Sniff, Drink and Be Merry

Imagine a smooth, full, and delicious liquid stroking your tongue and gliding down your throat.Imagine tasting every pinch of fruit and the soft texture of each delightful sip. These are some of the characteristics of a good wine. Indeed, a true wine connoisseur enjoys wine for its entirety and notices every trait of the savory drink along with its overall flavor.

I’m not a wine expert, far from it. As a matter of fact, prior to this year, the only difference I could spot with wine was that some wines were red and some were white (thank you, keen powers of observation). I was only introduced to the distinctiveness of this traditional alcohol a few months ago.

My good friend, Alvin Peñalosa, has loved wine for as long as I can remember. He’s done his best to introduce us (his less wine-savvy friends) to his passion by throwing dinner parties and after-dinner drinking sessions with his favorite bottles of wine. Some of us picked up easily. Our friend, Dominique Olbes – who spent a year in Spain – always enjoys a good glass of vino. As for me, all wine still tasted the same.

Then, about a month and a half ago, I met Alex Lichaytoo, owner and proprietor of Bacchus International, Inc., Manila’s premier wine, coffee, and chocolate store for a story I was doing for People Asia magazine. Alex, the embodiment of epicurean living, is another lover of fine wine and his delightful shop sells the very best wines from Spain, France, and Australia. During our interview, he introduced me to the basics of simple wine-tasting and finally for the first time ever, I actually honestly noticed distinct differences in the way various wines tasted, smelled, and felt on the tongue. As I was marveling at this, Alex dropped another surprise on me. According to him, wine can taste better or worse depending on the glass it is served in. You can imagine my skepticism. How can the same wine taste different in two different glasses? It seemed almost like some sort of magic trick and I waited patiently for a punchline to follow his statement. It never came. My interest was piqued and Alex graciously invited me to a wine-tasting dinner he was planning for Bacchus to prove his theory. For quite some time now, Bacchus has been hosting fine wine dinner parties that are eagerly anticipated by the wine-loving set and Alex assured me that this dinner, in particular, would be unique as they were bringing in a special guest from Riedel, the makers of the finest wine glasses in the world, to prove how special glassware can enhance the flavors of different wines.

The dinner was held at The Tivoli Restaurant in The Mandarin Oriental hotel a few weeks ago and with the backdrop of a delectable cuisine, Mark Baulderstone of Riedel explained the concept behind Riedel glasses.

According to him, to fully appreciate the personality of different grape varieties and the subtle character of wine, one has to have an appropriately fine-tuned glass. The shape of a glass will be responsible for the flow of the wine and will direct which taste zone of the tongue it touches. Our tongue has four different taste zones in distinct areas. The sweet zone resides in the front of the mouth, salt zone is on the extreme sides, acid zone is in the middle, and the bitter zone is at the back. The shape and volume of the glass will determine initial point of contact and will direct the wine to the proper taste zone for optimal pleasure.

As early as your initial sniff of the alcohol, the amount of air the glass allows in affects the aroma of the wine and as you put your glass to your lips, your taste buds are on alert. As your tongue touches the liquid, three messages are transmitted at the same time: temperature, texture, and taste. Wine is composed of different elements: fruit, acidity, mineral components, tannin, and alcohol. The combination between the sense of smell and taste leads to the wonderful world of flavor and it is the glass shape that becomes responsible for the balance and harmony of flavors. "The content commands the shape!"

To prove these concepts, each place setting had five different wine glasses. Four Riedel glasses designed for four different types of wine and one standard glass goblet for comparison. All of the guests were then given wine in the proper Riedel glass for tasting and were told to move it around to the other glasses to compare. It was quite interesting and more than once throughout the tasting I was graciously coached by my more wine experienced seatmates – my good friend Pepper Teehankee and Elbert and Liza Cuenca.

And after all the tasting, comparing, and wine consumed (instead of spitting it out like a true wine taster), what were the results? I have to admit, it isn’t a magic trick after all. Alex was right on the money when he said wine glasses can affect the taste of wine. If I hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have believed it, but it’s true. Smell alone can change depending on the glass used and it is indeed possible for one and the same wine to have a stark contrast in taste served in two different glasses.

Riedel boasts of goblets that are not only aesthetically beautiful but practical and functional as well and are a must-have for any true wine lover. As Robert M. Parker, Jr. (The Wine Advocate) put it: "The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize what a difference they make."

As for me, well, this lightweight alcoholic may still be far from being a true wine connoisseur, but after a delightful evening of fine wine and good food from Bacchus and Riedel, I’m definitely one step closer.