3 Things I need to Unlearn about Wine

Entrance to underground wine cellars in Tokaj

When I first started learning about wine, I thought it was all about remembering grape varieties, regions, and styles. But the more time I spent visiting wineries, tasting with producers, and observing how wines are actually made, the more I realised that I might be wrong.

Here are my 3 most important lessons...

1) I thought Winemakers knew everything

They make wines so they should know everything about it… right?

It’s easy to see winemakers as the be all and end all when it comes to wine but having observed the interaction between winemakers and some of the brightest wine minds in Singapore, that illusion was quickly shattered.

Tasting wines directly from the barrels at Gere Attila

Tokaj legend István Szepsy

Wine is weird because the more you learn about it, the less you know. It is such a nuanced subject that those who know the most tend to be the most humble, while those who dare claim to know it all, (un)ironically, are the ones that don’t.

From our recent trip to Hungary, I realised that the winemakers who resonated best with our sommeliers were the ones that were transparent about their shortcomings – and were not afraid to say I don't know.

These winemakers are also the ones who choose to straddle the unknown, toying with what-ifs like reviving extinct grape varieties and constantly experimenting with new ideas to reach even greater heights.

Perhaps these I don't know-s were due to the tough questions being asked, but what followed was always

"We're still finding out..." 

This pursuit of the unknown is what truly defines a great winemaker – you can't become the best just by knowing what everyone else knows and doing what everyone else does. And if you think about it, these people are no different from us, they're simply doing a job and trying to become better at what they do.

So maybe when it comes to this, not knowing is, in many ways, admirable because that's when you start to pave the way forward. 

2) I thought it was all about what’s in the glass

WSET taught me about BLIC (how to evaluate a wine based on its balance, length, intensity, and complexity), but...

Tasting the new vintage at St. Andrea

But after meeting so many winemakers over the years, I somehow stopped seeing wine as an exam paper waiting to be marked and started to see it more as a story waiting to be told.

During our recent trip to Hungary, one of the things that we deliberated at length on was the different ways people approach wine – do you do it with your mind or with your heart? We generally agreed that most people approach wines with their minds, like writing a WSET-approved tasting note. Practical and effective, and because that's what we were trained to do.

And then, there are the outliers. These are people who let their emotions take the lead, leaving it up to a simple ‘vibe check’ and scribbles that read like a love letter.

But what do you think, is this over-romanticising and overcomplicating wines or do you feel like there is more to wine than just what's in the glass?

3) I thought it was all about competing with the classics

How do you introduce a new wine region?

Is it through wine tastings, social media, or maybe influencer endorsements?

And then, what do you actually say about it?

These are questions I’ve always asked myself and more often than not, I find myself reaching for familiarity to help people understand Hungarian wines.

“It’s a bit like Cote-Rotie”
“It feels like a young Right Bank Bordeaux.”

It works because it’s quick, especially in a world where competition for attention is cutthroat. But having seen Hungary through the eyes of our sommeliers made me rethink, why am I positioning Hungarian wines as alternatives? It’s been about 35 years since Hungary re-started quality wine production and in that time, Hungary has won (if awards mean anything to you):

3 Decanter Best in Show
36 Decanter Platinum
152 Decanter Gold

This track record puts Hungary in the same league as regions like USA, Germany and Austria and yet, Hungarian wines are not seen in the same light. This gap isn’t due to quality but perception, as Hungarian wines lack the prestige that many prestige-led markets like Singapore seek.

Germany, Austria and the US all have strong and well-recognised identities. Hungary, beyond Tokaj, does not and it’s even debatable whether Tokaj’s identity – still deeply tied to the Tokaji Aszú – is still reflective of what Hungary is today. So maybe, instead of trying to herd cats around the concept of “try this… because it’s similar to,” it's time for me to say,

“Try this… because it’s different from.”

*Images courtesy of Wines of Hungary