Month: March 2019

In Defence Of The Sommelier

 

It’s Friday night. You’re on a date. You’ve washed your hair, ironed your shirt and you’re feeling optimistic. You’ve managed to get a table at the hottest restaurant in town. Everything is going well. You walk into the restaurant, booming with the sound of chatter, cutlery and crockery clattering together. The atmosphere is perfect. After being greeted by a charming waiter and shown to your table, you’re presented with what can only be described as an encyclopaedia – oh wait, it’s the wine list. This is where you truly earn your credibility as a keeper to a potential suitor. Your heart starts to quicken, regions, grapes, countries and wine jargon start to blur your eyes, beads of sweat are dripping down your brow and the panic kicks in. What do you do? What does “Trocken” even mean? “I’ll have the second cheapest please!”

Dining out has become a staple for much of the nation, a hobby and pastime for those who enjoy food and drink – whether that’s wine, beer or spirits. And it should be a wonderful, fun experience. I certainly enjoy good food, and what else to pair it with than a glass of something delicious? That’s exactly where the sommelier comes into play.

“Sommelier” sounds like a fancy word, for a fancy place, in a fancy part of town, maybe even scary; but a sommelier is just a wine waiter – and they’re there to help. Sommeliers: the wine buffs of the restaurant world should be your go-to for knowledge and inspiration. They’re there to provide that little nudge towards trying something new, rather that sticking with something familiar and “safe”.

The trouble is that some sommeliers can seem intimidating. You’re sitting staring up at this fantastically spoken Frenchman spout on about wines that will go with the food you’re about to order in his charming-but-completely-misunderstandable garble, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the recommended bottles already way above your price point. It leaves even me itching to order the second cheapest, again.

But, as we see the demise of the white-tablecloth and the rise of “casual dining”, sommeliers aren’t necessarily bow-tied and flawlessly French – they are becoming, dare I say it, approachable. As indeed they should: I’d like all sommeliers to make me feel comfortable enough to ask lots of questions – enhancing my experience by tipping me off to a hidden gem on the wine list, a new discovery or a forgotten classic.

And, for the most part, that is just what they are desperate to do. They are there to share their immense knowledge with us, the customers, in an interesting and clear way – helping us choose a bottle that we’ll ultimately enjoy. So speak to the sommelier – they are rarely as intimidating as you might think. Tell them what you want – from price to style and colour – and let them take it from there. All you need to do is ask, they will almost certainly be able to find you a bottle you’ll love – after all, it’s their job!

Who likes Sake anyway?

Marmite – that timeless British classic. A horribly brilliant, fantastically revolting, brown sticky food paste. You love it, or you hate it! I’m a firm believer in the immense power of Marmite and think that everyone should be spreading it on toast, crumpets and crackers! That’s it though, don’t have it with anything else, otherwise I’d have to question your life choices! You have everything you need with Marmite – strong acidity, complexity on the palate, silky texture and vitamin B! Marmite always reminds me of chilling out with my Nan after school, watching Flog It, completing a crossword, or participating with QVC (a terribly boring auction show, where we had to guess the price of how much a certain product would go for, but never actually call up and bid) all the while, munching down on crackers, cheese and Marmite. I was a cool kid!
You’re probably wondering to yourself “Why is this guy talking about Marmite so much? I thought this was be a wine blog?” Give me a moment, I do have a point to make!
Not everyone is a fan of the wonderous Marmite and most people who don’t like it probably had an unpleasant experience with it when they were younger or just haven’t properly given it a go. I had the same opinion of Sake.
My first impression of Sake was created at the Bull Ring, Birmingham. Fresh off the train from Stratford-Upon-Avon with my sister getting all our Christmas shopping sorted. As a boy of 18, being dragged around New Look and looking at make up in Superdrug wasn’t exactly my idea of fun, so having a break from all the shopping was very welcome!
We chose the most fashionable and sort after Japanese restaurant in town, Yo Sushi! You can get very carried away from all the easily grabbable food floating past your face. Before you know it you’ve had 48 blue, 89 pink and 36 purple dishes, you’re full to the brim. What better to help wash authentic Japanese food down than with Sake.
I was a little sceptical of the whole situation but still powered on through and gave it a go. I didn’t understand, it didn’t make sense. Who on earth in their right mind would want this warm savoury drink? But, as I grew up, my taste buds began to develop. Things like tomatoes, mushrooms and mayonnaise all became enjoyable foods, and finally (only recently) I got reintroduced to Sake, once my arch nemesis, now my new Hero!
The wonderful Catherine Own – BBR’s finest Sake enthusiast gave a lucky select few of us an educational (for me life changing) tasting.
Sake is a fermented rice beverage with many styles and variations.  Typically, its alcohol content is between 13-17%, so slightly stronger than wine, the appearance ranges from being transparent to slightly yellow. It tends to have a relatively mild flavour, low acidity and bitterness.
The process of making Sake is a similar process to making most alcoholic beverages but it involves rice. To get this rice usable for the brewing process it needs to be polished. Polishing rice sounds bizarre but what it really means is milling down the outer layers of fats, minerals and proteins that spoil the flavour of the Sake. Generally (not always), the higher the percentage of polished rice the better the quality of the Sake. The same type of rice normally used for eating can be used, as well as a specific longer grained rice with a low protein content and higher solubility during brewing is more desirable.
Delicate and well thought out tasting notes of Sake tend to not give you the predictable sweet, acidic or bitter flavours that you get with wine, instead you receive a rather savoury flavour called unami. The rich volume of amino acids gives you this complex texture and flavour. When we got to the tasting part of the tasting I was surprised with how complex and different Sake can be. Apple, pear, banana, melon and lychee filled one glass, then the other had cereal, nutty, caramel and fungi notes.
It certainly differed from my Yo Sushi experience and made me think otherwise about something I supposedly despised. All it took was a bit of enlightenment and a couple of Berry Bro’s finest Sake’s.
Give it a try, you will undoubtedly love it. Sake that is, not Marmite.