Some would say the best wine is the one you’re drinking right now. After all, quality is quite irrelevant if one doesn’t get to drink it anyway.
There is a grain of truth in that, but we think that’s oversimplified.
True, one might not be able to tell the difference between good and great wine, and one can certainly enjoy even mid-quality wines, as we do. One certainly does not have to be drinking fine wines every evening. We definitely don’t.
But we can’t turn glorified grape juice into a Romaneé-Conti, no matter how hard we try. There are spectacular bottles of wine waiting for be enjoyed, if one is prepared to look for them.
It’s safe to say that we all want to drink the best wine we can afford. Yet, we can hardly drink the shelves dry to figure out which of them gives us the best deal.
No, we have professionals to do that for us. People whose jobs are to sip from a wine glass, swirl the liquid in their mouths, spit it out and give the wine a score. Then repeat the process about a hundred times a day, give or take a dozen.
Taste is subjective, but one can get a fairly good idea on the quality of wine based on what these professionals think about it. A wine that achieves a consistently good rating is quite likely to be a keeper. One that achieves a consistently excellent rating is likely to be a gem in liquid form.
Astute readers might notice that we have never, up to this point, given a point rating for any of our reviews. We simply don’t like to boil our experiences down to a number. There is a great deal of complexity in any spirit, wine or beer, and trying to distill all that down to a figure strips away all the nuances. Think of it as turning grain into vodka. There are certainly remnants of flavour, but so much is lost in transition that what’s left is a clean, neutral – some might say sterile – spirit.
Yet we still use ratings when making purchases. How do we reconcile that?
It’s simple, we use the scores to rank or categorise alcohol. We don’t look at the actual numbers too much (save the eye popping 100/100) and slot the wines into broad groups. 5.0s, 50s or 2.5 stars are average, 8.0s, 80s or 4 stars are good.
Wines which can score 90 consistently are exceptional. They are what wine aficionados live for. The creme de la creme, the cake with all the icing on top.
A cautionary note here. Wines come in all sorts of different styles, from the elegant Pinot Noirs to the rich Cabernets. The tropical fruit flavours of a warm weather Sauvignon Blanc to the peaches and petrol of a Riesling. Yet these are all capable of scoring well. In short, one has to separate the style from the quality. A well made scrambled egg is not the same as a well made omelette.
If you’re eager to taste the difference, JW Marriott is holding the Taste of JW culinary event. Haute cuisine aside, there will be masterclasses being held, including Grape Expectations, where a selection of 90 pointers will be showcased. The way we see it, if you’re looking for someone to walk you through fine wines, then this is a great opportunity.
You can get more information at www.tasteofjw.com.
Details for the Taste of JW Event
Date : 24 & 25 March 2018
Time: Grape Expectations will be from 1.30pm to 2.30pm and 4pm to 5pm on Saturday. Other masterclasses will run both days.
Price: SGD 58 gets you one workshop or masterclass and access to The Courtyard.
Location: JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach. 30 Beach Road, Singapore 189763
