First day of wine class

The first day of wine class was a success. I had the chance the sample some excellent wines that I would have probably never thought to try (not to mention afford). Now that I have taken a keen interest in wine, I find myself buying less quantity, but higher quality wine. I used to see wine as a more sophisticated way of getting drunk and this newfound love of Italian wine has changed me. I want wines that taste good. I want to drink them to enjoy them. I want to look at them from different angles, be impressed with their colors, their interaction with the glass, and stupid things like that. I want to smell them, I don't want to think about the fruit that I smell, but I want to identify the scent of quality wines that I enjoy. I want to leave them in my mouth longer to find out more about the taste, to think about the sensations that I feel in my mouth when I swish a particular wine around in it. Swallowing the wine is in a way a disappointment as it marks the end of the taste test. Also, drinking too much wine makes the wine not taste good any more (and gives you a headache)

The tables in the classroom of the International Wine Academy were lined with spittoons and I noticed that the only person using them was the teacher, probably because it was the first day of the first level class and most people were too ashamed to be dribbling out wine all over their work clothes. I think it will be an important milestone in my wine drinking career when I am able to spit the wine out and draw the line between drinking it and tasting it. My fellow students drank a couple of sips of each wine while my class companion and I slurped down every drop. Granted most of them were Italian and Italians are not very big drinkers. Most of them love to drink, but they tend to not let themselves go and will stop after a couple of glasses. In my personal opinion, it has to do more with the fact that they are terrified of making a brutta figura (embarrassing themselves) than they are of getting a little brillo (tipsy). This is not necessarily a negative thing. Except of course in my relationship. There is always the inevitable argument the day after my non-Italian friends, "the boys", come over for dinner. Anyway, the teacher was a very interesting man. I found out that he holds an advanced degree in engineering from a top US university and that he travels the world teaching about wine. I think he is my new hero. After talking about the wine basics for about an hour, we got down to business.

The first wine was a Cavit Pinot Grigio 2004. Nothing special, your basic 5 euro supermarket white wine. A bit of apple on the nose and little light on the tongue. A nice light everyday wine, if you would. The teacher expressed the importance of not dwelling on the fruits that you smell. One should never force themselves to try and smell certain fruits as the only reason one does smell fruit is because of the chemical reactions taking place in the wine. I found that comment to be very unpretentious. Most people in the class starting blurting out every fruit they knew after the first waff. Basta.

We then bumped it up a notch to a Friulian Pinot Grigio (Torre Rosazza) 2004. A bit better, more substance, more body. I still wasn't very impressed. It was a very good wine, but it was just a little too light for my unrefined palate. It would have to grow on me.

Then, he brought out the good stuff. A 2003 Pinot Grigio "Gris" Lis Neris. It was like sweet vanilla cream on the tongue and had this wonderful sweet oaky smell. It went down like silk and left beautiful streaks on the glass. I of course went home and googled it. Under20 euro per bottle. Not something that a guy like me can enjoy every day, but I will be getting it again in the near future. I am starting to note the difference between wines aged in wood and wines aged in stainless steel. The teacher stressed that one is not necessarily better than the other. If you have a bad wine and age it in wood, your result is going to be a bad wine that tastes like wood. Some wines marry better with the wood.

We then went on to the reds. A nice 2001 Tuscan called Il Pareto from Tenuta di Nozzole. It brought back memories to my days in Florence and when I first started appreciating wine. A nice blood red Sangiovese based wine which runs a bit steep at 40 euros. The other was a local boy, Montiano 2001 from Falesco, a winery here in Lazio. A nice Merlot in its purity with a bit of a tangy aftertaste that comes at no bargain (27 euros a bottle).

The rest of the class involved some Q & A. Americans tend to choose their wine based on the varietal "I'll take a Cabernet" whereas Italians go by region and name. For example, Chianti is not a grape. It is a region. Most Chiantis have similar compositions (Sangiovese based, Canaiolo). Asking for a wine by its grape is more of a "New World" thing. I also sensed some Italian-French rivalry in the teacher's tone. He spoke about how the French wine industry was squirming over the new found importance of Italian wines. Italy was always known as a country that produced a lot of wine, not quality wine. This is changing and as a result the French are on the defensive. A fellow student had done some tastings in France and starting rambling on about how the French say that... The teacher had obviously been in similar discussions before and had a rebuttal waiting. For example, the French say that a good red should never exceed a certain grade of alcohol. The teacher responded by saying "The French are good at saying things that suit them. Of course Italy's wines are stronger, we have more sun and more sun allows the cultivation of more mature grapes which of course result in stronger wine".