world, sampled the finest wines and even manages to play a little golf in his spare time. Just ask any of the hundreds of people who have had the pleasure of knowing him, and they will tell you part of what makes him a great CEO is his ability to look straight through a complex situation and see the workable facts. While I was preparing a lavish dinner party for his birthday, we got on the subject of wine and I admitted that I didn’t know as much about it as I should.
Mr. Joyce looked at me and said, “You know, Cristian; I’ve had wines from all over the world. I’ve had good ones and bad ones. But picking out the right wine comes down to a few simple rules that I’ve observed.” I now use these “few simple rules” to choose the right wines for my pairings. They include:
Never go below 89. Nowadays, most wine stores provide you with a scoring system. Most wines are graded and given a score from 1 to 100. Mr. Joyce suggests that anything above 89 is good.
Don’t break the bank. Mr. Joyce says not to bother with anything over $25 a bottle. There are plenty of good quality wines, aged over five years, around the $15-$25 range that are quite good.
Headaches can be avoided. An important part for many people in enjoying a good wine is avoiding the post-sipping headache. You might think that depends more on quantity versus quality, but there may be a chemical factor. French wine makers still use 200-year-old winemaking techniques that include adding sugar to ferment the wine. This gives certain French wines a specific chemical combination that may cause headaches. Wines made in Australia and California use newer high-tech methods of making wine which do not require the addition of sugar to the fermentation process. This yields a cleaner, head-friendly product. They also taste just as good (some better) than French wines.
Let it age … Wine starts out as grape juice, and through the process of fermentation changes into an alcoholic juice we call wine. There is an ever-changing chemical evolution inside each bottle that takes place over the years. When choosing red or white wines you should make sure they are at least five years old. At this stage in the fermentation process you start to get a high-quality wine with chemical compounds that have mellowed out.
… Unless it’s Champagne or sparkling wines. Bubbles can change the game. In choosing a sparkling wine such as Champagne, I have found that a younger wine is cleaner than one that has been aged for many years. And although older sparkling wines taste sweeter, I feel a lot better after drinking young ones, than I do older ones. Mr. Joyce prefers younger sparkling wines, and so do I.
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Editor's Note 3/23/2012: After hearing feedback from readers, author Cristian Feher amended his story. The edits have been made to the text above and are as follows:
Under Headaches Can Be Avoided, changed "but there is a very evident chemical factor" to "there may be a chemical factor."
Changed "… a specific combination that CAN cause headaches." to "… a specific combination that MAY cause headaches."
Under …Unless it's champagne of sparkling wines. Replaced this entire graph: Bubbles change the game. In choosing a sparkling wine such as Champagne, you want fresh, young wines. Sparkling wines do not get better with age. They may taste sweeter, but you will not feel so sweet after drinking them. Mr. Joyce prefers one- to two-year-old sparkling wines. And I agree, of course!" with the one currently in the story.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2012.