Women and wine — curing the whine

On the Internet Web site www.epicurious.com, a message forum called Restaurant Roundtable gives diners the opportunity to “Praise the praiseworthy and baste the turkeys.”

A message from one diner asked, “Why don’t WOMEN taste wine?!”

“I have a complaint to any restaurant patrons, wait staff, restaurateurs or trainers. Why don’t women have the option of tasting the wine before it is served?” she wrote. “Only if I’m dining with another female do I get to sample the freshly opened bottle of wine. When I am with a male and I order the wine, most wait staff will still ask him to taste the wine … This is quite embarrassing if I am hosting a business dinner with a male, as well as awkward for him. … There is a learning curve that must be overcome.”

A majority of those who responded, nearly all women, agreed. It’s “infuriating,” one reader replied.

Today’s liberated, more aggressive, woman says she is comfortable taking initiative in whatever situation — from ordering wine with dinner to starting her own winery — and might very well be caught biting her thumb at cynics. But sometimes women are still met with opposition by those who believe a woman’s choice is not always exactly an educated one.

“There’s a misconception that women don’t know as much as men do since the wine business is supposed to have been the man’s job,” says Jennifer Ditmars, who works at The Vintage Port in Salisbury. Often, she says, servers still expect the male diner to not only chose the wine and meal but also pick up the check, regardless of who is hosting the dinner.

“Sometimes I’m offended by it,” comments Wanda Paolino, the wine shop’s owner, of being passed over for dibs on the wine list and first pourings.

She suspects that traditionally men would “go down to the wine cellar and get the bottle, and that’s what they did as a social thing. It made them feel manly and we never challenged them.”

Another reason consumers, women and men alike, are hesitant about becoming serious wine connoisseurs, is because of the image associated with it.

“It’s associated with being wealthy sometimes and with being intelligent or not intelligent and people might believe this and react to it,” says winemaker Kenneth Juhasz of Shelton Vineyards in Dobson.

Paolino says it’s refreshing to see more women who feel competent enough to come into The Vintage Port (which opened last fall) to buy or learn more about wine.

“Wine is becoming more popular. It’s because the surgeon general says it’s good for you and it’s the one thing they say that we totally embrace,” she jokes.

Actually, according to the Internet Web site www.intowine.com , consumption of wine among Americans escalated when French scientist Serge Renaud outlined his French-paradox theory in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in 1991. He reported that “20-30 grams daily of alcohol can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by at least 40 percent” and that “alcohol protects the heart mainly by acting on platelets in the blood to prevent clotting.” In 1998, Renaud revealed a new finding, that “two to three glasses of wine a day reduces death rates from all causes by up to 30 percent.”

Paolino wasn’t always interested in matters of the grapevine. She says there were times when she didn’t mind being overlooked and wouldn’t dare mention it to the server. But that changed when she met her husband, Bob, who was interested in and doing research about wine. That piqued her curiosity, and now she thinks her interest has surpassed his.

As the wine-drinking trend increases, Paolino says there are some tips consumers should keep in mind to save themselves embarrassment when making a purchase or ordering a bottle from a restaurant.

Do research and ask questions, she says. Though most of her research has been hands-on as she samples different wines, Paolino also studies some of the books she sells in The Vintage Port.

The Internet is a good resource for wine information, as well. Sites like www.wine.com , www. wine.about.com and www.wineleisure.com are loaded with pages for wine novices, including wine history and regions, cultural events related to wine, wine-and-food pairings and more. Contacting vineyards is also a good way to get information. Meridian Vineyards in California has published a free brochure called, “7 Things Every Gal Should Know About Ordering Wine”that includes tips on “Navigating the Wine List,” “Asking the Server for Help in Choosing Wine” and “How to be as Confident as a Pro.” Tips on restaurant etiquette and descriptions of the most popular wines and pronunciations also help.

Don’t be afraid, Juhasz adds, to say, “I’m interested and I don’t know a damn thing. Most of the time if you say (that), they’ll help you.”

Lack of knowledge can be the disadvantage of buying wine in a supermarket:Though some are extremely good, there usually is no one to help with the decision-making.

“I love Italian wine, so when I’m in doubt I just order Italian, like an Amarone,”which is a red wine, Paolino says. “That’s another misconception, that women drink white wine. Women were perceived as being dainty, and this is a little white wine to go with them. I hardly like any white wines, and most people who get into reds have more to choose from because they have more flavor and they’re fun to drink.”

If dining, once the bottle is brought to the table, don’t sniff the cork once it is removed, as some movies portray wine drinkers doing.

“You’re just supposed to look at the cork. If you smell the cork, it will smell much like a cork,” Paolino says.

After the attendant pours a taste, if you’re not quite sure what to do, you can either go right for the taste or swirl it in the glass and watch the “legs” — wine that streams down the inside of the glass — form.

Juhasz says there are “some wines that do deserve to be considered and thought about and drunk and some to just be drunk. It depends on how far you get into it.”

But do what you’re comfortable with, Paolino says, because “splashing it all over the table doesn’t help.”

Juhasz also mentions there is a particular way to hold a wine glass. Since white wines are usually served chilled (reds at room temperature) it is best to hold the glass by the stem, as body heat will warm the liquid.

Another reason Juhasz likes to hold his glass by the stem is because he likes to look at the wine.

“It’s beautiful, and if you hold it by the glass itself, the bowl, you’ll get fingerprints all over it.”

Although wine can be served in any kind of glass, there are different kinds for different wines.

“The theory is that each variety is a totally different beast so their bowl is shaped to express the smell, the bouquet of the wine as best possible,”the winemaker says. “I really enjoy the smell, that’s really beautiful and to a winemaker, that’s most important. Smelling is part of the experience. Some of the best wines I’ve ever had, I’ll smell the glass five minutes before I taste it. You want to know does it taste like it smells. If you drink it first you lose that. It’s an experience. It’s a build-up. It’s foreplay.”

But, as bad foreplay is a turn-off, so is a bad bottle of restaurant wine, and it is totally appropriate to return it, Paolino says.

“There are bottles that just don’t seal properly and don’t age well and aren’t good,”says Paolino, who also encourages customers to return a bottle to her shop if it is not of the quality to which they are accustomed.

If still in doubt, Paolino says, after establishing a drink preference, order what you like.

“I’m a firm believer in drinking what you like,”she says. “You still have to like the wine or you’re not going to enjoy it no matter what you’re eating.”

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Contact Mai Li Muñoz Adams at 704-797-4273 or mmunoz@salisburypost.com .