Brettanomyces (Brett)

I love brettanomyces! (wine people must been having an infarct while reading this...)

It's very common to find brettanomyces on wines, that gives a taste of  leather, or something like a barn, some people may also like it, however in wine world, brett is, usually, considered as an defect.

Poor Brett!

But for those who like good beer, there is such a pleasure to find the bretts tastes on a beer. I love that brettanomyces flavor on lambics, geuzes, saisons and some farmhouse ales.


My first brett was with an oude geuze that I ordered at a picturesque restaurant in Brussels called "La fleur en papier doré". After 3 sips of that beer I was still wondering if I did like or didn't! But to be totally honest, the fault my not be from brett, because an geuze is a type of beer that have such complex flavors that you must have certain maturity in sense of taste to really enjoy it.

However didn't take any longer to take my heart. After that I became a "brettaholic", and for a while, all other beers just lost their sparkle. (funny story: my husband and I, went to a restaurant in Brussels and they hadn't beers with brettanomyces flavors, there was "just" Chimay, Kwak, Orval etc. then, my husband said to me "I'll have a Chimay, but I'm sad because this restaurant don't have good beer!". Whaaaaat??!!!! We were actually calling those fantastic beers "bad beers"?! LOL)

That funky flavor, a little bit acidic and bitter... Ohhh... That's just incredible!! That's a shame that same thing doesn't happen with wines.

Through the production of volatile phenol compounds, brett gives certain flavors to wine and beer. These compounds (in particular 4-ethylphenol [4-EP], 4-ethylguaiacol [4-EG] and 4- ethylcatechol [4-EC]), may give different flavors from wine style to wine style and that's why they give distinguished tastes in beer too.

So if you love wine AND beer just like I do, please, don't hate brett for its effects on wine, give it a chance, because she has her moments in both beer and wine.

Judging a wine (beer, food, or anything else...)

Generally, people judges food or beverages by their own preferences. However when you are a professional who works with different people and their spectrum of tastes, you just can't let your own favorite flavors dictates your standards.

So, if you want to proffer an impartial opinion about anything taste concerned, you probably should ask yourself: "How mature is my sense of taste?"

Many studies (some listed at the end of this text) reveals that our sense of taste develops through our life. There are 3 most important factors that determines our taste skills:

- genetic (number of taste buds; predisposition to like flavors that are in our culture, that our ancestors had been eating for centuries; those with cromossoms XY are more likelly to evolve sense of taste during life);

- life choices (all the exposure to flavors since birth, specially on the first 2 years of a baby, could determine wich flavors he'll prefer on his adult life; also, choices like to smoke, or to be a sedentary person, or to try new flavors; and some that aren't exactly life choices, for example use of medicins, drugs etc.)

- emotional connections (also known as "comfort food", that sort of flavors that make us remember childhood, our grandmas casseroles, or that special flavor of ice cream that you hadn't ever found again; other connections may not be so nostalgic, but a little bit about social pressure, as when you eat or drink something that you don't actually like just to share a moment with friends, family or your special someone, then after that you'll always remember of those people every time you eat or drink it.)

When we are born, ours favorite flavors are: fatty and sweet. Probably because they're calorie-dense, our nature makes us like energy junkies, so we have more chances to survive. And our brains are adaptable, when you expose yourself to new stimuli, it starts to assimilate and create data about that. In other words, if despite of that 3 factors you still have a infantile sense of taste, you can train your brain to start to enjoy certain more adult flavors, like bitter and acidic, by consuming those flavors with something fatty and/or sweet together, so your brain will associate the pleasure of your favorite flavors with those that you don't actually like, and will start to believe that you really like them too. Same thing about eating or drinking your hateful stuff when in the company of your beloved ones, give your brain a few chances and some time to process information and someday it will start to correlate the pleasure of the company with the taste of the food or beverage.

I, usually, express my opinion about food, wine and beer, by my own preferences, on my social media. Although, for example, on Vivino (app), I chose to give stars according to technical criteria. And when someone asks me about a wine or a beer and I don't know exactly this persons preferencies, I tend to classify by that technical criteria too:

1) Balance (floral, fruity, bitter, sweet, salty, acidic...)
2) Final Taste (how much time does it remains on the mouth)
3) Intensity (are the flavors intense? any flavor is overwhelm?)
4) Complexity (are the flavors rich? or are they simple?)
5) Expressivity (does the characteristics match to the style, type, region, elaboration process?)

Heritability of food preferences in young children
Flavor experiences during formula feeding are related to preferences during childhood
Early Influences on the Development of Food Preferences

my VIVINO profile

Sunday morning: time to drink a good trappist beer

Sunday morning, what do you usually do? Well, I usually have a late breakfast, sometimes I go for a walk, or maybe play video games with my husband. But on a beautiful Sunday morning from 2015, I did something different. I was in Belgium and I went to a Trappist monastery: Westmalle.


The monks there make a beer that you can only have there, its name is Westmalle Extra. They produce this beer just twice a year, for internal consumption, because during Lent they can't eat, but they can drink, so they make this "liquid bread" for themselves. It is a refreshing beer, with flavors like green fruit and apricot.

Nowadays you'll probably find Westmalle Extra in a bunch of places, however those are bottles bought directly at the monastery door and that people sells in their own pubs or stores. At the Westmalle restaurant (and store) it's possible to ask for a Extra too and the restaurant is in front of the abbey.

So, Sunday morning, the mass in the abbey is over, the restaurant opened, we entered, the waiter came and asked our order. A little bit embarrassed, we look around, all those senior couples arriving at the restaurant, coming from the mass, so we said almost whispering that we wanted two Extras.

We ordered the Extra not only because it is sort of exclusive, but mainly because it has just 4,8% alcohol and we were concerned about those seniors seeing us drinking beer that early hour of the day.

Minutes later, we looked around and the seniors were all drinking beer too. And not an  Extra! They were having Dubbels (7% alcohol) and Tripels (9,5% alcohol)! I know it's stupid and prejudiced to think that seniors shouldn't drink beer so early in the morning. But that was a self prejudice too, because I was judging ourselves (in my mind) by drinking at 10 am. And after all, that was just a silly thing, I'd learned a lot about life quality and happiness on that trip.

https://www.trappistwestmalle.be/en

A dinner with Pedigree

I found a Mâcon-Lugny (Maison Louis Latour) in a wine store here in Chile. That was a beautiful label, with all that controlled designation of origin stuff. That was so cool that I stayed just looking at the bottle for a while, thinking about its "life" story. And then a desperation came to me: how would I pair that wine? Should I just drink it without food? How could I find a perfect food to this beautiful wine full of story?! 

I remembered that usually Chardonnay has good pairing with blue cheese. So I went to the supermarket to look for the perfect blue cheese. There were lots of cheeses from all around the world, but I put my eyes on a french cheese and thought: "French wine + French cheese = that's the perfection I was looking for".

The initial idea was to make a pasta with blue cheese sauce. And it would work. Turns out that the perfect cheese was too perfect! At home when I was reading carefully the cheese label I realized that I bought a Roquefort with "appellation d'origine protégée". Then I started thinking about the "life" story of that incredible cheese too... And i just couldn't use that cheese to make a sauce. It was too noble for this!

I know it sounds stupid, but I grew up in a place without all these cool stuff with story. When this locations was already producing wines, cheese etc. in my country people was still walking naked, hunting for food and with pretty small crops!

The simple solution was just to enjoy things the way they were. I had some fruits (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and red currant), also some nuts (almonds, peanuts and pistachios). That was it: our dinner with pedigree.

Perfect indeed! (Chardonnay and blue cheese really are a great match! No need for super elaborate fancy plates)

Grapes Resurreccions in Chile

If you have ever been in Chile (since 90's), you probably had listened about how Carménère almost vanished from the world and was rediscovered in a Chilean vineyard in a Merlot plantation. If you didn't, that's OK, I'll tell this story on another day.

Apparently, Chile has this thing about make some grapes (and/or its wines) reborn.

Carignan, for example, is a highly productive wine grape that grows well even in deserts, and because of that was historically over-cropped, producing low quality bulk wine. However in the past few years it has resurrected as a quality wine in Languedoc-Roussillon (France), and specially in Central Chile.

Originally, Carignan is a Spanish grape. On warm climates has flavors like prune and blackberry, while on cool climates tastes more like strawberry or black currant. Nowadays Tunisia and Algeria are some of the biggest producers of  Carignan grapes, but usually those are for blends.

I confess, I had never tasted Carignan wine till came to live in Chile and by now it's one of my favorite wines.

Last "Dieciocho" (probably the most important holiday in Chile), I made a food and wine pairing that was just incredible. My husband and I made a "steak house pasta", and to drink I chose a Carignan from Undurraga vineyard. This Carignan was made with grapes from Maule region, coming of 2 subregions: Cauquenes and San Javier de Loncomilla. Maule region is located south of Santiago, San Javier de Loncomilla is on the center of this region (warmest) and Cauquenes is closest to the Pacific Ocean (coldest). Therefore this wine is very balanced, with black fruits flavors and also acidity and tannins medium plus.

The tannins and acidity "cutted" the fatty sensation of the food. The baking spices and cured meat flavors of the wine made a incredible pair by affinity with the "steak house pasta". In other words, that was a perfect match.

To beer or not to beer

Happy St. Patricks Day, everybody!!! \o/

To celebrate this special date, I'll tell the story about the day I almost didn't take a beer because I'm terrible on reading maps and I'm a very scared person.

There is a place in Belgium where you can have a very good artisanal beer and very exclusive experience. It's called "De Garre". This is a hidden pub on the medieval city of Brugge. To all the beer enthusiasts and connoisseurs, this is a must go place. There you are allowed just to have maximum 3 cups (that's a rule!). The beer is a Belgium Tripel Ale with 11% alcohol (because of its two times amount of malt), it's produced by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, famous for other big Belgian ales Piraat and Gulden Draak, and you can buy a bottle of De Garre on stores too, however this pub is the only place in the world where you can have it on tap.

The location of De Garre is a little bit tricky, because it's on a hidden alley and you can easily get lost on those beautiful medieval streets of Brugge. When I arrived on the hotel, I received a map of the city's touristic area, then looking at another map (online) where some beer lovers pinned the location of De Garre, I thought it would be easy to find the place.

Turns out that I don't really know how to read maps...

So I walked, and walked, and walked... In circles!!! My husband was thirsty (me too!), and I wasn't able to find the pub. Then my husband decided to read the map by himself. And voilá!! We almost instantly arrived. But in front of the alley, I didn't want to enter, because: first, there was a child making pee there (looks like this is a Belgium tradition!😜); and second, it was too empty (no way there was a pub in there!). I thought "We'll lose our kidneys here!".

I was wrong and scared, so my husband convinced me to go through. And was amazing! Indeed the pub is very unique. With our beer we received also a plate of cheese that paired perfectly. The attention was funny, because my husband tried to speak French and the attendant clearly was able to understand, but just preferred to answer in Flemish or English.


I highly recommend De Garre. It's a lifetime experience and I'm sure every time that I stay in Brugge, I'll be back there.

The customer is always right...

Looks like just an idiot cliché. And, to be honest, sometimes it is... However, the job must be done and a sommelier is a professional who has the obligation of pleased the customer with good recommendations about wines (beverages) and pairing it with food.

Last year I posted at my social media profile a picture of a lunch I prepared. I made a "Congrio la belle meunière" (congrio is a fish very popular here in Chile) and I paired this food with a Pinot Noir because this is a wine with light flavor, although with a little bit of acidity and tannins, just perfect to react to the butter of a "belle meunière" without hiding the subtle flavors of the fish. Then the massacre began! Lots of people criticizing my choice, because "you should NEVER pair a fish or other sea food with a red wine!!!!". Poor me... If I could just realized that my husband's and mine preferences doesn't count. If I could just realized that the tradicional rules for pairing food and wine are more important than the "customer's" preferences. 😏

Of course I know that the classical school of sommellerie dictates that usually you should pair sea food with white wines, however nowadays it's taught that far more important is to get to know the clients preferences and then offer recommendations of how to better appreciate the food and beverage pairing experience by increasing them favorite taste elements.

When I picked the Pinot Noir to pair with my "belle meunière", that was because:

1) Congrio is a kind of white fish, with subtle flavor => light flavored wine

2) "Belle Meunière" is a preparation that involves lots of butter => acid wine to "cut" the fat

3) "Belle Meunière" also has savoury (umami) elements like mushrooms and shrimp => wive with low levels of tannins

4) Umami flavors on food make the tannins and bitterness of the wine more evident, and we, personally, like bitterness => wine with tannins

Considering all those 4 points, the logical choice would be a Pinot Noir from a cold region (that adds acidity).

Nothing is just one thing or another. We must consider all variables to make a decision, not just the common effects (reactions) of pairing food and beverages, but also considering how those effects will seems to the customer. There are people who likes bitter, spicy, sweet, salty, acidity etc. there are no "correct" or "incorrect".

Here is a list of food and it's effects on wines, then each one can make choices by their own, based on personal preferences.

About platypuses (a "platypus sommelier")

I'm kind of a platypus. I've been feeling like a platypus my entire life. Because I'm from a Japanese family, but was born and raised in Brazil, then every time I was in Japan, people called me "gaijin" or "burajirujin" (Japanese words for "foreign" and "Brazilian" respectively), and every time I was in Brazil, people called me "japa" or "japoronga" (pejorative words to refer about a Japanese person).



However I actually like to be a platypus. This is who I am. Professionally I'm a PR; Bachelor in Science; Specialist in Environmental management and technologies; and Sommelier. A platypus again! I'm the most interdisciplinary person I've ever known, I'm curious about everything and I usually do great in every field I've tried to study. This platypus thing is a very good characteristic of my personality, because allows me to interact with a whole of contents and knowledges.

 Now, I'm a Sommelier who has experience in communication and dealing with different publics; also understands the physicochemical process in fermentation and the chemistry behind flavors; and knows why each area of wine production has a distinct "terroir", by the latitude, altitude, climate, ocean currents, soil etc.; still someone who knows about the best environmental practices; and aware of the new tendencies in materials science to improve wine production and storage technics.

When I started to study about beer and wine, I didn't imagine how much my previous knowledge in Public Relations, Bachelor in Science and Technologies, Environmental Management, would help me to be a better sommelier. But it looks like I'm doing great been a "Platypus Sommelier".