Oxford Wine Tasting Notes: Chardonnay or Chablis? Putting some class in your glass

Chardonnay or Chablis?

Putting some class in your glass

By Dr Edward Fitzgerald

You start to fluster. The hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The wine waiter is leaning over you in the opulent restaurant whilst your beautiful other-half sits opposite, both awaiting your imminent choice from the wine list. Only the list could be written in a foreign language, for all you know. Chardonnay or Chablis, Claret or Haut-Médoc? Was the 2000 a better vintage or the '98? And what goes with lamb? James Bond would know what to order. I don't! Help!

The past fifteen years have seen a huge revolution in the wine drinking habits of the English. Once the preserve of the professional classes, wine consumption has jumped enormously, driving a new economic boom for wine producing regions around the world. The English are renowned for having a wider selection of wines available than any other wine consuming country. Auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s keep England at the centre of the world's fine wine trade. Oxford alone has supplied the majority of the most recognised and respected wine writers.

But do any of us really know anything about it? Certainly we all like to think we do. But does the average Joe Public picking up a bottle from the supermarket shelf stop to consider anything more than the label or price? Should they?

Wine is a romantic subject; it captures the senses, relaxes the body and seduces the minds of those who enjoy it. Taking some time to stop and learn a little about what's in your glass can add to that enjoyment greatly. And let’s face it; it always looks good at the dinner party table to have some background knowledge of your host's precious bottle.

What's often overlooked is that wine is also an academic subject - there is so much to learn about countries, regions, producers and vineyards. And every year a new vintage shifts the goalposts - some regions excel, others exsanguinate. But best of all, wine is a practical subject - the only way to learn is to taste the wines and visit the regions, not a hardship when most vineyard areas are in some of the world's most dramatic and beautiful countryside.

Learning just a little of this goes a long way to decoding the labels in Oddbins and restaurant wine lists. Before you know it you'll be talking tannins and tastes. Then you've caught the wine bug! So in order to speed your way towards this blissful nirvana, here follows ten top tips to guide you on your vinous travels:

1. White wine grapes

After selecting the vineyard, the winemakers’ choice of grape is the main factor determining the character of a wine. From tannic and taught to fine and fruity, each different grape variety brings its own tastes and flavours to your glass. Chardonnay is the one white grape everyone knows about. From Bridget Jones quaffers to world-class Burgundies, this great grape produces reliable, soft and buttery wines. The problem is that is really does grow everywhere, to the extent that serious wine drinkers have formed the ABC Club - Anything But Chardonnay! Their antidote to this ubiquitous vine is Sauvignon Blanc, which makes crisp, acidic wines with a lovely aroma that's been likened to cats pee on a gooseberry bush! But for those that want move beyond the supermarket there are some wonderful wines to discover made from grapes you'll never have heard of. Try Viognier, which makes luscious, thick white wines with a captivating scent of blossom and apricots.

2. Red Wine Grapes

Red wines benefit from the tannins crushed out of the darker grape skin, giving the wines a deeper colour and structure. Cabernet Sauvignon (Cab Sav, as it is fondly known) is the original stalwart of Bordeaux. Now grown around the world, King Cab is often thought of as the noblest of the red grape varieties making dense, tannic, blackcurrant flavoured wines that age gracefully. Syrah (or shiraz as its called in Australia) makes up for in power what is might loose to Cab Sav in finesse. Black wines with a smoky, leathery nose, these pack much more punch on the palate. Pinot Noir is a wine that people fall in love with. Its light colour belies a perfumed nose of red fruit and confectionary, or earth and farmyards if it originates from Burgundy! These are the most famous grape names you'll see on the supermarket shelves, but break free and try something different. The Carmenère grape, usually from South America, makes wonderfully concentrated, deep wines full of red fruits and is very fairly priced.

3. Vintages

There is currently a popular argument in the wine world that says that there are no longer any bad vintages, just bad winemakers. Certainly modern wine making technology means that even the worst vintage can produce something very agreeable. Reputable producers around the world can make reliable wines with almost whatever the weather throws at them. So ultimately vintages are not something to get too hung-up about until you're getting really serious about your wine drinking.

4. Food and Wine

The first rule: there are no rules. Endless books have been written on this subject, but you should ultimately have the confidence to drink whatever you like with whatever you what. Finding that right combination is a wonderful goal to aim for - there is no doubt that when you get it right the final result tastes far better than the sum of its' constituent parts. Yet, as Jancis Robinson wrote recently "For every food there is probably the perfect wine to match, but for most of us life will be too short to find it!"

5. Terroir

A French word for which there is no direct English translation, terroir is a frequently used wine term conveying the concept that a wine reflects its place of origin. The famous Bordeaux wine maker Bruno Prats translates terroir to mean: "The coming together of the climate, soil and landscape that makes every vineyard unique". Great wines reflect this vineyard terroir on the nose and palate and an experienced taster can taste a great wine blind and pinpoint the exact vineyard it came from. This sense of place and sense of identity is what makes wines different from all other beverages. It also forms the basis for criticism of many of the new mass-produced supermarket wines that taste the same wherever they hail from - McDonalds wines that many in the wine trade argue shouldn't be called wine at all. Alcoholic grape juice, anyone?

6. New World versus Old World

"Old world" refers to wines hailing from the European countries that have been making them since Roman times: Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria...even England! "New World" describes wines from countries that are (historically, at least) newer to wine making, such as America, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. Why are these terms used? They're used to describe a difference in style. Although a horrifically broad generalisation, many New World wines are made in an early drinking, fruity style that perhaps doesn't need too much thought to enjoy. Old World wines (and again, a massive generalisation) can be the work of many generations choosing the right grapes to grow on the right patch of land. The style is more reserved, often to accompany the local cuisine and often needing some age before they are at their best. Of course in reality many Old World wines are fruity quaffers from new vineyards first planted 5 years ago and many New World wines are serious, world-class bottles needing 10 years in the cellar. So why do these terms persist? Marketing. Quality European wines rarely have the name of the grape on the label, preferring the name of the vineyard, village or locality. For them a wine should express the terroir, as well as the varietal character. Many New World winemakers simply say this is an excuse for bad wine. And as Hugh Johnson recently pointed out, European governments love it as it means that, say, a Chardonnay from Burgundy never has to go head-to-head with an Australian Chardonnay, as the wine from Burgundy never mentions the grape!

7. Wine Tasting

Viewed by many as a ceremony shrouded in mystery akin to Masonic initiation, wine tasting has much to live down. At the basic level it has one main difference from wine drinking - thought. With wine drinking you're knocking a drink back, maybe commenting on whether you like it. With wine tasting you’re taking apart a wine to analyse it's components - the smell, taste, acidity, alcohol and tannin. Why bother? Well, suppose you're buying a bottle to go with a special dinner you're planning. It's worth thinking about whether the wine has enough body or tannin to accompany that big beefsteak. Or perhaps you're buying a bottle to keep for a relative’s 21st? Pretty important to judge whether it will keep that long. And sometimes you really don't need any reason at all. Just like analysing the structure of a great novel or the aspects of a beautiful painting, tasting a wine requires much more appreciation of its facets, something that is often enjoyable just for the pure pleasure of it.

8. How Much To Spend?

The most important lesson here: do not assume that price and rarity have any relation to the quality of the wine in a bottle. Famous and historic producers can sell alcoholic urine and there'll always be some fool who'll buy it so they can put Chateau so-and-so on their dinner table. When deciding what to spend on a bottle it is interesting to consider the fixed costs involved in setting the price. The tax, duty, glass bottle, label, shipping and cork all make up a large part of the cost of a sub-£5 wine, not leaving much for what is actually inside. So the difference between this and a £10 bottle can be well out of proportion to the extra money you are spending. Once you've realised this, it's a very slippery slope as you start seeing £15 bottles as good value! However, you then have to be very careful spending more than £30 on a bottle. As a general rule price doesn't have much influence on quality above this - it's more likely you're paying for the name on the label.

9. Wine Snobs

Sommeliers (wine waiters) no longer make me cringe. Wine snobs do. These are the insufferable breed who generally think Bordeaux is best no matter what, the people who thought Australian wine was just a passing phase. They ignore what their taste buds tell them and still manage to find pleasure in horrifically expensive wines that are sold on former glories or for future auctions. The wine writer Tim Atkin recently suggested the perfect way to deal with such a condescending 'connoisseur'. Just make sure you ask for a glass of cola with your wine. Then calmly take your host's finest Cru Classé and make a little blend of your own with the cola in your wine glass. "Always taste better with a little fizz" you can politely add, as your host's jaw hits the floor.

10. Wine Talk

So you've got this far - now how do you convey your newfound knowledge to impress everyone at formal hall? Keep the following four phrases on the tip of your tongue: "The terroir really shows", meaning that you can supposedly taste that the wine came from the particular vineyard area on the label. "Certainly a food wine", this comment always sounds like a considered judgement of how the wines body, acidity and tannin would match food. Yet it is an essentially meaningless phrase that can be rolled out for most wines. "Good varietal character", this simply means you can recognise the grapes, again something that can be said for most wines. "Have you tried the 1990?" Next time your friend pulls out a bottle of something special, wow them with your extensive tasting experience. It's difficult to go wrong here - 1990 was a legendary year in the majority of Europe's wine regions.

Enjoy

If you take nothing else away from this article, then remember these two final points. Firstly, wine should always be about fun and enjoyment. It's about sharing a bottle with friends around the dinner table and enjoying the evening. Wine should never be put on a pedestal for adoration; in fact it never is in European countries where wine making and drinking is ingrained in the culture. Secondly, wine is subjective. Everybody has different tastes, so have faith in your own and drink wine because you like it, not because a wine writer tells you that you should. Don't be afraid to try new grapes and different styles. After all, life is just too short for boring wine!