Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Knowing your wine By Stella A. Estremera
THERE'S more to wine than just getting drunk. In fact, getting drunk with wine without experiencing it is missing the whole experience, especially if you're sipping a Spanish wine that not only has the health-giving benefits but the history as well.
This was what a bunch of Davao residents learned to appreciate during the wine seminar held on the Flavors of Spain celebration of the Pearl Farm Beach Resort at its Davao jetty in Lanang.
The participants were given by wine expert Sherwin Lao of the Spanish Trade Commission a run-through about how serious Spain takes its wine as well as the difference between the so-called wines of the Old World -- the ones from Spain, France and Italy, versus those from the New World -- California, Chile, South Africa, Argentina, and all others who name their wine by the kind of grape they use.
That done, it was a brief walk-through to the wine aging law in Spain, and then distinguishing how Spanish wine labels read.
Aside from just looking at the label, Lao also gave tips on how to distinguish a well-kept wine against those that were mishandled. Clue: observe the color and go for something that's not brown because a brown color in wine indicates aeration -- meaning, air managed to sneak in through the cork; and look at the cork as well -- if it flakes, if it has molds, if there's some things there aside from cork, then it's bad.
That's the reason why in restaurants who know their wine, the waiters give you the cork after opening the bottle. Yup, it's not intended as a souvenir...
The most awaited part was the tasting, as Lao guided the participants to understand better what they should look for in terms of appearance, clarity and color, and then distinguishing the aroma and bouquet; the taste check -- sweetness, dryness, acidity, and fruitiness; the touch, whether full-bodied or light, crisp, clean, lingering, etc., and finally, the total impression. Sarap or not.
Then it was more wine and drinks and cocktails at the Flavors of Spain cocktails outside, attended by the city's who's who hosted by the executives of Pearl Farm Beach Resort, with special guest Jose Miguel Cortes, the economic and commercial counselor of the Embajada de España.
