Your fave drink, deconstructed

“A bottle of wine, ma’am?” Those words from an impeccably attired, white-gloved wine steward always gave me the jitters. I knew what I wanted to drink, mostly, but I didn’t have a clue about vineyards, grapes, labels and years.

“A crisp, light white,” I’d say, crossing my fingers he wouldn’t rattle off a series of foreign-sounding names without further elucidation. Most often, though, he did, and then another period of agonizing would follow before I clutched at a familiar-sounding name or, worse, settled for a Bloody Mary.

No longer. Now I’m a certified wine-aficionado: I know the major grape varieties, the difference between rosé and red, Chianti and Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. At the last Food Lovers’ Wine Basics programme on wine appreciation for beginners, Bangalore Wine Club president Alok Chandra talked and sipped us through wine tasting and pairing wine with food, distinguished between sparkling, fortified and aromatized, and gave us tips on colour, clarity, complexities and balances.

I still may not be able to tell between one vineyard and the other, or the significance of 1989 over 1990. But the next time a suave steward comes up, I’ll know what to tell him.

The next Food Lovers’ Wine Basics programme will be held at 7pm, Sunday 16th March, at the Chancery Pavilion, Residency Road, Bangalore. Fee: Rs1100, inclusive of dinner and wines. Seating is limited so sign up early. Call 9902988220 to register.