I joined my brods at the Wine Club for some wine tasting over dinner. The invitation was sent out by Jun Que, one of my fraternity brothers from Tau Omega Mu, a university-based organization with most of its chapters established at the University of the Philippines campuses. He taught me the proper way of enjoying wine, and I must say I really loved the experience.

 

 

The Proper Way to Enjoy Wine

I learned that there is something ceremonial and sensual to the experience of wine tasting. It’s much like romanticizing, you take everything in … the smell, the taste, the whole experience … taking it slowly while you bask in the moment.

First, Jun taught me how to properly hold the wine glass. You hold it by its stem, ideally using only your thumb, index finger, and middle finger. It’s much like how you would hold your pen, your index finger should be right out front while your thumb and middle finger are behind the stem.

Next, you have to learn to aerate the wine. That is, you swirl the glass to introduce more air into the wine (remember to fill the glass with wine only up to its widest gape, so you have ample room for swirling). This is so you could experience the wine’s aroma to its fullest extent. This will elevate your experience, as 90% of what you taste comes from what you smell (This makes all the difference, trust me! 🙂 ). Aerating wine entails swirling the liquid round and round. Swirling the wine while holding your glass up takes practice. As an alternative, you may have your glass rested on the table while swirling it to avoid mishaps. Just make sure you repeatedly swirl it in a circular motion.

After you have amply aerated your wine, bring the wine glass close to your face, so that practically your whole nose is in the glass (do make sure that your nose or face is not touching the glass though), then take all the aroma in (bouquet would be a more apt term if you are tasting a really fine, aged wine). After which, you sip some of the wine. It is best that you take in more than you would usually do when sipping, then chew or swirl the wine inside your mouth. The goal is to have the liquid cover every surface of your tongue, so that you take full advantage of your palate and all the varied taste buds. This way, you get to experience all the flavors present in the wine. According to brod Jun Que, there is more to wine than just grapes, as grapevines are usually located beside orchards that grow a variety of fruits. And because of cross-pollination, different fruit flavors are mixed into the grapes used to make our wine. We are supposed to detect many different flavors just by smelling the wine and properly tasting it. Awesome, right?

 

 

Lessons on Sensuality

I enjoyed the experience, because I am the type who likes to take everything in. Because sensuality makes all the difference. It helps you better enjoy the little things … and life in general. For instance, I don’t like using straw when drinking Coke and buko shake, two of my favorite drinks. I prefer taking a gulp straight out of the glass. This way, the liquid comes into my mouth full on, covering the full extent of my tongue, reaching all my taste buds. This makes the drink taste so much better, and the experience a fuller one.

 

Sensible Conversations and Marriage

Another highlight of the experience for me was our ride back home. We got into talking about my singlehood status. I was pleasantly surprised by their reactions. Most of the time, I would hear people telling me about how I should be married already … that I should not be picky, that I should worry about my biological clock. I was expecting the same response, especially as I was talking to people who were basically twice my age. But as it turned out, they were more progressive thinking than many of my contemporaries.

I was in the car with my brods Jun Que and Bong Tumanut, and the latter’s wife Sonia Tumanut. Sonia told me about how it’s okay to be single at 31 … that her daughter-in-law married her son when she was 32, and that I could have my eggs frozen anyway. And Jun told me about how it’s much better to wait than to settle for just any guy, and end up miserable with my marriage. My thoughts exactly. I then spilled my heart out and told them about how I was glad to have been talking to people who shared my views and were not chastising me instead.

See, I am very wary about who I might end up marrying. And no, it is not because I think highly of myself … but because I am essentially scouting for my lifetime partner, the one I will share a bed and a home with. The one I will be spending many hours, activities, and moments with (God forbid I end up with a temperamental one!). He has to be someone I get along with. We have to be able to complement each other, that is, we have to want the same things and be able to make up for each other’s weaknesses and revel in each other’s strengths. More importantly, he is going to be the father of my children. Best to shop wisely. Hahah.

I really loved hearing grounded views on marriage. Ironically, I got it from people who were actually happily married. I would not get this kind of conversation from people who are miserable with their chosen partners.

 

 

… The only regretful part of the wine tasting experience was that I arrived late. By the time I had arrived, they’d already finished off five bottles of wine. They were on their sixth, an P880 bottle. The others were on a P2k plus price range. I’d say it’s safe to assume they were of a better variety. I really missed out. They managed to rack up a P17k-bill. Enjoying the finer things in life does not come in cheap. Heheh

 

Cheers to good wine and great conversations with positive people (and successful too!). That was my favorite part of the experience. I felt genuine warmth from the people I was with. And that always pairs well with good wine! 🙂

 

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