We’re visiting a red this week, Portugal’s Winha de Fava 2020.
Tasting notes: Immense flavour and richness with firm tannins, yet velvety texture
Spotler Wine-ometer:
No one wants to look like they don’t know what they’re doing when they taste a glass of wine. Whether it’s at a fancy wine-tasting event, or just trying to look suave on a date, you swirl the glass, take a sip, and declare “….yes.” But is it making a difference?
While it’s easy to draw a comparison between marketing and dating, we’re actually diving a little deeper.
If you’ve been in marketing for more than 5 seconds, you’ll have heard of A/B testing, or split testing. The basic idea is to pick on specific elements of your emails, web pages or paid ads, make small changes, and record what effect it has on engagement.
The connection here is that the things that make a difference, or don’t, can often not be what you expect them to be. For example, when we did an original research piece with the help of a mix of employees and customers, whether a landing page used a male or female stock image made a noticeable difference!
Tim from Laithwaites offers a little background:
Does it REALLY make a difference to my wine if I swirl the glass?
We’ve all seen it, the wine expert swirls their glass, takes a big sniff and produces a long list of superlatives…but does the swirl make a difference?
To be blunt, yes, it does…and here’s a little botanical, functional and theatrical food for thought.
There’s a whole bunch of dormant flavours connected with the liquid so when it’s swirled they’re released. But those flavours need to be there in the first place, a simple wine is just that – pretty lifeless even if you swirl like a tornado.
It helps if the glass is tulip-shaped tapering to the top so the flavours are held in the glass. We’d suggest not filling the glass fuller than the widest part of the glass; with less liquid, there’s less likelihood of spillage humiliation.
Keep your feet on the ground, Tiger. Swirl the glass when it’s on the table, if you wanted aerial displays then you should have booked the Red Arrows.
Then, when it’s swirling nicely raise the glass – big sniff, take a mouthful (yup, if you want to make helicopter noises then don’t hold back) and deliver your verdict. Clutching your throat, rolling around on the floor and pretending to be poisoned might seem amusing but the wine waiter might ask you to leave …but that’s your choice. On a mildly serious note – your taste and smell are far more important than any of the tasting expert’s opinions so don’t hold back.
If you fancy swirling a real beauty then this Portuguese Red, Vinha de Fava, really opens out in a swirled glass. Its made from one of the grapes used to make Port – Touriga Nacional. Bucket loads of spiced bramble, cassis, plum and blackcurrant – 3 bottles delivered to a UK address for a tasting price of £ 27.36 saving £ 12.00 *. Simply send SWIRL to Tim Collis at Laithwaites Surbiton to take up the offer.
*The standard price including UK delivery is £ 39.36. Standard Terms and Conditions apply and are available on request.