Obey Your Tastes:
Enjoying your choices by learning some basics
By:Lisa Burgess

Is it acceptable to enjoy a glass of Moscato d’Asti before dinner, even though the wine is listed as “dessert” wine on a restaurant list? What about asking for an ice bucket for a red wine? Is it appropriate to send back a bottle of wine you don’t like? Should I drink a red wine if I’m eating fish? The answer to each is “yes”.

I’m not entirely sure when or where rules originated and later culminated into directions for food and wine enjoyment but some seem to think there is a list of them, and a few people even experience fear and anxiety that they might not be operating within them. If you’re talking with someone who insists there are unbreakable rules when selecting wine, my advice is to scratch them off your list of wine companions and don’t adopt this outdated viewpoint. The idea that you should or should not enjoy what you like is, of course, preposterous. It’s also annoying and can spoil your fun. So, as many chefs and wine professionals will tell you, the most important thing when making food and wine choices is to eat and drink what you will enjoy. There are, however, certain facts about wine that can lead you to styles of wines you might enjoy.

We will continue to discuss these facts regarding different styles as well as specific grapes, countries, and wine making practices from across the globe in future columns. Let’s first answer the controversial question: “Is it appropriate to send back a bottle of wine you just don’t like?”

Many a debate has sprung up with other wine professionals by asking this question. I’ve seen what appear to be daggers coming from the eyes of some who disagree with me when I contend that the answer is unequivocally, “yes”. Why?

In general, a restaurant should stand behind what is served, whether it’s food or drink. If a steak is not to a guest’s liking, most restaurants will take it back immediately. So why should there be a different attitude regarding the wine that you order? A good server will want to find out what is wrong with the selected wine, ask the right questions and replace it with the right bottle.

First, there could be something physically wrong with the wine. The cork itself is typically of greatest concern. There are a multitude of problems produced by natural and synthetic corks. "Corked" or tainted wine is a particular threat to the wine industry because no one really knows how many bottles are consumed by unsuspecting wine lovers. To compound the issue, few people---consumers and restaurant/retail staff alike---are not even aware that they have consumed a "corked" wine. They might just think that they don’t like that particular wine.The principle culprit of cork-tainted wine is the infiltration of micro-organisms in the natural cork that combine with chemical contaminants used in the production process to kill bacteria. This is boring; but true. At its lowest level, the problem mutes the fruit aroma and flavor of the wine, making it taste flat. At its highest level, the problem has an odor that can be described as being similar to that of wet cardboard or a damp cellar. Nobody wants that, do they?

The wine can also be oxidized when it is stored in conditions which do not allow a wine to survive. Let’s say a wine leaves the winery in a temperature-controlled truck, goes to a distributor’s temperature-controlled warehouse and is then delivered in an air-conditioned truck to a wine store. You purchase it and then put it on top of your refrigerator with a window directing sunlight on it for an hour. The cork can contract, allowing oxygen into the bottle and in very little time the wine can become oxidized---meaning it doesn’t taste very good. Wine is supposed to taste good! That is, if you like wine.