No whining about wine: How to pick great grapes

It’s time to get a little fancy, kids.

After guzzling cheap beer and questionable jungle… It’s time to get a little fancy, kids.

After guzzling cheap beer and questionable jungle juice, maybe a glass of wine is just the thing to help you get a little classy. And though nothing says “sophisticated” like wine from a box, maybe it’s time to give up the Franzia and move on to something a little more refined.

There are only 112 master sommeliers — holders of the highest degree of expertise in wines and wine and food pairings — in the United States. Given the level of knowledge necessary to achieve the distinction, it’s no wonder the wine lists and rows of bottles  one encounters just trying to pick a drink for dinner can be daunting. After all, a ’64 Sauvignon Blanc sounds more like a classic car than a drink. Wine should be enjoyed, not stressed over — yet choosing a wine continues to be a struggle for a lot of people, including many adults. But just asking, “What goes with this food?” can be too simple an inquiry.

“It’s such a broad question, you really need to give the sommelier an idea of what you like. It’d be like walking into a dress shop and saying, ‘I want a dress.’ Wine is the same way,” Deb Mortillaro of Dreadnought Wines said.

Let’s start with the basics: Wine is sorted a few different ways. First and most common is the red or white classification. Janet Miller, co-owner of C.T. Miller Vineyards in Avella, Pa., explained the difference between the two.

“Red wine is fermented on skin,” she said, meaning that the entire grape, seeds and all, is included during the fermentation process of darker grapes. White wine, on the other hand, uses only the juice from the grape in fermentation, or is “fermented off skin.” This “gives it that light, clean taste.”

The peel of the grape, not its juice, determines the precise color of the wine, she said. Some white wines, like White Zinfandel and champagne, are made using red grapes — the color-determining peel simply isn’t used.

Examples of white wine include Riesling, chardonnay, pinot grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. Some red varietials are merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and pinot noir. Red wine is served at room temperature, whereas white is usually slightly chilled.

Wines can also be classified as light, medium or full-bodied. To make things simple, most white wines such as pinot grigio and Sauvignon Blanc tend to be lighter and sweet, whereas reds are drier and more full-bodied. Examples of medium wines include pinot noir or rosés. You can find lighter, sweet red wines, but the drier and more full-bodied varieties such as Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are more common.

Now for the confusing part: What kind of wine should be ordered for dinner? Well, that depends largely on what you’re ordering to eat. The old adage is that red wine goes with meats and white goes with pasta or seafood, but that way of thinking is an oversimplification.

Sharon Klay, owner and vintner of Christian W. Klay Winery in Chalk Hill, Pa., explained how wines should really be paired.

“You want the weight of the wine to match the weight of the food. Generally, a red wine is a heavier wine and pairs well with steak. A white wine is lighter and pairs well with light sauces and meats such as chicken and fish,” Klay said.

This is where the red with meat and white with pasta mindset comes from. Since white wines tend to be lighter, they often naturally go with lighter fare. Mortillaro added that many European wines are specifically made to go with the food of their regions. For instance, seaside vineyards in Italy will make mostly light wines, whereas vineyards further inland will make heavier reds that pair better with the red meats and sauces that make up a large portion of the native cuisine, she said.

Mortillaro also mentioned that the varietal characteristics of wines, meaning the types of grapes used to make them, should match the characteristics of the food with which they’re being paired.

“For example, beef bourguignon is made in a red wine, so you need a red wine big enough to match,” she said.

Ultimately, the point of pairing wine with food is to stimulate the combination of flavors on the palette, as Justin Nutter of the Wine Loft, a wine bar located in the SouthSide Works, explained.

“It’s the combination of flavors on the palate. For example, if you’re eating a fatty dish like an alfredo, you want something like a chardonnay, because it cuts down on the fat on the palate. As you eat something, the taste changes, so the first and last bites are different. Drinking the right wine changes that,” Nutter said.

Some vintners, however, disagree with the concept of pairing certain wines with certain food. Miller, for one, feels that it discourages novice wine drinkers from trying new wines that they might prefer.

“It creates an illusion. Really, if you like it, drink it,” Miller said.

Although some people might prefer choosing a wine based on their meal, wine selection really comes down to personal taste. Since everyone has different preferences, generalizing which wine should be paired with a specific meal is something of a loaded question.

Some say the reason some people don’t have a taste for wine is because they haven’t drunk enough. Trying a variety of new and different wines might be something to consider in seeking to develop a taste.

Most wine experts recommend novice wine drinkers start with something sweet and light, like a Riesling or pinot grigio. As their palates mature, people begin to appreciate drier wines.

A little more advice from the experts: Consider taking classes or visiting a winery to try and find out what you like. Mortillaro also recommends buying a glass of wine instead of the whole bottle when out to eat, at least until you know what you like. Although glasses are a bit more expensive, if you end up disliking what you ordered, you won’t be stuck with the rest of the bottle.

Another aspect of the process to consider is where your wine comes from. Though many people think the best wine is more than 40 years old and comes from France, locally grown wines can be just as good. Miller advises that if you do buy wine that is local or made anywhere outside of Europe, make sure it’s less than two years old. Older wines’ tastes will have changed too much.

“Wine is a living, breathing organism, and if you leave it around too long, it changes,” she said.

The best advice , though, is to drink what you like. Try a few different kinds of the beverage, and once you find one you really enjoy, stick with it.