You’ve made a last-minute stop at the wine store to grab a couple bottles for a friend’s loft party. “What to buy?” you ask yourself. Don’t panic. Remind yourself that you know the 5 easy steps to wine, consider what type of wine you (and your guests) like, and remember you can always ask for help. Also know sometimes you just need to go with your intuition. Like a 6th sense, it taps into the same spirit of creativity you use when selecting a gift.
Don’t think you have this special ability? Here are a few tips to get you in tune with your inner wine instincts.
Get in the Mood
Just like with food, mood can dictate what type of wine you feel like drinking. I remember a woman telling me once that when she’s in a bad mood she craves red wine. Try to consider the type of atmosphere you want to create when making your selection. This is a key component to developing your wine intuition.
A great resource to help you learn more is Billy’s Best Bottles by Billy Munnelly. Probably the first wine writer to clearly explain how our moods impact our wine selection and enjoyment, Munnelly thoughtfully categorizes wines according to his six “drinking moods” instead of by price or country. For white wine you can choose from: Fresh White, Everyday Nice White and Rich White; and for red: Lively Red, Rustic Red and Rich Red are your choices (to learn more visit www.billysbestbottles.com). Munnelly feels so strong about this mood philosophy he even urges wine stores to be organized by mood.
Check the Forecast
Weather has a huge impact on our physical desires (not to mention on our moods). For example, with the warm weather revving up, it calls for lighter, crisp white wines and chilled roses on the patio. Whereas in the winter rich, bold reds seem more appropriate for cozying up by the fire. My personal seasonal favourites are rich, oaky chardonnays in winter and refreshing roses in the spring and summer.
Know Your Audience
Have you ever questioned if you should bring out that expensive or rare bottle you’ve been patiently storing on your wine rack? Is the particular crowd or occasion worth it? It’s a fair question because you want to make sure it will be appreciated. Keep up this critical thinking. It will always help you to choose right.
Think about the occasion and who will be at the party you’re attending. If it’s a creative group, pick up a hip and stylish bottle of Malivoire Organic Pinot Gris. For an intellectual crowd try a rich, complex California Zinfandel to keep the conversation flowing. A mixed crowd for a birthday? A simple, easy drinking but tasty red wine that isn’t too serious such as a French Beaujolais should do. And for a crowd with a sense of humour, serve up Daniel Lenko’s new wine called Chardonngay – yes, that says gay. It’s bound to get a few laughs and spark conversation.
Beppi Crossariol, The Globe and Mail’s wine critic, had a recent column titled “Gamays just wanna have fun.” He gets it! Wines all have a personality or mood to them, so the idea is to try to fit the wine’s personality or “vibe” with the occasion. Pay attention to what wines work with what crowd and you’ll start to enjoy sharing wine more and increase others enjoyment, too.
Cheers,
Pax
Angela Aiello and Paxton Allewell's wine column can be read every Thursday on sweethome.ca/wine. They are wine specialists and the founders of the acclaimed iYellow Wine Club based in Toronto. For more info, check out their bio.