A Wine Lesson at CHAR in Jackson

August 25, 2011 | Featured In: Date Night, Drinks, Fine Dining, Jackson

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting with Lisa Bochicchio, the Beverage Manager at CHAR in Highland Village. She taught me all about wine, and particularly about the Cruvinet. The what, you ask? This word is pronounced kroo-vin-ay. I said it wrong at first and a co-worker who shall remain nameless told me I sound like such a redneck trying to pronounce it. I’ve already dealt with him. Back to business… the Cruvinet is a wine preservation unit, and it is awesome.

The Cruvinet: A wine preservation unit

In layman’s terms, and to a layman eye (which would be my eye), the Cruvinet is a thing that appears to serve wine on tap. The bartender puts the glass up to the spout, pulls a knob thing, and out comes the wine. The thing about the Cruvinet, though, is that it is for nicer, more expensive wines. I usually think about beer on tap costing less than beer in a bottle, but with this thing, it’s the opposite.

The beauty of this machine is that it keeps wine good and fresh for many days instead of just a couple of days. So when the folks at CHAR open an expensive bottle of wine that they know people won’t order from as often, they can put it in this bad boy to keep that one bottle good for much longer than normal. Lisa told me about her favorite nicer wines that she keeps for the Cruvinet, and she was kind enough to let me sample a couple of them. Before I get much further, I would like to say that Lisa knows her stuff. She was very patient with me: a wine idiot. I know a little bit of cool stuff, but I sure learned a heck of a lot from this smart lady!

The first wine she let me try was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley called Jordan. With this glass, she taught me how to properly drink wine. I learned a lot right here: 1) Never hold the bowl of the wine glass—always hold the stem. Your hand affects the temperature of the liquid. 2) Smell the wine to try to pick out one flavor that is in there. 3) Take a small sip and swish it all around your mouth. “The first sip is gonna suck no matter what wine you’re drinking.” That is a direct Lisa quote, and it is true! 4) Now that your mouth is ready, enjoy sipping your wine.

A yummy fish and a buttery Chard

Once I really knew HOW to enjoy a glass of wine, Lisa let me try the “delicious, buttery” Chardonnay called Ferari-Carano. I have never been a big Chardonnay fan, but I absolutely loved this! To make this moment of enjoyment even better, Lisa let me eat the sample fish special that they’d just made to take pictures of for Twitter and Facebook (at least that’s my guess as to why it was available for the eatin.)

I learned so much from Lisa that there is no way I’ll be able to fit it all in this post. The most interesting thing I learned about is the proper temp to serve wine. She told me that reds are supposed to be stored and served at 55 degrees, and whites at 44 degrees. Most of us are used to a much colder white and a much warmer red. The only white exception to this temperature rule is sparkling wine. That is supposed to be served as cold as possible! Now how many of y’all knew that? I hope I’m not the only one learning, here…

Do yourself a favor next time you go to CHAR and order from the Cruvinet. Hey, if you have your handy dandy EatJxn card, you get a little price break off Cruvinet wines! If Lisa is there, get her to tell you a little about what you’re drinking. I promise you’ll learn a LOT!