being knowledgeable about wine provides an edge in social and professional settings

by Laurent Guinand

In the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to present two wine-tasting events organized by Vida Zhang Farigs, President of the Chinese-American Etiquette Association (CAEA) in Silicon Valley to a group of Asian-American individuals (mostly Chinese). The events were followed by a dinner where people could drink their preferred wines.

In both events, I had mixed white and red wines, single varietals and blends, light bodied and full bodied wines, new world and old world wines in order to provide a wide variety of taste, textures and aromas to our guest’s palate.

I provided techniques to taste the wines, recognize the flavors and the aromas and help people distinguish between what they enjoy and what they did not like. I also provided a number of insights into several subjects:

- Wine etiquette at the restaurant, at a wine store and at dinner parties
- Pairing wines and Asian food (principles and examples)
- New World Wines versus Old World Wines
- Food and wine pairing for European Cuisines
- Finding good value wines

I tremendously enjoyed my time with the two groups and I came back to the East coast with three main insights:

1. Our groups clearly preferred red wines and people were not shy about medium to full bodied wines. This was a surprise to me. In societies where wine is not central to the culture, there is usually a progression in the taste and appreciation of wine. Indeed, when people come to the age of drinking they tend to prefer beer or hard liquor (cocktails). They then move on to
white wines and or pinkish wines (blush or rosés).

Some of them stay there, but many people then jump to red wines, preferring single varietals and light bodied wines such as Gamay, Pinot Noir or Merlot. With time and maturity, there is another migration towards full bodied and more complex wines such as Red Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and blends such as Bordeaux blends (also called Meritage in the US) and Rhone Valley Blends (Syrah / Grenache / etc…).

It seems that our group was naturally attracted to complex and sophisticated wines from the get go. I was personally very impressed by that fact.

2. Our groups were very inquisitive. I responded to many questions on why the wines tasted so differently, the wine making process, pairing food and wines and of course wine etiquette. I rarely find that level of curiosity and enthusiasm. I believe it was in part driven by the fact that most members of our groups are not only interested by wine for themselves, but also for professional reasons.

Knowing a bit about wines really helps in professional settings (restaurants, social dinners and even parties) in the US. Our guests recognize that the US itself is evolving from a beer society to a wine society and that there are many Americans who are quite passionate and knowledgeable about wine. Similarly to golf, being knowledgeable about wine provides an edge in social and professional settings. And our group is right: if you look at the statistics, the US will become the largest wine market in the world in a couple of years, ahead of France and Italy. So I can only applaud the group’ sense of anticipation.

3. Finally, our groups really enjoyed the experience of identifying and articulating their personal preferences. Participants were not only able to learn about wines in social settings but also were able to identify wines they liked from wines they did not like. We compared a couple of
interesting etiquette stories such as the half glass full being the norm in Europe (so that you can swirl the wine and enjoy the aromas) as opposed to the full glass in China as a sign that you are not "cheating" your customer or guest. I also learned a great deal during these sessions and I want to take this opportunity to thank all participants for their input and questions.

I certainly hope that I will be given the opportunity to present more wine seminars to these wonderful groups in the future.


Laurent Guinand is the President of GiraMondo Wine Adventures. He is based in Washington, DC. Laurent designs and presents Wine Tasting Seminars all around the World. He can be reached at lguinand@yahoo.com.