Hanging around wine as I do so much, I hear the same things said over and over. They are the truisms of the wine world and they include one that I really don’t believe — although I’m prepared to be proved wrong if there’s some research out there to support it.
It’s the idea that wine drinkers go through an evolution in taste preference, from sweet white wines to dry red wines.
In its crudest form, it means that when you start to wean yourself off soft drinks, you first go for a wine that’s a close approximation: sweet sparkling wine such as Asti Spumante, sweet still wine such as Black Tower or Blue Nun, or the host of foreign-Ontario blended off-dry and sweet whites.
That might make some sense. But then, according to the theory of taste evolution, your palate matures and you start to prefer drier whites. Then, as you become a real grown-up wine drinker, you start to like fruity reds before moving on to the drier and more austere styles.
You know, Bordeaux and Burgundy, the wines preferred by people who have reached the highest point of evolution.
This makes no sense to me, and I’m always a bit surprised when I hear wine professionals repeating it. There really is a sense among many of them that red wine is real wine and white is a bit … what’s the word? Frivolous? Not serious?
As an example, I was judging at a wine competition a couple of weeks ago, and when the flights of red wine started to arrive (after half a day tasting white wine), I heard one judge say, “Ah, some real wine, finally.”
He said it as a joke, but it’s only a joke because it’s a common sentiment.
Now, I spend a lot of time skulking around LCBOs, eavesdropping on people’s conversations (just the conversations about wine choices) and watching who buys what. It’s not a scientific survey method, but I think more older people head for the sweet whites.
Younger people seem more likely to go for reds like Yellow Tail Shiraz, which is many things (such as sweet and fruity) but not white.
My sense is that some people’s preferences in wine do change over time, like preferences in anything else, but I don’t know if I’d want to define any pattern as dominant.
Is there an evolution of taste preference in food? Do people sweeten their tea and coffee when they’re young and drink them unsweetened as their palates “mature?”
Do people lose their childhood love of chocolate?
Beyond all that, portraying white wine, and off-dry and sweet white wines, as the preferences of the immature, rules out great off-dry and sweet Rieslings, luscious Gewürztraminers, magnificent Vouvrays, and rich late-harvest wines and icewines.
Wine lovers have a wide range of colours and styles to choose from, and you should enjoy the wines you like, without wondering if your preference means your palate is “immature.”
If I needed to define a mature wine drinker, I might go for someone who appreciated many of the different wine styles available — from off-dry Vidal to lean Riesling, from fruity Beaujolais to astringent Cabernet Sauvignon — and didn’t worry about whether he or she had a mature palate.
Add South Africa to the growing list of national wine exhibitions coming to Ottawa. You’ll be able to taste wines from dozens of South African wineries at a show March 8 at the Fairmont Château Laurier from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $40 (includes all tastings) and must be purchased in advance. Information and tickets can be purchased on the website www.winesof southafrica.ca/canadashows.cfm or call Sean Moher at 715-9399.
A real mixed bag of fruity and sweet wines today, each interesting in its own way.