WHEN ASKED TO RESTOCK THE WINE CELLAR, SELECT THE BEST AND MOST EXCITING BUYS FOR THE NEW SEASON, OR RECOMMEND THE PERFECT ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE BARBECUED BARRACUDA, FOR MOST OF US PANIC SWEATS SET IN, THEN PALPITATIONS AND POUNDING HEADACHES…AND WE HAVEN’T HAD A DROP TO DRINK. HOW ON EARTH DO WE KNOW?...
t turns out that we can all sit back and relax with a glass of the grape stuff, because there’s plenty of oenophiles ready to help us stock up and stack up wine wisdom. We’ve rounded up the highly qualified experts who service the superyacht cellars to give advice on how to put booze onto the cruise this summer. Here they give us just a few ideas on the kind of nectar knowledge they can offer.
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If you really are a vino virgin, the best thing is to ask then listen. The wine experts will listen carefully to what you are looking for and help you get it right. That’s Hervé’s at 1862 Wines & Spirts first tip. Then he says, “Consider the occasion; is the wine for an aperitif, a meal, a special occasion... Is the fragrance enjoyable, is it matching with the taste it leaves in your mouth? What about the length?” Kim Sheffield of Corkers, says if a wine tastes the way you expected it to from the smell, then it is a good wine. Master of Wine Louise Sydbeck at Riviera Wine adds more help by
offering a formula to help you decide: BLIC - balance, length, intensity and complexity: “The balance is generally referring to the structural elements of the wine such as acidity, alcohol, sweetness and tannins.
Are they all in balance or does one of the elements stand out in a harsh or excessive manner? Intensity on its own isn’t enough to make it a high- quality wine but together with the other criteria it is. There are plenty of rather simple wines that can have an intense aroma and flavour but be very short and one dimensional. Once you have swallowed the wine it’s time to assess the length or finish, a true quality indicator. The finish can be very difficult to judge in the beginning but is defined by how long the pleasant flavors of a wine stays on the palate. If a wine is very bitter and it leaves you with a long harsh bitter feeling this will not be defined as a long finish. Complexity is a highly desirable quality in a wine and refers to a large array of different aromas and flavours.
A simple wine on the other hand is more one dimensional smelling perhaps only of different citrus fruits.”
“Don’t be bullied,” says Andrew Azzopardi at No.12 Fine Wines and Provisions and don’t let the price influence you. “If you like the wine, then so be it. Wine is personal and nobody can take that away from you. Experiment as much as you can and then experiment again with food, which can totally change the flavours of the wine for the better or even for the worst.”
Jessica Dunnett agrees with her
contemporaries and advises to find a wine supplier you trust. “Everything that gets onto a wine list does so because it offers something more than its peers, and there are reasons for that. With classic wines you can, in a way, let price be your guideline as these wines are all so well known that they have achieved a ‘commodity’ status and are priced accordingly. Anyone can get a great expensive wine, the real joy is in
88 | SPRING 2017 | ONBOARD
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