Wine Festival Guide

by Josiah Kahiu

DON’T WEAR WHITE!

Wine festivals are notorious for spillage! If you wear white and you are going to be trying red wine, you are going to leave with event scars. When it comes to what you have on you, try to avoid using strong perfumes or scents. This is a no-no, people want to smell the aroma of the wine not the new range of Chanel.

HYDRATE

Before getting there. People often make the mistake of not drinking enough water because they do not realise how much wine they will consume. You always drink more wine than you realise because of the small pouring samples. Hydrating will help you with pacing and keep you from waking up with a nasty hangover.

GO HANDS-FREE

This is one place where you need both hands available. Take a purse with a shoulder strap or just tuck essentials into your pockets and leave the purse at home altogether. It can get a little tricky trying to wrangle a plate, glass, napkins, and utensils while simultaneously leaving a second hand free to use for eating. Here’s a suggestion: invest in a good wine glass holder you can strap around your neck. It may look geeky but it’s worth it for the comfort.

HAVE A PLAN

There are always so many wines to try and not enough time so a plan is crucial. There are going to be certain things you want to try first and certain things that you do not want to miss out on. An easy way to plan it out is to try light wines and lighter food first then rotate back around for stronger reds and heavier food. Don’t forget dessert wines!

TO SPIT OR NOT TO SPIT

Well, it depends on what kind of experience you are looking for. If you are there to try as many different wines as possible, it might be a good plan to try spitting. For almost all of us, it is impossible to detect the different aromas and tastes in the wine after you have swallowed 8 or 9 glasses. Otherwise, if you are there to get your monies worth, swallow and make sure you pass on your car keys! A good rule here is: know your limits or spit out. As one winemaker put it to me “ You’d rather not know what you look like stumbling out of the tasting room.”

ASK A WINO

Does rinsing my mouth with water affect the taste of wine?

Good question! A key thing to remember is that it is always important to stay well hydrated while wine tasting. Whether you are spitting or swallowing, the action of tasting and moving alcohol in your mouth can be quite dehydrating. It is always good to have water handy during tastings, but refreshing your mouth after every taste is not a requirement. When it comes to your wine glass, it’s a different story. It is widely accepted that if you are at a tasting, rinsing your glass between pours can have the effect of diluting your next wine or even worse - adding the flavour of chlorinated water. A good way to prepare your glass for the next wine is to pour a splash of your next wine into the glass, give it a swirl and pour out. This technique is called “priming”. It allows the glass to be seasoned with the next wine before trying it. When it comes to our mouth though, it works differently. Swallowing a sip of water does not have the same effect in your mouth as residual water does in a glass. Drinking water while tasting will not have the same diluting effect as it does in a glass. It does, however, give you a chance to stay hydrated as well as give your palate a quick break, the same way as plain bread or crackers have during tastings. Tasting numerous wines in one sitting is surprisingly mentally and physically tiring, and a glass of wine can help you get the small mental break that you need. In the end, it’s important to do what feels comfortable when tasting. One main thing to remember is to try to avoid rinsing your glass out with water and avoid eating or drinking other strong flavours if you are trying to get the best out of your wine tasting!