Wine Tasting with David Walker

On Monday afternoon, Keiron Gallagher, our National Account Executive, Claire Biddiscombe, our Editorial Assistant and I had the opportunity to taste a few wines with David Walker at his Calgary shop, 100 Wines by David Walker.

David Walker is a certified Wine and Spirit Education Trust instructor, chef and wine personality who has many years of experience in the wine industry. He began his career as the Chef and Wine Educator at Inniskillin Wines, moving on to Peninsula Ridge Estates to serve as the General Manager of their wine boutique and restaurant and then to the Banff Springs Hotel, as their Wine Director.

Armed with our palates and me with my camera, we arrived at his shop, ready to taste a few wines. What we got was even better than expected – David gave us an abridged, sample-sized overview of his Level 1 WSET course.

David began by highlighting the importance of smelling the wine for defects, before you start swirling or sipping. Sometimes, swirling hides the defects and smelling helps to identify any potential spots in the wine. David explained it as, “reading the question before you start the exam,” and that makes perfect sense.

When you smell the wine, it is important to ask yourself, “Is it faulted? Is it what it should be? Does anything seem off?” Trust your nose. You don’t have to be a wine expert to notice that something seems off or unpleasant.

We also discussed the importance of examining your glassware when tasting. If the glass has a chlorine or bleach smell, this can obviously affect how you experience a wine; good quality glasses magnify both good and bad smells, so make sure that they are properly cleaned. When storing glasses, do not place them on their head, as it can trap in odors and residue from your dish soap.

If you think the cleanliness of the glass might be compromised, try to get another one. If not, it may help to season the glass by pouring in a small amount of wine, swirling it and then dumping it out.

After you have taken a good whiff of the wine, it’s time to give it a swirl. Swirling and decanting brings the wine to life – it adjusts the temperature of the wine and opens it up, making the flavours 20-30% more pronounced.

The first wine that we tasted was the Joseph Mellot 2007 Pouilly-Fumé Le Troncsec, which is a sauvignon blanc.

With this wine, we went into the fundamentals of actually tasting the juice. David Walker believes that you don’t necessarily have to slurp and swish the wine, but it’s important to pulse your tongue around your mouth, to ensure that the wine touches every part of your mouth. When spitting or swallowing, it’s also helpful to try exhaling through your nose. Although tricky, it enhances the taste of the wine.

The second wine that we tasted was the Aladame 2006 Montagny 1er Cru, which is a chardonnay. Walker used the contrasting characteristics of the two whites to discuss sugar and acidity, as well as climate characteristics.

David said that he helps customers determine what kind of wine they would like by asking them how they take their coffee. He believes that if they are more of a strong, black coffee kind of person, they will probably like cool climates wines – which have strong tannins and high acidity. By contrast, if they like their coffee with a lot of sugar and milk, they are probably more inclined towards warm climate wines.

We rounded out the tasting by sipping two reds: the Peppino Colombo 2006 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and the Dandelion Vineyards 2008 Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz.

David Walker’s retail space is beautiful and well appointed. The 100 wines are displayed like art in a gallery, each is assigned a number and accompanied by a sign explaining why it was brought into the store. The lay out and limited selection helps customers, because it is easy to see exactly what is available and to identify familiar wines.

Adjacent to the wine shop is the tasting room, an elegant and stylish space that invites tasters to stay for a while. Colourful modern paintings surround a large and sleek table that is the focal point of the room.

100 Wines by David Walker manages to create an ambience that is sleek and superior, but not pretentious and intimidating. You sort of feel like you’ve been invited to an exclusive club and they are truly glad to see you.