A Wine Glossary: A list of words found at the end of a book that the author uses constantly, often just to impress readers. The author might not remember the meaning of these words themselves...so he puts them at the end where he can refer to them all the time.

 

Let's take a look at some of the commonly dropped wine terms in polite society, in random order:

 

Tannin: The bitter sensation mostly associated with red wine. Different grapes produce wines with different amount of tannins - Cabernet/Shiraz being the most to Gamay being the least. They seem harsh at first sip but, petit-à-petit, grow on you. Tannins leave a furry/velvety coat on the inside of our mouth which gives the effect of dryness. They also give red wine their structure and ageworthiness, and their ability to pair well with rich, high-protein dishes. Tea too has tannins. Talk of tannins in white/rosé wines is perfect at a table where one is discussing other things imaginary, like WMDs in Iraq.

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Whenever I get flak for my columns, it is mostly directed to my choice of titles, which are generally quite unimaginative, and cheesy. Apparently my titles make wine even more boring, something that was considered impossible even by the most cynical of critics!

But I have several reasons behind the title of this piece. Two reasons actually. Here’s the first one.

New Zealand has done what no other

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“The best in my lifetime” were the words used by France’s foremost wine critic Michel Bettane to describe the 2009 vintage for Bordeaux red wines.  Jacques Thienpont, owner of Pomerol’s Chateau Le Pin said that it was quite rare to be able to say that weather conditions were perfect throughout the growing season, but that it was true of 2009.

 

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Would you know how to define a hard sell?  I don't, hence the question.

For me the words seem self explanatory; rainbows would be a hard sell in the land of the colour-blind. Whisky is a hard-sell in the land of free narcotics. Wine, on the other hand, is a hard sell, period. No conditions required. It’s just hard.

 

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Packaging matters, no matter what the industry.

 

Recently, in fact as recent as about five minutes before I started writing this, I received something about how wine packaging is undergoing change. South Africa has launched a new campaign about how their new light-weight bottles would help the economy, environment and the people of the world in general. The new bottles with screw-cap will weigh 350 grams, about 150 grams lighter than previous versions. Sure it doesn't sound as revolutionary and won't do for the wine industry what the bikini did to the gown-manufacturing industry, but every gram counts.

 

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I find it not so surprising that the word ‘vow' rhymes with ‘wow'. The minute you use the first one, others exclaim the second, and that is mostly because the word vow, by construct, seems wired to fail. In fact so linked are the two words that in both in the Indian and Iberian sub-continent and peninsula, even the pronunciation is almost the same and unless you were aware of the context the word was used in, you would never know which one it was. Luckily then, in these parts, you can interchange the two in usage and yet avoid quite the faux pas.

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July, August and December are the only quiet months for UK wine writers.  For the rest of the time, there may well be a wine tasting or wine event every day of the week, sometimes more than one, to the extent that Harpers Wine and Spirit, the trade magazine - contrasted to Decanter, the consumer magazine - along with the Circle of Wine Writers (of which I have the honour to be the current President) manages what is called The Wine Trade Diary.  Countries or companies intending to hold a wine tasting for the on-trade (hotels and restauraunts) and off-trade (wholesalers and retailers) contact the Diary to find out what would be a good day where there is little else of importance going on.

 

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So they say competition is a good thing. It brings out the best in us. Well, I don't believe so. Not always. Especially not when I’m losing. But that rarely happens. Like never. So I don't really know exactly what I’m complaining about.

 

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The last few weeks have been quite eventful, at least for me. I still haven’t managed to earn my Bentley but I work relentlessly, days on end, for that. Other things have however managed to keep my spirits alive and singing.

 

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First is an important position. You never forget the first time. First impressions are definitely lasting, if not the last. The first cut is the deepest. So, on that thought, the first drink is perhaps the most important of the evening.

 

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