Following Philippe

An introduction to wine

A little over a week ago, I attended what was essentially an introduction to wine seminar at the main branch of the Ajax Public Library. During a visit about two or three weeks prior, I discovered a notice posted on the event board that stated there would be a talk on wine on the evening of January 18th. I signed up for the event and then anxiously awaited the night of the 18th.

My expectations, I admit, were not high. Frankly, I don't consider Durham Region very high on the cultural sophistication level, and I would not have been surprised to find five or six people who wanted to talk about the merits of saving money by going to local make-your-own-wine shop. I should have known better.

When I arrived, I walked into a room that was quickly filling up with various types of people -- mostly an older crowd, of course. After all, fine appreciation of wine is still not a pastime of the younger crowd, although I do have to admit I was a good six or seven years ago than the youngest oenophile in attendance (not counting the eight-year-old in the audience, of course).

Even more unexpected was the fact that I knew the speaker. Jeff McIlveen was a history teacher at my high school (both of them, in fact) who taught the Modern Western Civilizations course I took during my goof-off semester. Of the three classes I took during that semester, Jeff's (I still want to refer to him as Mr. McIlveen) class was the only one in which I did all of the readings and all of the work. It was a fascinating class, but it was also the most serious of the courses I took during those five months.

About eleven or twelve years later, he was educating an audience of adults on a very specific aspect of modern western civilizations. While wine would not have fit into any high school curriculum, it's impossible to deny the importance of wine -- or drink of any kind -- on the civilizations of the last several hundred (possibly even thousand) years.

After the talk was completed, I wandered up to chat with the man who taught me all about Louis XIV. I felt like a minor niner when I approached him. He was, after all, the history teacher on staff who actually frightened me a little when I was a teenager; that is, until he taught me and I discovered what a great and knowledgeable teacher he was.

Shortly afterwards, Jeff, his wife and several others who attended the talk retired to the Safari in Pickering Village for an impromptu wine tasting. Jeff had warned the Safari we would be coming and convinced the manager to offer us tasters so we could sample various wines. Three tasters made up a full glass, and the Safari charged us only for a single glass of wine (I should mention the Safari is not a cheap restaurant).

As others started to choose their three samples, I felt like a neophyte. Frankly, it seemed as if I was trying to fit into a higher class of people than myself, but perhaps that's simply because I haven't had the opportunity to sample wines with anyone who is actually a knowledgeable oenophile. During our evening, I explained to my new friends that while I had enjoyed red wine for years, it wasn't until the last year that I had become more serious about my education in all things vino. For the most part, I consume bottles by myself with nobody to discuss the wines I buy with.

You can probably imagine how much of a treat that night was for me. I almost felt ... classy.

Choosing three wines from the list proved to be somewhat difficult. Since I have drank more than my fair share of Merlots, I wanted to avoid that grape. Unfortunately, the Pinot Noir on the list was unavailable. I settled on the Rosemount Estates Shiraz, the Campofiorin Masi (for something different) and the Ravenswood Zinfandel.

Others had ordered the Zin, and so I felt obliged to give it a try. In my own snobbish way, I tend to look down on Zinfandels. They are, or at least were, fashionably trendy for awhile, and I remember seeing several Zin rosés before. It's almost embarrassing to admit I find the Zinfandel that night was the best of the three. I just wish I had scribbled down some tasting notes.

Going from memory, though, I'll try to sum up my opinions on the three wines:

Ravenswood Zinfandel -- This fruity, light-bodied wine surprised me. It was had a nice, crisp taste. If not for the tasting, I probably would never have ordered a Zinfandel, so I'm thankful that I got the chance to try it in this way. It was definitely my favourite wine of the evening.

Rosemount Estates Shiraz -- My recollection is the Shiraz was a more medium-bodied wine. It was a close second to the Zinfandel. I would really like to explore Shiraz wines more.

Campofiorin Masi -- The thing I remember most about this disappointing wine was its smell. Although I didn't voice my opinion of it, my initial thoughts were that it smelled like sweaty gym socks. Despite the smell, I still drank it. Thankfully, it didn't taste like sweaty gym socks, but something about the taste was off. I wish I could remember what it was. Now, I would like to try this wine again, as it was the only Italian wine of the three I chose, and the rule of thumb with Italian wines is they're best drank with food (and I wasn't eating).

And that was my night of wine education and tasting. I really need to determine which, if any, of my friends are budding oenophiles like myself and start getting together with them for tastings. The only wine lover I know for sure is my friend Tom Venetis, but unfortunately I rarely see him.

posted by Chris @ 12:27 PM