1. Over the past 20 years, the level of dining sophistication among Americans has
risen dramatically. The offerings by restaurants, specialty food shops, and even
generic grocery stores haveexpanded to an extent that avails truly fine dining to
anyonewith the requisite interest. Ours may be an "age of anxiety" in some
respects, but we arealso unquestionably in the midst of this country’s
gastronomic renaissance. A natural consequenceof this trend has been an
increasing awareness of the contribution of wine to the pleasures of the table.
As part of a meal, wine (chimayo cocktail)should not only be delicious, but also
serveto amplify the better qualities of the food, refresh the palate between bites,
and enhance the conviviality of thoseparticipating. An excellent wine should also
captivate one’s intellectual interest, drawing us back throughoutthe meal, and

2. afterwards, to experience the wine’s character and evolving profile. Once one
routinely begins to drink good wine with meals, its absencesubstantially
diminishes the pleasureof eating.
Despite our increasing familiarity with wine, Americans, in general, are somewhat
intimidated by the prospectof "understanding" wine. The terminology, the
intricate and sometimes alien descriptors, and the air of exalted refinement in
which some in the industry havecloaked the subject, all have discouraged many
who know that wine is something they would like to know more about. They
know they are missing something, but lack the confidence to engage a subject
sometimes portrayed as the culinary equivalent of quantumphysics or medieval
poetry.
Learning aboutthe enjoymentand preparation of food, of course, presents fewer
issues. Itis simply an extension of a lifetime of experience; whereas, finewine
was put before us as adults and, unfortunately, usually in a complex format. In
recent years, the food and wine establishment has recognized these barriers and
is making a concerted effort to "demystify" wine. This is a good thing. Knowledge
of wine, like most subjects, can be enjoyed at several levels. It is not necessary to
be able to identify trace aromas of underbrush or whitepeaches in a wine in
order to appreciate its quality, anymorethan one needs to identify all of the
stringed instruments performing a Mozartsymphony. Itcan be fascinating to do
so, but is not essential to a highly discriminating appreciation of wine, particularly
in the context of a wonderfulmeal. Oncea basic appreciation is learned, there is a
strong tendency to develop one’s knowledgeand taste sensitivity further—and
the journey is as delightfully stimulating as the destination.
What is essential in experiencing and assessing thequality of wine is giving the
wine some focused attention. One needs to be sensitive to the fundamental
characteristics of body, texture, balance, and the depth and concentration of
aromas/flavors in order to havea usefuland pleasurableunderstanding of wine.
These elements are not very difficult, and an awareness of them in every wine

3. you drink will enhance your tasting sensitivity and increasingly enable you to
distinguish an excellent wine froma mediocre one, and certainly froma bad one.
These characteristics are discussed below. Excellent wine also possesses good
structure, complexity and finish. These attributes are not easily defined and
usually require sometasting instruction to be critically awareof them. I’vechosen
to defer these concepts for later.
Most discussions of fundamentalwineappreciation begin with tasting techniques:
observing the color, concentration and viscosity of the wine; swirling the wine in
the glass to release the aromas; absorbing the aromas; tasting the wine; and
savoring its finish. Technique is very importantto optimizing the experience, but
I’veelected to begin with the wine itself, and will return to techniques in a future
article.
The term BODYrefers to the sensation of weight and fullness of the wine in your
mouth. A wine is generally described as light-bodied, medium-bodied or full-
bodied, with gradations in between; e.g. medium- to full-bodied. Severalwriters,
including Karen MacNeil and Andrea Immer, draw parallels to milk: skim, whole,
half & half. These all have a familiar mouth-feel and are useful in categorizing the
body of a wine. Body is largely a function of the amount of alcohol in the wine,
but its importance lies more in what style you enjoy for a particular occasion and
what types of food will complement a specific body-style. You would rarely pair a
delicate dish with a full-bodied wine. Conversely, a light, elegant wine will do little
for a braised beef daube, and will get lost in the combination. As always, there are
wines that transcend such easy categorization. Champagne and Rieslings from
Germany and Alsacecan hold their own with mostcuisines, though I’mnot
tempted to servethem with beef.
There is a similar correlation with the seasons. As the weather grows warmer, our
appetites move toward lighter fare. This translates into wines that are lighter-
bodied, lively and refreshing. Thecolder months beg for comfortfood and full-
bodied wines.

4. TEXTURE is related to body, and is included by some authorities in the definition
of body. That can be confusing, however, and underplay the importance of
texture. Like body, texture has to do with mouth-feel. It is the tactile sensation
created on the surfaceof the mouth, as we taste the wine. Just as you might rub
your hand along the surfaceof an object or bite into a custard, so too can you
discern the silky or creamy or brambly texture of a wine. Fabrics are often used to
describetexture, fromsilk to velvet to wool to burlap. Without identifying it as
such, I believe mostpeople gravitate toward wines possessing a texture they
particularly enjoy, and that is certainly a valid priority. The silky, almostpolished
texture of a fine red Burgundy is one of its most alluring qualities.
In the context of this article, DEPTH and CONCENTRATION refer to the degree to
which the flavors and aromas of the wine are expressed. Depth is sometimes used
somewhatsynonymouslywith the term "complexity," referring to the intensity
and multiplicity of flavors and intellectual intrigue of the wine. Avoiding the
difficulty of complexity at this point, simply focus on what the wine is giving you in
terms of pure, precise, concentrated aromas and flavors. Is itpredominantly
fruits, earthy (e.g., mushrooms, tobacco, leather) or floral; is it adequately
intense; is it pleasing?
Wine has various major components —fruit, alcohol, acid and tannin — which in
proper combination (along with other possible components, such as oak and
sugar) largely determine the wine’s quality. When these properties are
harmoniously blended, through viticultural practices as well as wine-making, the
wine is said to be in BALANCE. None of the components is dominating the wine. A
wine that tastes like crème brulee may be pleasing to some, but it is out of
balance because of overexposureto oak, which imparts a vanilla taste. If the
texture of the wine is "flabby", or lacking vitality, it is probably deficient in acid. A
well-crafted, beautifully balanced wine, regardless of body style, will feel almost
suspended in your mouth and will presenta clean, flavorfuland satisfying
sensation.