Know your wine

“Eat, drink and be merry!”

Indulgence it maybe, but celebrations in human history have always entailed good food, music, merrymaking – and drinking. While it’s said that Europe introduced the world to wines, and France has been rightfully boasting of its perfected wines, the light liquor has undeniably been delighting novices and connoisseurs alike in all parts of the world.[break]

For Nepalis, though, wining is relatively a new experience. With most of the older generation still keen on their local raksi and janr, and some like to stick to their hard stuffs – rums, whiskies and brandies – and a few, mostly those who’ve traveled, know and prefer the pleasures of wines.

On the other hand, the younger drinking generation seems to love chugging down their chilled beer, or go gambe on chhyang. Maybe it’s cheaper and also more readily available.

But wine, sweet wine, has surged its way through. Evidence: Well, you see a lot more people serving wine at their parties, right? Then there are the romantic movies-inspired candlelight dinners with the presence of the elegant elixir in seductive glasses complimenting the mood. And of course, there’s the ever-growing infatuation with Champagne – or any other sparkling and bubbling wines.

Wine has always been a special-occasion drink to be enjoyed in company and in pleasant conversations. However, before you order a glass or buy a bottle of the dear liquid, a new experience as it is to most Nepalis, you’d want to know something more about it. One simple reason we say this is because there’s so much to know about and choose from wines.

SOMMELIER’S TAKE

“A day without wine is a day without sunshine,” says sommelier Robert E. Desjardins, Director of Kilroy’s in Kathmandu. (A sommelier is a wine expert with extensive knowledge of wines and food pairings.) Setting aside his work for the ongoing wine festival at Kilroy’s, Desjardins sat down with The Week to share some of his insights on his beloved wines.

The first misconception about wine he clears up is that wine is not rakshi or a brewed product. “Wine isn’t cooked, or brewed; it uses no chemicals. It’s entirely a natural product,” he shares.

Speaking on the types of wines, he shares there is the still wine which can be red, white, or rosé, or the sparkling wine, the fortified and aromatized wine.

It’s interesting that no matter what color the grape is, the juice obtained after pressing is always clear white. The color and the tinges actually depend on the process adapted while making the wine. In case of white wine, the skin is immediately removed; whereas for red wine, it’s left to mature with the juice. For rosé wine, the skin is left in the fermenting juice for only a short period of time.

Still wine is a regular non-carbonated drink as opposed to the bubbly Champagne and other sparkling wines. And while fortified wine has brandy or other spirits mixed into it, the aromatized wine has herbs, flowers or honey to make it more palatable.

Fortified and aromatized wines are mostly served as pre-dinner drinks with ice, as it whets your appetite. Champagne and other sparkling wines can also be served as aperitif or even after-dinner toast. In case you aren’t serving any sparkling wines before dinner, you can serve chilled white wine. But don’t go for red.

YOUR WINE PREFERENCES

“Like there are different people, there are different grapes having different characteristics. And like a Nepali raised here and a Nepali raised somewhere else have different characteristics, wine made from the same grape type but in different places have different flavors,” explains Desjardins. Wine gets its characteristics from four factors, he lists – the grape, land, water, and sunshine.

Deciding on your wine preferences, Desjardins says it’s a learning process of tests and tries. Wine festivals such as the one in Kilroy’s are thus arranged to introduce different flavors of wines from many different places so one can find out which grape wine one likes better.

“Once you know that you like the wine of a particular kind of grape, you can then experiment with the

same grape wine from different countries,” Desjardins suggests and quickly adds, “Because no matter where you were born, you’re still a Nepali, and one particular grape is still the grape.”

The grape used and its province is always there on the label along with the year it was bottled.

PAIRING WINE

Pairing food and wine also has a lot to do with the taste of the individual. You can either have them complimenting or contrasting each other. But the general rule according to Desjardins is “pairing white wines with white meat, and red wine with red meat.” Cheese is also best paired with red wines.

But “This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though; it’s just a guideline,” he states.

For beginners, Cuvée Du Papa from France – red or white – is a recommended semi-sweet wine. With its delicate sweetness, it’s smooth enough to go along with spicy snacks, momos, or just as a simple summer sipping wine.

La Roche Brut and Baron De Rothberg are some recommended sparkling wines. With dry and refreshing taste, they work simply well as an everyday celebration tipple.

Sherry, Port and Madeira are some splendid fortified wines whereas Vermouth and Martini Rossi are some coveted aromatized wines.

Adréche Syrah, a moderately priced rose wine, is a masterful blend of four different grapes which goes well with our moderately spiced dal bhat.

For wine lovers, Kilroy’s menu recommends its Royal Cellars – Shiraz from Australia which is very full-bodied with chocolate, pepper, little tannin, and dry flavors.

After a look at their menu with carefully chosen and evaluated selections of wines, Desjardins still emphasizes, “Pairing wine with main-course meals depends on your preference. But if you don’t have a preference, stick to the guideline.”

PRICE IS WHAT MATTERS NOT

He then sits down to make a very important point: “High cost or low cost isn’t a criterion to judge a wine. But the year it was bottled is. Good wines are always dated. White wine retains its taste for a maximum three or four years, and red wine for six years. And then it starts going off,” informs Desjardins.

Especially in the case of Nepal, where wine bottles are handled carelessly – shipped from faraway countries to India where it lies in scorching heat on the docks for hours, and then transported in trucks than on airplanes – and wines can also be dealt with in unscrupulous manner in the local market.

Desjardins concludes, “Wine is a live product, not a dead product like gin, scotch, or whisky. You already kind of bruise it when you ship it.”

REVELING WITH WINES

The September/October season brings along the festival that in turn calls for celebrations. And with celebrations, there’ll obviously be some revelry and drinking. This year, therefore, with the Dashain celebrations and Tihar joys, why not welcome the festivities by drinking wines? You probably have the basics by now; so “Eat, drink and be merry!”

But again, drinking responsibly is also the mantra to follow. For only when you’re sober, you’ll be able to fully enjoy the wholeness of festivities.

So cheers to great times and good health!

WINE ON YOUR MIND

All you have to do is read the label. Check the year when the wine was bottled. Desjardins suggests that you don’t buy a white wine bottled before four years, and red wine before six.

Wine bottles are to be stored sideways so that the cork remains moist and prevents oxidization.

Check for any leakage or residues near the foil covering of the wine. Particularly in case of Nepal, where bottles are manhandled pretty badly, wine bottles may have defective corks and leakages.

Red wine is to be served at room temperature of about 17 to 18 degrees Celsius while white wine is best served chilled. You’ll also find this information on the label at the back of the bottle.

To open a bottle of wine, cut or tear away the capsule to expose the cork, and use a proper corkscrew. Centre the screw over the cork for best results, and steady the lever on the bottle’s rim and pull the cork, using leverage.

Once you’ve removed the cork, wipe the neck of the bottle with a clean cloth both inside and out.

After opening a bottle of wine, it’s best to drink it within three days. Because once the air oxidizes the wine, it starts going off. If you buy box wines, the bag of wine collapses each time you pour out your wine; so there’s no air and the wine is good to drink for a longer period of time.

Glasses used to serve wine are also important. Wine is best served in a balloon wineglass. “Bottled wine is like a bud ready to bloom. So when you pour out the wine in a glass that has a wider rim, it opens up like a flower with its delightful aroma after you let it settle,” puts in Desjardins. For sparkling wines, use flute glasses so that the bubbles don’t escape too quickly.