Wine Tasting - The Sense of Sight
Wine tasting basics begin with knowing how to use your senses to understand, interpret, and enjoy the wine. The ability to recognize what you see, and furthermore describe it in clear terms, is a very important wine tasting skill.
Although some may say the appearance of the wine is the least important aspect with regard to the senses, it is still worth noting. When examining appearance, we are looking for clarity and color. We want the wine to be free of any sediment, leaving it clear and brilliant. Red wines tend to lose their color as they mature, while white wines tend to grow darker with age. A good quality wine generally will be intense in color. The "legs" seen running down the sides of a glass after being swirled, are an indication of flavor density. It is best to use a plain white background, and tilt the glass slightly as you observe clarity and color.
Wine Tasting - The Sense of Touch
Touch is an important category of taste sensation. This is where we try to feel the wine on the palate. Here we seek to find impressions of such things as texture, body, temperature, and astringency. The aftertaste, finish, and length of a wine are all things we feel on our palate. We are looking for how the wine feels in weight (light, medium, full) and texture (silky, coarse, velvety). Try to observe how long the sensations last in your mouth. Most will tell you the longer it lasts, the better the wine!
Spiced Ahi seared rare with
Wood-Grilled Porcini
6-8 appetizer servings
Recipe courtesy of Tastings Restaurant & Wine Bar, Healdsburg,
CA
Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Meyer Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons minced Shallot
1/2 Teaspoon chopped fresh Thyme
1 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Watercress
1/2 Pound Cleaned & Stemmed Watercress
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Porcini
1 pound Porcini Mushrooms
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Rosemary
2 Tablespoons Minced Shallots
3 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Ahi
1 1/2 Pounds Ahi Tuna, Center Loin Cut (not steak cut)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Coriander Seed
1 Tablespoon Fennel Seed
2 Medium Bay Leaves
1 Star Anise
2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
For Vinaigrette: Combine meyer lemon juice, shallots, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor or hand blender and puree until emulsified. Set aside.
For Mushrooms: Sauté mushrooms in two batches for better caramelization. Place 2 Tbls. Olive Oil in largest sauté pan available. Turn heat under pan to high. When pan is hot, add 1 Tbls. of shallots & sauté for 1 minute or until translucent. Add half of the amount of mushrooms, garlic and herbs to sauté pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sauté 5 to 10 minutes on medium high heat until mushrooms are slightly caramelized. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining mushrooms, garlic and herbs.
For Ahi: Combine spices and grind in a mortar and pestle of spice grinder to form fine powder. Cut ahi into equal rectangular blocks. Coat each of ahi with spice powder on all four sides and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat one Tbls. Olive oil in large sauté pan over medium high heat. When pan is hot, add ahi and sear one to two minutes on each of all four sides (for various temperatures, adjust sear time accordingly). Remove from heat and set aside.
For Watercress: Combine juice of 1 lemon, _ cup extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper in mixing bowl. Combine clean watercress and vinaigrette just before serving.
