In praise of wine

I has just finished Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker on Blinkist and it made me think of the wine tasting I had been on when I was on the cruise in the Canary Islands and the many wine tastings that I had attended in Greece. They do all follow the same guidelines of

• Observing the colour of the wine,

• Swirling the glass to check the viscosity of the liquid – the more slowly it drops down the glass the better the quality,
• The smell of the wine to appreciate its aroma – this builds appetite for the wine to come,
• The tasting of the wine by sipping – allowing it to run all over your mouth so that all areas of your tongue can appreciate the liquid and finally
• The mouthfeel of the wine itself – is it light, medium or full bodied.

I hadn’t until I read this considered not only the restaurant etiquette of ladies before men and guests before hosts working in a clockwork manner but the job that the sommelier (wine waiter) has to achieve of balancing his guests desires with the food that they are ordering.

Many of us don’t know what we want to drink as we are not well practiced in the subtle nuances that are present in wine. There are so many variants possible like vintages, varieties, the infamous terroir. It’s mind blowing the combinations that are possible but it is the job of the sommelier to know all of this while also being able to walk and talk while not spilling a drop. That’s quite an ask so respect your bar staff next time you see them.

I thought since drinking alcohol is such a big part of being an adult this needed to be included in the Thriving Autistic Adult Series

The ability to talk

The secrets of Small talk for autistics

When you try to control everything, it ends up controlling you

Best wishes

Angela