My Three Wine ‘Pet Peeves’

We all have certain pet peeves in life, and the world of wines is no different. My three pet peeves related to wines are mentioned in the succeeding paragraphs.

Less than the Standard Pour

This is relevant to times when you order the wine by the glass. I have noticed this tendency amongst servers, even in high end restaurants, to pour less. Whether they are under instructions to do so or it’s their natural tendency, I really can’t say. The standard measure of wine is 150 ml. But often I find them pouring less, mostly around 120 ml. This hurts, especially if you have ordered an expensive wine.

Over a period of time I’ve devised a twofold solution to this problem.

First one is to point it out to the server that he’s poured less and insist on the full measure. At times, I have even told the server before hand itself to ensure that he pours 150 ml. Well, initially you may feel awkward in saying so, especially in a high end restaurant, but it is justified and works. Second, which is more relevant to family wine outings, is to order a full bottle of wine so you can pour as needed.

Rushing Up in Winery Visits

Going on visits to wineries and vineyards are a natural progression in anyone’s wine journey. It adds so much to the theory part of our wine knowledge. During many such visits, I have often noticed with exasperation, the tendency in the winery staff to hurry up. Well maybe there’s another group lined up ahead, or they just take it as a routine, either ways it’s not done.

People who pursue wines are a passionate lot. They would love to spend adequate time in a vineyard and the winery to grasp the nuances of wine making. The guide has to understand that and conduct himself accordingly. He needs to first familiarise himself with the average level of wine understanding in the group he’s conducted. And then ensure that it becomes an immersive experience for everyone.

Blind Wine Tasting

Well this is likely to be controversial. But personally I’m not too much inclined towards Blind Wine Tastings.

For the uninitiated, a blind wine tasting is one where nothing about the wine is revealed to the taster, mostly dine by covering the wine bottle by cloth or paper.

Although I accept that this is could be a mandatory requirement in certain settings like wine competitions where wines are pitched against each other for the medals. But in such scenarios also, I personally feel that it may not be done blind.

A wine is supposed to reflect its terroir and winemaking style. In my personal view, any wine should be evaluated by against these criterion. You see the wine, read the contents of the label on the bottle and make a mental picture of where the wine is coming from (like is it a new world or an old world wine, which is its geographic area etc). And then in the actual tasting you establish whether the meets the style and standard what is expected from it.

To sum up, these are only my personal views developed over the period of many years into my wine journey. These are neither meant to be all encompassing nor a gospel truth

Cheers !!