TASTING AND UNDERSTANDING WINE January - March 2012

Welcome to the second programme for 2011-12 of the WineSwines wine appreciation class at “Question. Bar”, SE23.

The philosophy is very much one of 'learning by doing'; i.e. 'understanding by tasting' and of enjoying this learning process. To this end we will sample 9 - 11 wines each week, depending on the numbers attending. The cost of the wine (and cheese and crackers) is on top of the course fee as notified in the class publicity. The amount is determined each week on the basis of the wines tasted and the numbers present. Experience indicates that it will be in the region of £5 - £7 a week. If you wish to pay more sometimes in order to try more costly wines then this is possible and is something we can discuss.

The class is tutored by Will Parker a tutor of many years standing with wine and teaching qualifications. Occasionally he may be substituted by Helen Parker who is also an experienced educator.

This ten week course looks at wines from different countries and regions. There will be a mix of such countries/regions with ones from both the “old world”[*] and the “new world”[†]. This will enable us to see different styles of wine and to look at whether there might be differences between broad areas of the world as well as between countries and regions within those areas. These differences can come from many factors such as soil, climate, location, aspect. Similarities can also be found when the same grape varieties are used.

Each week, for nine weeks, we will consider a major wine producing country or region within a country and we will have 9 - 11 wines from it representing at least some of the main styles and types of wine produced there. A list of all the wines will be provided along with notes on the country/region. You will be talked through each of the wines as we try them and we will consider points on many aspects of growing grapes and producing wine, as well as on tasting. Also, we will consider issues relating to very many other aspects connected with these, including buying and keeping (or not keeping) wines.

For the last week of the programme I am proposing that each of you brings a bottle. It can be whatever you like and you can tell us why you chose it and anything you might know about it!

---

[*] The “old world”, in wine terms, is Europe and the Near and Middle East, parts of which have been producing wine for 6000 or more years.

[†] The “new world”, in wine terms, is the rest of the world (the rest of Asia, the Americas and Australasia) parts of which have been producing wine for nearly 500 years.

COURSE PROGRAMME TO FOLLOW, WATCH THIS SPACE! 

Grenache and Viognier last week - what we liked

It looks like the French wines won this round...

VIOGNIER

1) (White) INDIA, Four Seasons Wines, "Ritu", Maharashtra: Sahyadri Valley, 2010. 12.5%
   Like 5
   Dislike 4
   Take it or leave it 3

2) (White) AUSTRALIA, Yalumba for Tesco, "Rose Wall", "Finest", South Australia, 2009. 13.5%
   Like 0
   Dislike 2
   Take it or leave it 10

3) (White) ARGENTINA, Las Moras, San Juan, 2010. 14%
   Like 6
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 6

4) (White) CHILE, Concha y Toro, "Casillero del Diablo", Casablanca Valley, 2009. 13/5%.
   Like 11
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 1

5) (White) FRANCE, Laurent Miquel, "Heritage Vineyards", Pays d'Oc, 2010, IGP. 13.5%
   Like 12
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 0

GARNACHA/GRENACHE

6) (Rose) USA, Gallo, "White Grenache", California, 2010. 9.5%
   Like 0
   Dislike 8
   Take it or leave it 4

7) (Rose) SPAIN, Terrai Vinedos y Crianzas, "Serrana", Carinena, 2009, DO. 13%
   Like 0
   Dislike 7
   Take it or leave it 5

8) (Red) AUSTRALIA, d'Arenberg for Sainsbury, "The Old Vine", South Australia McLaren Vale, 2010. 14.5%
   Like 9
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 3

9) (Red) FRANCE, Vindivin for Marks & Spencer, "Old Vines", Cotes Catalanes, 2010, IGP. 14%
   Like 11
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 1

10) (Red) SPAIN, Nekeas, "El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa", Navarra, 2009,     DO. 14%
   Like 8
   Dislike 0
   Take it or leave it 4

'Ad Hoc' "Class Choice" session due to tutor sustaining an injury

Unfortunately the tutor suffered a broken collar bone in a riding mishap and was not able to get all the wines for the session scheduled for the evening.

The “Class’s Choice” session scheduled for the last session (in December) was brought forward and the scheduled session on Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot will be held on 1^st December. Many thanks to the class for their forbearance.

The wines tasted can be found in the 'Session' tab. Apologies for any details omitted or any typing errors – my typing is even worse than usual with the sling on!

Welcome!

The WINE SWINES is an

exciting, lively and interesting

wine class

meeting in the function room of

Question Bar in Forest Hill, SE23

From 7.30 – 9.30pm on Thursdays.

The next session will be 10 weeks long, starting on Thursday September 22^nd and finishing on Thursday December 1^st [there is a half-term break with no session on Thursday 27^th October]. After an introductory session, we will mainly be looking at different grape varieties, covering two each week and tasting 4 – 6 wines from each of them. There will also be a couple of sessions on ‘other’ types and styles of wines.

The fee will be £80 to attend plus the cost of the wine each week.

The philosophy is very much one of 'learning by doing'; i.e. 'understanding by tasting' and of enjoying this learning process. To this end we will sample 9 - 11 wines each week, depending on the numbers attending. The cost of the wine (and cheese and crackers) is on top of the course fee as notified in the class publicity. The amount is determined each week on the basis of the wines tasted and the numbers present. Experience indicates that it will be in the region of £5 - £7 a week. If you wish to pay more sometimes in order to try more costly wines then this is possible and is something we can discuss.

The class is tutored by Will Parker a tutor of many years standing with wine and teaching qualifications. Occasionally he may be substituted by Helen Parker who is also an experienced educator.

This ten week course starts with an introductory session and then moves to an approach that takes us to the heart of what determines key aspects of the nature of a wine. That is an approach that entails a consideration of grape varieties. You will learn about how different tastes found on wines come from the different grapes used to produce them. This will also show how differences occur from the different countries and regions.

Each week for six weeks we will have two major grape varieties ----- one used to produce white wines and one [commonly] used to produce red wines. We will have 4-6 wines of each variety each week and I will aim to provide a list of all the wines along with notes on each of the grape varieties indicating what to expect. I will talk you through each of the wines as well as the grape varieties as we try them and also introduce points on many aspects of growing grapes and producing wine, as well as on tasting. We will also consider issues relating to very many other aspects connected with these, including buying and keeping (or not keeping) wines.

After we have examined most of the major/classic/noble grape varieties in this way we will spend two weeks looking at some of the major types and styles of wine other than still ones i.e. types such as sparkling and fortified wines.

For the last week of the programme I am proposing that each of you brings a bottle. It can be whatever you like and you can tell us why you chose it and anything you might know about it!                                                                                                                 

For further details e-mail the tutor, Will Parker,

at                                             WineClassWill@aol.com

or call on                                        07985 485 832