LIKE one of those irritating holiday companions who learned to ski when they were barely out of nappies and had travelled the world before leaving school, my wine education began at an embarrassingly young age. By the time I left university I knew m
y merlot from my mourvèdre and could rhyme off the ten Beaujolais Cru villages at the drop of a cork.
Keen to avoid being pigeonholed as a wine bore, I split my social life between my wine and non-wine friends, and if any of the latter asked me for advice on the best way to learn about wine, I usually told them to drink it.
That actually wasn't meant to be as facetious as it sounds. Wine was not designed for the spittoon – it was made to be drunk, shared and enjoyed among friends, ideally accompanied with platefuls of home-cooked food. When I was studying for my wine exams I used to evaluate wines over the course of an evening, observing how they developed in the glass, with various dishes, or when the bottle had been open for a few hours.
Of course I did my time in the lecture hall, learning various wine production practices such as micro-oxygenation, malolactic fermentation and the benefits of spur against cane pruning, but I always believed wine criticism was more practical than academic.
Judging from my mailbox, there are an awful lot of you out there who agree. I suspect readers of this column have a fair amount of wine knowledge but want to learn more. Much like the cooking enthusiast who wishes to expand their repertoire (or learn how to chop onions really fast), you have a genuine interest but would not describe yourself as a connoisseur. So what do you do? Take a course? Buy a subscription to a wine magazine? Attend a tasting?
In my opinion, big wine tastings are best avoided. Unless you know what you're looking for, you invariably get lost amid the bottle-laden trestle tables and thirsty consumers. Similarly, wine magazines tend to favour the premium market and assume the reader has a great deal of prior knowledge.
One of the best ways to expand your knowledge is to sign up for a wine course. There are a number in Scotland that are well worth attending. Rose Murray-Brown (masterclass@rosemurraybrown.com) runs evening classes in Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews for all levels.
For those wanting to study towards a qualification, Claire Blackler's Case Studies Wine School at Napier University (www. casestudieswineschool.co.uk) provides a more academic, classroom-based learning approach, while a few merchants, such as the Great Grog Company (0131 555 0222), Peter Green's (0131 229 5925) and The Tasting Rooms in Dundee (01382 224188), hold regular tutored tastings.
The appreciation of wine lends itself to literature. The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, and the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson are both excellent starting points.
Of course, if you haven't time to sign up for a weekly night class or to sit down with a book, you can always pop by the Wine Theatre at this year's Taste of Edinburgh. I will be hosting a number of sessions throughout the weekend, sharing my knowledge on how to select, understand and enjoy different varieties of wine. I promise not to bore anyone. See box below for details.
THREE TO TRY2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Vergelegen, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 14.5%, £13.99Tasted blind, you could mistake this for one of Bordeaux's Left Bank wines. Concentrated and round, it is a real star.
2007 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Vergelegen, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 13.5%, £12.99A little more refined and earthy than the straight sauvignon. There is a pleasing mineral character with a hint of more voluptuous notes such as fig and guava.
2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Vergelegen, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 13.5%, £8.99There is a real buzz surrounding this wine producer. Prices are by no means cheap but it is clearly going places. This sauvignon has a strong New World feel, with wild gooseberry and lush green peppers.
Stockists: Majestic, Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose
TASTE OF EDINBURGHWill Lyons will be appearing at this year's Taste of Edinburgh on May 29 and 30 and June 1. For more information or to book tickets, call the hotline on 0871 230 5581.
The full article contains 763 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
