I didnt grow up wanting to be a professional in the wine industry. Its usually one of those careers you fall into after getting bitten by the bug, when wine knowledge goes from being a necessary aspect of a waiters arsenal or a casual tipple in ones day-to-day life, to something more akin to a passion or almost obsession to learn and know more.
Something just clicked with me one day as I had a particular glass of wine, recognizing that there was a story behind it one that enveloped biology, history, geography, art, law, economics, love and so many other elements that keep our world turning.
Until that time, I had an image of what a wine professional would look like, how they would carry themselves and how they would talk. I had a caricature in my mind: a tweed and bow-tie-wearing, snooty type who constantly waxed on about a wines bouquet or its legs.
Thankfully, I have not become that person and cant even describe any of my industry colleagues that way. And I should note, after judging many wine competitions and participating in countless tastings, I have yet to know any wine pros who toss around the terms bouquet or legs.
One of the roll-your-eyes words that us professional wine folks do use occasionally (and unapologetically) though, is typicity a term so unique to our world that its currently sitting comfortably atop spell-checks wiggly red wine as I type away on my laptop.
Theres no absolute meaning to the word, but more a general comprehension that it is in reference to how typical a wine is to the grape(s) from which its made and how indicative it is of the place it comes from.
A wine with decent typicity should offer a sense of place, and not taste like it could be from anywhere. If we had, say, a Syrah from the Okanagan it would taste very much like a proper Syrah and not a spicy Merlot or a plummy Pinot Noir and there could very well be an element of sagebrush in the aromatics or on the palate, which would definitely be more typical to B.C. than the same grape hailing from Australias Barossa Valley.
Two wines I tried recently offered so much typicity, I practically felt transported to the land from which they came. To me, thats a pretty cool thing to come from a glass of wine and much of the reason I do this for a living, those moments when wine is so much more than just fermented grape juice. Try these wines for yourself and experience their typicity, spell-check be damned!
La Difference 2009 Viognier-Muscat | Perpignan, France | $17-ish | Private Wine Stores
From Catalan country, as southeast as you can get in France, the apricot, light-honeyed notes of the Viognier charmingly mingle with the fresh, grape-y Muscat, but never mind that swirl your glass, close your eyes and take a whiff of the crashing surf of the sea nearby and distinct aromatics of the many lavender fields that surround their vineyards. Let the food match the Mediterranean region, with tuna, sardines, eggplant, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Viñaguareña 2006 Barrica | Toro, Spain | $22-ish | Private Wine Stores
This rustic, Spanish red is made from the Temranillo grape which is generally more synonymous with wines from the Rioja region. Here in Toro, were right up in the dry, sunny hillside vineyards in the north, atop limestone and sandy soils which provide dusty minerality amongst classic Tempranillo notes of figs, plums, fresh fruity tobacco, currants and a light wisp of smoke. A nice, medium-bodied wine thatll do your curry or barbecue proud!
Kurtis Kolt does many wine-related things in Vancouver. Catch him at KurtisKolt.com
