Wine Appreciation

A connoisseur teaches the ABCs of wine tasting

By Maricar T. Manuzon

Wine is not one of the country’s popular beverages. Filipinos may consume gallons and gallons of soft drinks and hard liquor, but wines are kept back for dressier occasions. That is probably why most of us have limited knowledge of this cocktail.

Thanks to Le Club French Business Association in the Philippines, the Makati Business Club staff had a chance to see, through a wine-tasting activity, how a wine connoisseur takes this drink seriously. Monsieur Jerome Philippon, who imports and sells wines from France’s world-renowned vineyards through his company, Sommelier Selection, brought his finest bottles of wines to demonstrate to us the drink’s different color, texture, smell, taste, and overall character.

Monsieur Philippon explains there is no better way to develop a taste for wine than to practice the taste buds and memory via wine tasting, where one experiments on wines in comparison to other wines.

Indeed, throughout the three-hour lecture, we experi-mented, evaluated, and, more importantly, enjoyed six different wines, served each time in their appropriate glasses. We attempted to describe the wine in a multi-faceted way, as we are introduced to a wine rating card, a guide to analyzing wine’s appeal, and a memory aid for each wine tasted.

The connoisseur reminded us that the wine glass is held best at its stem since the palm of the hand when wrapped around the glass warms the previously chilled wine faster. We were advised to swirl and sniff the wine before drinking for better appreciation of its flavor, with stress given on the role of the olfactory nerve cells (not just taste buds) in defining tastes. The epicure pointed out that if there’s anything that wine has to offer that beer does not, it is the wine’s exquisite flavor that gives much pleasure, especially if the wine is given a sniff, if not a thought, before being gulped down.

We learned that the goodness of wine largely depends on the soil and climate of the region where the fruits are grown, the grape variety, as well as the wine maker. We also added “tannins” in our vocabulary to describe wines’ tangy after taste with attendant effect on the inside of the cheeks (also encountered with well-stewed tea), which the lecturer says differs in degree with the amount of grape fruits’ skin mixed, if only for the “tannins” effect, in the fermentation process. We were also told what seems to be obvious to some that duck confit and steak go well with the stronger red wines, while lighter fares go well with the paler-colored wines like sparkling champagne.

Although tipsy at the end, we left the lecture resolved to do more justice to the next glass of wine that comes our way.

For wine inquiries, contact Jerome at 840-4211 and 892-6882, or e-mail jeromefphilippon@mac.com