Wineless talk on wine still savory

Life is too short to drink bad wine. This seemed to be the motto of wine expert Tim Kilcallen, winner of the prestigious Decanter Award and owner of Philadelphia restaurant Panorama, who spoke last night in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall to a packed crowd of about 60 students. Sponsored by the Wharton Council, the event provided fruit, vegetables and non-alcoholic beverages such as grape juice and iced tea. Wharton sophomore Suha Shah, a member of the Wharton Council -- which sponsored the event, "Chardonnay Around the World" -- said the program was intended to showcase the important role that wine can play in business gatherings. But ironically enough, in a talk all about wine, there was no wine to be found. Kilcallen expressed disappointment in the administration's decision to ban actual wine at his talk and went on to explain the cultural differences between the United States and countries such as Spain, Italy and France. "It is my goal to change America into a wine culture where wine is normal, a part of the table," Kilcallen said. He spoke of the rich history and culture of wine, describing the different wines in a myriad of images. Kilcallen explained that the tastes and flavors in wine come from the differences in grape, region and how and when the wine is made. "Every assessment of wine is valid," Kilcallen assured the crowd. "It's all a personal thing." Even after tasting 3,400 different wines in the last year alone, Kilcallen said he is "still excited by the flavor, the sensations" of the wines. The ever-popular chardonnay was used as a main example in Kilcallen's talk. Chardonnay is a type of grape, which means that the taste of the wine derived from it depends on where the grape is grown. The region where the grapes are grown is very important to the wine's quality, Kilcallen added. When searching for quality, the wine expert continued, it is important to gauge a wine's "clarity, brilliance and color." Kilcallen then went on to demonstrate combinations of food and wine, saying that he always "look[s] for harmony" between the two. Contrary to popular opinion, he favors white wines with fruit and cheese rather than red, because the light, fruity, acidic taste of white wine complements the protein of the cheese and the taste of the fruit. Urging the crowd to "take time to enjoy wine in a way that's a little more European," Kilcallen recommended drinking wine with lunch and dinner. "It leads to a sense of civility that we are rapidly in danger of losing," he said, adding, "It is a lot safer than margaritas." After speaking for an hour, Kilcallen opened the floor for questions, explaining phenomenons such as cork-sniffing (to tell if the wine is spoiled) and wine swirling (to release the aroma). Students responded very favorably to the speech. "His descriptions were absolutely amazing," Wharton senior Carolina Bonifacino said. Apparently, wine need not be expensive to have quality. Kilcallen spoke of a $4.99 bottle of wine that he had tried recently: "If it's good, I'll drink a lot of it." It just goes to show that being a poor college student is no excuse to go without good wine.