If you had to name your go-to grape, what would it be? Pinot noir? Chardonnay? Cabernet sauvignon? Zweigelt? Rightly or wrongly, the wine you choose can speak volumes about who you are.
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the 18th- and 19th-century French lawyer and patron saint of foodies who loved cheese so much they named a 75-per-cent-fat variety after him, gave us that old chestnut, "Tell me what kind of food you eat and I will tell you what kind of man you are." I think if he were alive today, he'd want to know about our bar tabs.
"Riesling definitely has a level of sophistication to it," said Robert Herman, general manager and sommelier of Voya, the restaurant in the soon-to-open hotel Loden Vancouver. "It's generally a finer-engineered wine."
Experts like Mr. Herman inevitably form impressions of their clientele based on the wines they order. And the quickest way to impress him, and anyone else at your table that you might care to, is to order riesling. Eschewed by the masses, riesling tends to be a labour of love for winemakers, one reason the odds of getting a good one are high.
Internet Links
The thing about riesling, though, is it doesn't peg you as a rich showoff. Very few cost more than $50 (the best come from Germany and Alsace), and excellent ones can be had for less than $20. Also, because it pairs nicely with a vast array of foods, it's considered the foodie's grape.
Cabernet sauvignon, on the other hand, is riesling's opposite, the safe-harbour grape for conservatives who like to eat in steak houses. Always full-bodied and square-shouldered, it's the world's most widely planted red variety and the key component in most fancy Bordeaux brands such as Mouton and Lafite. Zealots who always order cabernet sauvignon are likely to want familiar power cuts of meat like steaks, chops and roasts; no challenging shanks, shoulders, kidneys or blood sausage for them. Adventure is what a cabernet lover calls a ride to his winterized cottage on a paved highway in a heated-seat Range Rover.
I must confess to having thought pinot noir was more sophisticated than it is. Mr. Herman set me straight. It's been the grape du jour since the movie Sideways glorified it a few years ago. Smooth pinot from California in particular is a neon billboard that says you're an eager wine dabbler hip to wine's thrilling, subtle possibilities but not yet ready to graduate to red Burgundy (made from the same grape but usually more austere). It's Dave Brubeck to red Burgundy's Ornette Coleman.
"It's a starting place for people to enjoy wine," Mr. Herman said. "It's jammier, softer, not tannic or harsh. It is very easy to drink, but people move on from there."
What pinot fans move on to, besides red Burgundy, is white Burgundy, if they're really sophisticated. At least that's what I think. A lot of people today sadly believe serious wine comes in one colour, red. They are misguided and probably also believe the interesting people at parties are the ones who talk the most.
Virtually all great white Burgundy is made from chardonnay, but it's almost always less fruity and oaky than the New World chardonnay most people are accustomed to today. It is also very versatile with food and can age better than most red wines.
If you see someone order a bottle of white Burgundy at a table, go over and say hello. They are worth getting to know.
Nothing, though, is more versatile with food, and nothing says "I'm a member of the connoisseur club" like drinking sparkling wine.
Don't let bubbly's dainty reputation fool you. Perhaps you've seen that current Bud Light ad starring the frustrated guy who goes around saying "Dude" all the time when people do things that bother him, including a guy at a bar who orders a flute of sparkling wine.
That is a cheap, unfair blow to the world's most underappreciated dinner beverage. Even in bars and restaurants, bubbles aren't just for women. If in doubt, rent Casablanca.
But if you're looking to cut a fashionable image with the wine cognoscenti, there is a host of emerging grapes that can instantly elevate your currency (they also have the advantage of being terrific values). They include: gruner veltliner from Austria; nero d'Avola and aglianico from Italy; albarino from Spain; and syrah- and mourvèdre-based reds from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.
Order any one of them with a hunk of Brillat-Savarin cheese and your bar manager may just give you a free pour of his latest, greatest riesling.
*****
GRAPEOLOGY 101
Cabernet franc
Red; full-bodied, herbal
WHO DRINKS IT
Earnest connoisseurs who
believe this tough-love grape should be more popular than
it is. Unfortunately, with some exceptions, they're wrong.
COOL CHOICETawse (Niagara, about $35)
Cabernet Sauvignon
Red; full-bodied, blackcurrant,
cedar, vanilla
WHO DRINKS IT
Meat-eating conservatives who talk loudly and think all other wines aren't as serious.
COOL CHOICE
Errazuriz Max Reserva
(Chile, about $15)
Chardonnay
White; full-bodied, round,
tropical fruit
WHO DRINKS IT
Everyone, too often.
COOL CHOICE
Landmark Overlook
(California, about $35)Gewurztraminer
White; aromatic, grapy, floral
WHO DRINKS IT
Wine sophisticates fond of Thai cuisine; if they order it with the foie gras course, the sommelier asks if he can hang out with them after dinner.
cOOl CHOICE
Zind-Humbrecht
(Alsace, $20-plus)
Gruner Veltliner
White; dry with sweet-sour
profile
WHO DRINKS IT
Asian-fusion fans and trendy
San Franciscans (who refer to it as "gru-vee").
COOL CHOICE
Rabl Spiegel (Austria, about $18)
Pinot Grigio
White; lean, neutral-tasting.
WHO DRINKS IT
Mostly women, at lunch and
as a cocktail; also favoured by progressive-voting males
enrolled in yoga.
COOL CHOICE
Elena Walch Castel Ringberg
(Italy, about $25)
Pinot Noir
Red; medium-bodied, crushed berries and earth.
WHO DRINKS IT
Wine-geek wannabes and people who've rented Sideways (in the case of California pinot); connoisseurs on expense accounts (in the case of red Burgundy).
COOL CHOICE
Calera (California, $35-plus)
Malbec
Red; full-bodied, firm and
slightly rustic
WHO DRINKS IT
Ex-merlot drinkers on a budget.
COOL CHOICE
Catena (Argentina, about $20)
Merlot
Red; full-bodied, smooth
WHO DRINKS IT
See "chardonnay."
COOL CHOICE
Sumac Ridge Black Sage
Vineyard (B.C., $20)
Shiraz
Red; full-bodied, plum and vanilla
WHO DRINKS IT
Australians, wine newbies and - if present trends continue - the entire world.
COOL CHOICE
d'Arenberg The Footbolt
(Australia, $22)
White zinfandel
Pink; light, strawberries,
semi-sweet
WHO DRINKS IT
People who like steak well done and think Married with Children
is funny.
COOL CHOICE
Beringer (California, about $10)
Beppi Crosariol
bcrosariol@globeandmail.com
2
