MWS Decants

Welcome to MWS Decants

Welcome to Midwest Wine School's forum for commenting on anything that has to do with wine, spirits and food!  Founder Jessica Bell is the principal contributor to the site, but other wine professionals are invited to decant on the top news stories and hot topics in the wine industry.

Ma Knows Best

Mother’s Day often comes and goes with a silly Hallmark card and, if we’re in town, a hug for mom.  This year the gravity of this holiday will weigh especially heavy on my heart.  Earlier this week, I sat with my mom at her mom’s bedside to comfort my grandma as she was dying just short of her ninety-sixth birthday.   I flew home with mixed emotions of grief and anticipation for the arrival of my first daughter.On the plane, I reveled at how moms are so adept at offering good advice, even when we don’t want it.  As much as we hate to admit it, more often than not, "Ma knows best".  I had to wonder; had I gained enough wisdom to guide my daughter toward a fulfilling life, as my grandma and mom had done for theirs?  I found solace in going back to what I know best; wine.  I realized that just as the quality of a wine is not dependent on its style, brand or price, a fulfilling life is irrespective of fame, fortune and flash.  In fact, the very same characteristics found in an admirable wine, such as complexity, intensity, balance, length and expressiveness, are present in an exemplary life.

To start, praiseworthy lives and wines demonstrate complexity.  Ideally, our lives will crescendo with each new stage of development.  Select wines do the same over their lifetime, and even, once poured in the glass.  A living wine should mirror life by continually evolving, with each new sip offering a richer experience than before.  The best wines can seem to transform completely with time, only retaining a delicate memory of its earlier existence.

Complexity is further enhanced by intensity in both life and wine.  Intensity allows each nuance of a complex personalities to shine bright and fosters an appreciation for living every day, up until their last.  Similarly, a quality wine never wants to die, exuding passion on the nose and palate from start to finish.  Intense people and wine have a presence, even in their final years, when the sparkle of vivacity remains behind the aged veneer.

In the face of complexity and intensity, a remarkable life and wine will maintain balance.  A one-dimensional life will often fall short in experience and fulfillment.  Wines can suffer from the same peril.  An intense wine without nuance or a full-bodied wine without flavor may please, but will not impress.Both fine lives and wine also offer a striking length.  This is not the length of life measured in years, but the impression they make in their absence.  Some people leave the room or this life, and yet, their memory grows stronger.  Similarly, the taste of a fine wine lingers much longer, perhaps a minute or more, than that of a lesser wine.  Ever more impressive are wines that incite excitement days, weeks or even years later.

Finally, a genuine sense of individuality is difficult to accomplish in life and wine.  People who accept the events of their life, but use them to construct a singular personality convey a sincere confidence.  Similarly, a wine should not ignore the effects grape varietal, climate and soil have on its expression.  Staying true to its roots, literally, while emerging as unique and great is rare and prized in the world of wine.

Just like a fine wine, my grandma inspired admiration from all those who knew her because she embodied the secret to living an exemplary life.  This Mother’s Day the requisite Hallmark card will accompany a profound appreciation for my grandma and mom’s guidance in preparing me to offer the same, unsolicited advice to my daughter.

The Label Comes Last

In spite of good intentions, our attempts at lasting wine relationships are often reduced to one-night stands.  Upon meeting the perfect new wine, we resolve to see it again, and yet, the very next day the once-indelible name escapes us.  Are we commitment-phobes when it comes to wine relationships or is there another more logical explanation?

With so many great wines out there, it would be a pity to limit ourselves to a monogamous wine relationship, but that shouldn’t preclude us from recalling our favorites at opportune moments.  Our motive for remembering specific wines arises from a desire to replicate memorable wine experiences in the future.  If this is our true goal, then my advice for remembering special wines may seem bizarre:  don’t pay too much attention to the label.  We often gravitate to the name of the wine, but we should first become better acquainted with the underlying characteristics that make this wine producer one we enjoy.  In other words, “The Label Comes Last”.

This counter-intuitive advice is the byproduct of today’s diversified and fragmented wine market.  The name of one wine becomes a needle in a haystack in the quest to repeat noteworthy wine experiences.  For example, memorizing the entire wine list at one restaurant serves little purpose once we dine at the restaurant across the street which often has few, if any, of the same wines as the first restaurant.  We don’t have to reset our wine knowledge to zero with each new wine experience.  Instead, we can improve retention of wine knowledge and our chances of finding wines we enjoy by tuning into more universal concepts.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s start with the “Three ‘P’s”: Place, Panache and Price.  First, establish where it is produced.  By law, this has to be disclosed on the bottle, but it can be especially difficult to locate on wines from France, Spain or Italy.  With these Old World wines, look for the phrases, “Appellation Contrôlée” (French), “Denominación de Origen” (Spanish) or “Denominazione di Origine Controllata” (Italian).  Your first “P”, or its place of production, will precede these phrases or be lodged amidst them.  For instance, a wine from Bordeaux may read “Appellation Bordeaux Contrôlée”.

Your second “P”, panache, includes any details that make the wine unique.  The style, grape, and/or color are great starting points.  You may find you especially enjoy Riservas (style) from Chianti (place), Pinot Noirs (grape) from Santa Barbara (place), or Roses (color) from Provence (place).

Finally, the third “P”, price, is a reliable indicator of quality once the first two “P”s have been determined.  Due to an ultra-competitive market, the quality-price ratio will usually vary slightly within a subset of similar wines.  However, quality is not always directly correlated to personal preference, so you may actually prefer a lower-priced wine.  (This is another counter-intuitive concept that will be explored in a future column.)

The use of the “Three ‘P’s” can help us develop more meaningful wine relationships.  General categories like place, panache and price, are often easier to remember than obscure names, and that translates into concrete wine selections.  A $30-40 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is easier to locate than a specific brand.

Finally, the mantra, “The Label Comes Last”, shouldn’t be misinterpreted as “Forget the Label”.  There are several standout producers that deserve our continued support.  When our memory serves us well and the opportunity arises, there is nothing better than reliving a trip to Italy or a first date through a glass of wine.  In the meantime, the “Three P’s” may help us get out of the rut of one-night stands, while preparing ourselves to be our very own sommeliers.