Sommelier Magandeep Singh offers some tips on wine drinking. Tanmaya Vyas was there
Lucaris, in association with French-qualified Sommelier Magandeep Singh conducted an insightful Masterclass at the Sofitel, Mumbai on August 20. Singh shared some tips on wine glasses and some interesting facts about glassware.
The glass matters If you go to a restaurant and the food is served in a steel plate or a nice ornate plate, what would you prefer? Therefore, yes, the presentation matters. It’s a psychological matter. Beyond that, logically, if the glass is bigger or lighter, it makes you enjoy the wine more. We also need to remember, why do we go out to drink and eat? The answer is to indulge ourselves, so better do it in the best way possible and choose places with fine wine glassware.
Importance of glassware Giving a stubby little glass with a thick lip to your patron is not good hospitality. There is no study to confirm this, but they say as you change the glass—the width, rim, thickness— the taste and aroma of wine changes. Good glassware changes the perception. What you perceive changes and that’s a part of the enjoyment. The shape of the glass is perceived to enhance the taste and texture.
Things to remember while buying wine glasses Beyond the consumer-trade side, as a direct consumer of glassware, one needs to remember a basic thing before buying glassware—the size of the wine glasses.
Glasses that fit easily in the cupboard should be bought. Also, there are many options of glassware which are reasonably priced. Waking up hung-over one morning to the sound of your maid breaking glasses can be heart-breaking. Therefore, my simple mantra is, buy things that you can afford to break.
The most important thing that one looks for in a glassware is that it should be durable, transparent and affordable.
Best pick The Aerating Wine Glasses available are good for personal wine –glassware collections too. The aeration ridges induces mixing of oxygen with the wine, which not only improves the overall flavour of any wine but are decently priced too. Also, they are crystal made, so they look chic too. Lead free, crystal wine glasses with Aerlumer technology are available too.
A career as sommelier I have been in the industry for eight years and I am in process of launching a certification course for aspiring sommeliers. People will opt for training as sommeliers only if there are job opportunities. The hospitality industry needs skilled manpower.
Personally, I believe in education more than marketing. The association of wine with music and beer with car racing is a marketing strategy. In India, there is more than focus on marketing than in skill-building.
One complete NO-NO for a new wine drinker—avoid superlatives. So, avoid terms such as ‘Never’, ‘Best-recommended’, ‘Best’, and ‘Worst’.
People say you must have red wine with red meat. But if you don’t like it, go with the choice you prefer.
Any absolutes have a place in science but this is beyond science. Its about personal choice.