June 13, 2013
At a lunch recently I was very pleasantly surprised to see a progressive wine list. The Acme Bar in KL has arranged its wines into categories according to taste and flavour. For example they have grouped their whites as aromatic, crisp, or rich, their reds are dry, fruity or smooth, sweet and bubbly wines have their own category. This is a new initiative in the Food & Beverage industry which is to be welcomed. Suddenly the wine list becomes much more approachable and user-friendly; I suspect we will see more of this.
One company behind such an initiative has a very useful App “WineQuest” which I have reviewd here before. It is designed to help you decide which part of such a wine list to start with. I quote “after a quick taste interview can predict if you’re going to love, like, or simply hate a wine before you buy it”. The taste interview offers a very interesting experience following which you are invited to rate some of the suggested wines making it an even more personalised tool. I used it to check on the bottles in my wine fridge and it seems I am going to love them all, which is perhaps not the best test. I can see, however, that it will be a very useful tool in a restaurant or at the wine store.
If you just want some food & wine matching suggestions then Natalie Maclean’s App is very informative; I have a version on this site.
If this whets your appetite for some wine education then I would recommend the WSET Wine Game App, yes it is a game but you cannot proceed up the levels without focusing on your mistakes and therefore learning something along the way. The higher levels are of course very enlightening; I was addicted when I first installed it. I have also tried the Great Wine Regions game but was very disappointed and like so many apps it is merely a gateway to get you to download their paid version – a Wine Masterclass – which may be good but I had lost interest by then.
Berry Brothers & Rudd are a very highly respected wine merchant in the UK. Their “Wine List” App is a source of much wine-related knowledge and includes their blog and even a virtual wine school covering major grape varieties.
There is no excuse, the knowledge is out there at your fingertips, go on, you can do it………..
