Five Minute Therapist

When it comes to wine, most of us will probably admit to a fairly basic level of knowledge. You may have a preference for red or white, and maybe you know the names of the wines you enjoy. But beyond that? Getting to know wine is something that takes years of training - there are so many grape varieties and wine-producing countries and complicated technical terms… So what if there was a simple way to learn a little more about wine, without having to digest an entire textbook-style tome? Enter Andrea Frost, the author of the truly delightful Through A Glass Sparkling; an A-Z guide to wine which marries the award-winning wine journalist’s knowledge of the best tipples with a few amusing life lessons along the way.

Red goes with meat. White goes with fish or poultry. Anything else we should know?

Yes, you should know that if you walk through life sticking to the accepted rules, it is true that you may never get in trouble, but you also might miss some spectacular and unexpected surprises. Many of the world’s best inventions and some of the most spectacular places on earth were only discovered because someone broke the rules.

When it comes to food and wine, there are many rules and ideals, and some truly magnificent classic matches that will always be. But there are also some strange and unexpected matches made up of items that only find a home when paired with another; awkward loners who seem less than perfect on their own, but together create the famed ‘third flavour’, a bubble of gastronomical happiness when the two complement each other. When it comes to food and wine matching, we can point to ideals and principles that work, but if you’re adventurous, you might also get to delight in a few surprise matches. Even if it is just for dinner…

● Try the classic matches: blue cheese and Sauternes, pinot noir and duck, lobster and chardonnay, riesling and grilled fish, champagne and oysters, lamb and cabernet sauvignon. Like iconic cities and great novels, they have endured for good reason.
● Experiment with new ideas: sweeter gewürztraminer and rieslings are gaining ground as fantastic matches with spicy Thai and Vietnamese dishes.
● Keep an open mind and a space at the table for the odd matches: a top sommelier recently told me of a surprise match between a sagrantino, one of the most tannic varieties in the world and one that usually takes decades to soften, and a piece of pork belly. The fat from the pork balanced out the usually antisocial acid and tannins. Perfection due to matching dysfunctions.

I’m at the supermarket. I should just choose the wines on special offer, no?

Well, that’s hard for me to say as I don’t know how much money you have. Maybe this is best for your budget. But if you want to get the best value wine, buying the cheapest doesn’t always ensure the best value. That’s why it’s always a good idea to ask the staff, especially at good wine stores.

The other thing to consider here is that wine is not like tissues or soft drink, it is not just any old product. It is a wonderful drink that has the capacity to make you think and improve your meal, your mood and many of life’s important moments. Invest a little, and see what pleasures you get back.

What about buying wines online?

Buying wine online – like buying many things online - is a wonderfully convenient way to shop. When doing so with wine, go to reputable wine stores or wineries to make sure they are selling good wines from good producers. Most bottle shops and wineries allow you to buy wines online and the better the wine store, the better wines on offer – again, this does not always mean expensive, but can mean good quality and value. What’s more, over time, a good store will help you find wines that are similar in style or profile to the ones you have already bought and in so doing, help you to build on and expand your wine-drinking preferences.

Having said all this, it is important to stay alert to the differences between the virtual world and the real world. In the same way that real food will never be a substitute for a tweeted photo, a holiday snap will never capture the sense of a place, 500 Facebook friends can never replace the pleasures of one good friend, buying wine online will never be the same as touring the countryside, visiting a cellar door, tasting with the winemaker in view of the vineyards and having your taste buds blown. Like most things in life, the internet is a good way to source things, but rarely, if ever, a perfect substitute for the real thing.

Which is the best value-for-money wine producing-country?

I’m not sure there’s a straightforward answer to this nor is it the best way to discover new and interesting wines. All wine-producing countries have various tiers of quality and many different producers. Find out what styles you like and then shop within your budget. There is great value to be had all over the wine-producing world. After all, no country makes a good value French wine quite like the French, nor a good value Australian wine anything like the Australians, nor a good value Italian wine like the Italians … you see where I’m going?

French wines are always best. None of this new-fangled New World stuff. Or is that wrong?

Today, to say a New World or Old World style of wine exists is no more accurate than saying a New World or Old World style of person exists. These days worlds are merging, and some even say civilisations don’t so much exist geographically but virtually, as traditional borders are usurped for technological ones. In recent years both ‘worlds’ have benefited by borrowing from each other’s pool of talents. There are many excellent examples of wineries in New World regions making wines in traditional, terroir-driven styles, and of Old World countries utilising technology to make more international styles of wine.

And the reverse is true in both regions as well. Of course, quality wine – by law and design – will always be tied to geographic areas, some with more particular detail than others. Wine will always need to be from somewhere. Maybe this is one of the beautiful truths about wine: that when the world merges and distinctions between cultures are blurred, the only thing left that is truly unique is the patch of land it’s grown from. For now, I think these definitions help us to understand the context of recent developments and how these wine ‘civilisations’ shaped the world of wine we know today. But we should keep in mind that the younger siblings, though they’ll always be younger, are not children any more.

And German wines are always poor. Right?

No. Germany is responsible for making some of the best wines, particularly, Riesling, in the world. Cutting German wines from your wine-drinking repertoire will cut some of the most magnificent white wines available to you. These wines make wonderful matches for lighter style Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese or Japanese and also make beautiful aperitifs.

I don’t want to look cheap and order house wine at a restaurant. Which one should I choose?

First, you should stop worrying about what you look like. Second, I can’t see the wine list so that is a difficult question for me to answer. But let’s discuss it anyway. I get it a lot, the wine list. These days, wine lists look like a book: the sheets, the layers, the weight, the names and sections that go on and on. But despite the intimidating and biblical weight of many lists, there is order to them.

Generally, wines on wine lists are written in order from light to heavy, in white and then red. But before all of those come the fun stuff – cocktails, aperitifs and sparkling wines – and at the end of the list come the digestifs and fortified wines – the super-heavy stuff. Remember those lucky kids at school who had a set of seventy-two Derwent pencils? Lined up properly, they were like an ordered kaleidoscope of colour. And remember how you could get about ten different shades of, say, yellow and just as many shades of red? That’s what we mean by weight. A wine list works a bit like that. All the whites – light to heavy followed by all the reds, light to heavy.

Once you know how the list is ordered, here are some things you should consider to continue narrowing down your options: What are you eating? What’s the occasion? What do you like? Who are you dining with? Of course it is easy to lose focus with a wine list. When this happens, always feel welcome to ask the waiter or sommelier. They are a wonderful and knowledgeable source of information, and a turnkey to unlock so many new and interesting wines from around the world.

 Apparently we should always drink wine with food. What about ones that you don’t need to eat with? Any tips?

Yes, you should always eat when you are drinking wine; for reasons of both gastronomical pleasure and responsible drinking. And although wine should typically be consumed with some food, not all of it is best served with heavy food. Aperitifs are those drinks, which by nature of them being lower in alcohol and lighter in style, are typically consumed before a meal, perhaps with a few light nibbles. Aperitifs are used to stimulate the appetite and get you ready for the meal ahead. Let them do this, and be sure to eat when they do – it’s not cheating, it’s exactly what is supposed to happen! Such wines include:
● Champagne: With searing acidity, precise lines, spirited bubbles and a refreshing and cleansing palate, champagne, especially a blanc de blancs is the benchmark for all pre-dinner wines.
● Prosecco: The sparkling wine heralds from the Veneto region in Italy, but is loved the world over. Nothing complex about it, prosecco is dry, bubbly, often less expensive than champagne and, in some circles, a little bit cooler. Should be consumed as young and, as the Italians might say, as often as possible.
● Riesling: German or Australian, French or New Zealand– a chilled glass of riesling that comes naturally with lots of refreshing and enlivening acidity will get everything in order for dinner.
● Txakoli: From the Basque Country in Spain, txakoli (pronounced ‘char-koli’) ticks all the boxes for an ideal aperitif – it’s super dry, brimming with acidity, lower in alcohol and has a little bit of show. Pour it from arm height to bring out the slight spritz in the wine.