Though she isn’t much of a drinker, there’s very little that Gowri Kariyawasam doesn’t know about wine. She’s passionate about her job – “wine is a living story,” she says. At a recent wine tasting and networking event held for the Young Business & Professional Women Sri Lanka association, Gowri got hands on about educating her audience on the intricacies of ordering and serving wine.
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| Gowri: From how to serve wine to the art of refusing it, she has all the answers |
From the way to refuse it (two fingers across the mouth of the glass and a casual “not for me tonight”) to what to buy when you’re not sure which wine will complement your meal (you can’t go wrong with champagne), Gowri had all the answers.
Having been in the business for over two decades, Gowri is currently the General Manager Wine and Spirits, for Free Lanka Trading Company Limited. With the support of her boss Joseph Kenny, she has travelled the world, visiting renowned vineyards and trade fairs and seminars. What makes her knowledge particularly valuable though is that she is able to place it firmly in a Sri Lankan context.
She says she first got into the business because she was determined to do a job that challenged gender stereotypes. “I wanted to develop myself,” she says. Wine tasting appealed because it was something so very few people could do – “there are maybe three or four really skilled people in the whole country,” she says. A successful wine taster must have not only a good palate but also “the objective mind to describe it,” she says.
Setting aside her own personal preferences, Gowri says she’s learned to analyse wines and identify the flavours that make each one appealing. Her skills are now in demand, as would-be wine connoisseurs clamour to establish themselves as knowledgeable. “It’s something you’ll have to keep learning till you die,” says Gowri, explaining that really understanding wine goes beyond simply “nosing” it or “dancing” it in your glass.
For instance, a heat wave in 1985 in France gave bottles of that vintage a distinct flavour, she says. But for her beginners, Gowri keeps things simple. She begins with what wine is – fermented grape juice – but things get trickier from there.
When she asks her audience whether green grapes make white wine and red grapes make red wine, everyone hesitates. In fact, the colour seeps out of the skin when it is left in the juice, creating red wine. Wine can come in the form of either red, white, rosé (or blush) or champagne, says Gowri, adding that champagne (essentially wine with bubbles) is its own beast, and would require a separate class.
The next half hour, provides an intense introduction to wines. She pits New World wines (wines produced in countries like Argentina, outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe) against Old World Wines (the domain of giants like France and Italy). She also talks about grape varieties, vintages and how to navigate your way through the morass of brand names.
“It’s a common misconception, that red meat is for red wine, white meat for white wine,” says Gowri. Champagne, which when not from that region goes under the name of sparkling wine, can always be counted on to save the day. However, if there is a rule of thumb it is that light foods go with light wines; heavy foods with heavy wines.
Old French wines are incredibly complex and often require a sophisticated palate, says Gowri, explaining that young white wines might be easier for a novice to attempt. Though the serving instructions for red wines indicate the bottle should be at room temperature, Gowri emphasises that the rules are different for a warm country like Sri Lanka. Here the wine must always be served slightly chilled; but only after being allowed to breathe for anything between 10 -20 minutes.
Being able to talk about wine, is as much of an accomplishment as appreciating its taste. Gowri gives her audience little helpful hints – white wines for instance often have citrus notes, but red wines will not. Instead these might have the rich overtones of a specific spice or of tobacco.
Wines tend to be named either after the grape variety (such as Merlot or Pinot Noir) or after the region in which they are grown (Bordeaux or Chianti). Joining this distinguished list in recent years is the produce of Asian countries like India who have begun to invest heavily in their own vineyards and vineries.
Sri Lanka too will have its share of a discerning market. For a booming middle class, wine drinking is both an art form and an indulgence they are eager to savour. |
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