Wine Appreciation

So I'm a member of a wine club which meets on the first Tuesday of every month. And no, this is not a club where we just get together and booze it up, (though I am not agin that either), but a serious, sophisticated, genteel club hosted by my good friend Kate, (who is sometimes serious but always sophisticated and genteel), and who sets out an elegant table come ca (meaning "lika dis" in French cept I can't find the little accent thingy to go on the bottom of the c. I'm using French because the French wines are so prevalent and because French is classy):

Bread (one gluten free) and cheese are always on offer too

In this lovely environment we can watch and follow along one of the 24 lectures in this course by the Teaching Company- The Great Courses, (you betcha), The Everyday Guide to Wine, presented by Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan who is a master of wine (of whom there are only 26 in America so it's pretty darn impressive). Because it is interactive we get to smell and taste the wines she is lecturing about as we go.  I, for one, would not be in a wine club that didn't have this essential feature. A different person volunteers to bring the wines for each meeting.

The promo to the course includes this build up:

"Many wine drinkers say they are overwhelmed by the varieties of wine available (no kidding) or they know the wines they like to drink (for me cheap is key) but yearn ( "yearn"- really that's a bit much, but flowery language is part of it) for the opportunity to learn more about them."

In the first lecture we discovered the 5 S's of fully tasting wine: seeing, swirling, sniffing, sipping and savouring. Who knew? I was used to just seeing and downing.  I have now learned that this is bad and doesn't allow me to fully appreciate the wine.

In the lecture on Chardonnays, we experienced the "buttery, creamy" taste of oaked chardonnays vs the citrus flavours of the "naked" ones, learned about the oaking process (oak barrels -yup that's the ticket) and also that Chablis, from the Burgundy region of France is also a chardonnay (which is a grape variety by the way).

A Chablis,  a Jacobs Creek and our favourite, a  Tawse 2010

Kate had splurged on the Tawes which was rated a 93 and here's why:

Tawse 2010 Robyn's Block Chardonnay 

If you can't read all that, suffice it to say it is very laudatory- (and a bit racy if the truth be told) and teaches us some excellent phrases to use when drinking a fantastic wine or even a mediocre wine that you want to pump up by the use of language. I'm sure you can use the words  " on the palate, oh my! " this tour de force is a shining beacon for", "an opulent, vivacious wine", "it's lavish and weighty",  "...flavours that are persistent yet beautifully elegant and build in intensity in the mouth"(do you mind!) over and over but be careful with the descriptions of flavours cause they are grape specific.

The women in the club are great-intelligent, fun and lively. The evening is educational, (I am the only one who doesn't take notes cause I think I can remember the relevant stuff but not so much- I can't even remember simple things like what "crisp" means and what a "long finish" is) and always a good time. Of course it is- do you see the three wine glasses set out per person?  How can it not be?

I recommend the video version and like a good wine - it is best enjoyed this way- with friends.