Fine Wines

In this world, if the word "fine" is added in front of something, it becomes valuable and people won't mind paying a premium price for it. For example, there are fine jewellery, fine wines, fine arts, fine teas, fine dining, etc. Let's talk about wines and fine wines. The reason is that wine drinking has become so popular that every stores or supermarkets will have a wine section solely cater for the wine drinkers of the mass market. The bigger the wine section, the bigger will be the supermarkets. An average housewife also knows how to pick up a bottle or two when she goes shopping. Actually, can there be so much thing to talk about on wines or wine drinking. You won't be surprise, there are so many books written on wines, wine with food and wine appreciation, not to mention the weekly magazines on wine. Some wine cellars (or just shops selling wine) even run courses for wine appreciation and these courses are always oversubscribed. You pay a certain fees, you have the chance to taste all types of wine, the reds, the whites and the pinks, from a diversified wine producing regions of the world, beside learning techniques like how to serve the wine, what type of glasses to use, improve you taste buds (palate) and most of all know what wine is for what occasion, sweet or dry etc. It is good to have some knowledge in the art of wine drinking so that one does not feel odd or embarrassed in public. For example, if you order a bottle of wine in a restaurant, the waitor brings in a bottle. When he pulls the cork and passes it to you, you must know what to do. And when he pours just a little bit of wine in a glass and passes it you, don't give him a strange look as tough you want him to pour some more wine into the glass.

 If you are not a wine connoisseur, most probably any wine will do if the price is right. To the ordinary folk, all wines taste the same, except for the colour. But for the wine connoisseurs, they choose their wines carefully, the wine producing regions, which vintage year, the type sof grapes even the wine agents. Names like Chateau Margaux, Chateau Petrus, Chateau d'Yquem, Chateau Lafite, etc, are no strangers to them. Some even commented that life is too short just to drink ordinary wines. Usually these people are either rich, famous or they are professionals who have deep pockets as these bottles cost easily several thousands or more per bottle. Some rich people may not know how to appreciate wine. I once heard of someone (famous and rich) who ordered a 1982 Chateau Margaux (may be to show off his wealth and status) and asked the waitor for some orange juice to mix with the wine. Just to quot from a newspaper cutting I kept some years ago, a six-little bottle of Chateau Lafite was auctioned for HK$363,000, a 1.5 litre Chateau Petrus 1982 fetched a price of HK$435,000. 1982 is a magic year in the wine trade for the superb quality of wine produced.

China may be a nation where tea drinking is a way of life among its people. With the influence of western culture, wine drinking has also become very popular and affordable to the ordinary people. Incidentally, the wine auctions of fine and rare wines have also shifted to Beijing. In another newspaper cutting dated December 23, 1997, the first ever fine and rare wine auctions auction was conducted in Beijing where a woman  bid 220,000 yuan for a bottle of Beychevelle 1989's St Julien. Nearly a hundred bottles were auctioned off, mainly to Chinese collectors. In 1977, Sotheby's auction  house also auctioned off Sir Andrew Lloyd Webbers's (renowned UK wine collector) collection of prize vintages to wine lovers and raised over 1.3 millions pounds. Many of such stories are found in newspaper cuttings I collected over the years.

 Do not be put off if you can't afford that kind of wines the wine connoisseurs drink. Actually, wines costing tens of dollars are quite okay for ordinary people like myself. If your palate has improved, those costing hundreds can certainly perform exceptionally well. Just remember, treat the wines nicely and they sure will quench your hungry taste for some fine things in life. Here are some tips I can offer, although I also consider myself as a beginner (can't afford a bottle of Chateau Petrus). Don't open and drink the wine straight away after you have bought it from a supermarket. The wine needs sometime (preferably couple of days) to settle down after all this moving around. Serve the wine at 17 degrees and do not mix with ice or other juices. After the wine is poured out, let it breathe for a while before drinking it (it's been in the bottle for a long time, it needs some fresh air) Try to consume the wine in one session for wine oxidises rapidly and the taste will be different the next day. I also fine that some cheap wines can improve further if you store them properly for over 1 or two years in bottles. I usually keep them inside the cupboard as the temperature can be quite uniform there. Of course one can always buy a refrigerator specially made for storing wines. Again, if the wines are cheap, no point to keep them in that environment (it will add up the cost). I once bought some very cheap wines and kept for over one year, I find that the wine quality has improved over the years and the taste is quite good (of course don't expect that they will be like Chateau Margaux but they are still fit for consumption). The rationale behind is: if you don't mind the brand, you can expect to have good wine everyday on your dinning table. But before you horde up your collection, make sure that the wine is cheap and good. Chateau Wines are for occasions only, even if you can afford them. Why not settle for the lesser brands (over 2000 Bordeaux labels, St Emilion, Pomerol, Burgundy etc) where you can enjoy you wine anytime, anywhere you like. Some Australian wines are fantastic as well, good value for money. The German whites are fruity, especially those from the River Rhine region.

Wine breaths faster in a decanter

   
Usually people drink wine together with food, the reason is that good wine blends well with the food you eat. As a rule of thumb, red wines always go well with beef, pork or chicken and white wines blend well with fish or sea food. If you are entertaining friends, it is always good to have a bottle or two on the table. When I was in UK, my hosts always started off with a starter wine (before the meal), then wine to go with the main course and finally a desert wine after the meal. It was really elaborate when wine drinking is concerned.

I started drinking wine in the 1970s when I was a student in England. Because of budget, I started making my own wine and beer. It is legal in the UK for people to make and consume their own home-made wine. Most of the supermarkets in UK have a section where ingredients for home-made wine and beer are sold. Things like grape juice, wine making and bottling equipment, yeasts, even wine labels for sticking onto the bottles. So one can make his own clarets, Merlots, Carbenet Suavignons. I even tried making wine from apples, flowers and other ingredients. Usually one can of grape juice with some sugar can be fermented into 5 bottles of wine of your choice (depend on the brand of grape juice). Of course these bottles of wine need to age for several months before they are fit for consumption. Accidentally, I was able to make some sparkling apple wine (not because I have the knowhow or equipment) because the wine began to ferment again in the bottles (after bottling) during summer due to some residual sugar content in the wine. This would release some carbon dioxide in the wine. On pulling the cork of a bottle, I could see bubbling taking place as the gas gushed out. Obviously the pressure was quit small, or else there could be some form of explosion. For beer making, I used a large pale and put the barley and malt extract in it together with the yeast. It took around 1 to 2 weeks for fermentation to complete. Then I decanted the beer for storage. I would go to a pub and collect some empty bottles for bottling my beer. Each brew could produce enough beer to fill 20 to 30 beer bottles. After storing the beer for a couple of months, I could see a thick foam on the glass filled with beer, quite similar to beer produced commercially. When I came home from a hard day's research work, I would open one bottle and enjoy the fruit of my labour. Wine and beer making can be fun but it is not legal to produce wine for own consumption here. May be I will share my experience in wine and beer making for latter posts.

  
     Chateau Margaux                    Chateau Petrus 1982


Sauternes from d'Yquem