When Not Drinking Helps Drinking

February 24, 2010 at 5:54 pm (Age, California Taste Fine Wine, Campagne, Collecting, Comparisions, Earthiness, Fruit, Napa, Soil, wine critics, Winemakers, wineries)
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My parents were in Napa recently and sent me a few bottles of wine to try. I am looking forward to trying them. But my dad asked, “Why have you not tried them yet?” I replied that I had to take things slowly.

As I continue my studies towards becoming a Master Sommelier, I have found that I have a much sharper nose and tasting ability if I take a day or two ff per week from tasting. This is counter intuitive to the norm where you should try as much as possible. But not drinking seems to heighten my sense.

A few friends have said that I am bit different because root beer cleanses my palate. Many in the wine industry use beer to cleanse out the taste buds. But all of this is actually very important.

We know that taste is at least 70% in the nose. When evaluating  glass of wine, the firs t thing to do i to take in the bouquet or nose. That is where you get the cherries or lemon or whatever the wine has to offer. The same holds true for champagne. The mouth only gives us sweet, sour bitter, salt and Umami. Umami is the sensation of full or fattiness in the mouth. When someone says there is a great mouthfeel to the wine, then it is being experienced all over the mouth, Umami.

But by not drinking each day, it seems my sense are heightened and I get more out of each taste. The hard part is memorizing each wine and it’s smells and markers. I wish someone would send me a list of wines with accurate markers.  But when doing blind valuations, it is best to stick with classic wines from classic regions. Modern wine writers have influenced many wine makers to make big, extracted wines that to me often taste homogenous with other wines. Many of these wines are fine, but too many wine makers are losing a sense of terrior or place that makes that wine distinct. I look forward to always trying to taste the difference in most wines.

Because at California Taste Fine Wine, I taste a lot of wine, I suspect I am becoming a professional wine taster. I have definite opinions. Just do not get me going on Sauvignon Blanc. You know who you are.

So when you are Uncorking Happiness, it is often best to occasionally take a break from tasting and drinking for a few hours or a day or two. The following bottle will be just that much better.

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Wine Tasting, Part III

January 7, 2010 at 4:17 pm (California Taste Fine Wine, Pinot Noir, Tasting, wine critics, wineries, Zinfandel)
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It is a cold, blustery night. What better time than to go to  a local wine retailer for a sampling of wine. These types of events are the best way to hone your taste. I tell people everyday that the best way to learn about wine is to go as many wine tastings as possible. The best thing about going to a wine store wine tasting is that the store owner or wine buyer has had an opportunity to try hundreds of wines.

This means the store has brought in what they feel are the best wines for their customers based on taste, value and what the local market enjoys.I personally try hundreds of wines,some weeks the number gets to be a bit much, but I look for those very things. I think about a taste to value ratio. And when I plan a wine tasting in my store, I keep those things in mind.

A retail store can offer the both the experience ad new wine drinker opportunities to try things they might never get to do. Such as pairing Zinfandels from around the world or a survey of Pinot Noir. The goal is that these tastings are highlighting wines that are in the store and available for purchase. It is like buying a car. You are taking the wines for a test drive.

But more importantly, you are developing your own personal taste. You do not have to like every wine in the line-up, but here is the opportunity to find a wine or style that you do enjoy. That knowledge, gained over a number of tastings means that you will no longer bring home a bottle of wine that you deem to be marginal. The knowledge gained at tastings give you a baseline for wines and styles you like. This information can then be used by a smart and knowledgeable retailer to help guide you to a wine that will surprise and amaze you. And no, the more expensive the bottle does not necessarily indicate greater quality. I won’t name names, Opus One.

So go to your local retailer and try as much wine as possible. Do ask questions and help define your own personal taste. Retail wine stores want to help. And look for the small wine retailer. Large stores box stores tend to purchase from a corporate list. They miss those wines that say, only 50 cases were produced. And ask questions. There are no stupid questions.

In my store, California Taste Fine Wine, we offer at least two themed tastings a week. Fridays at 6pm and Saturdays at 4pm. It  is fun to compare and contrast wines. There is always a surprise or two. The most shocking thing is that a wine that is grand on it’s own sometimes does not match well or taste as good when pitted against others in the same category. Once in a while it is placement in the line up.

The lineup is important as it is designed to have the wines that will put the “smack down” on you taste buds are usually at the end. A good in store tasting builds to a climax with the last two or three wines.

The other thing about retail store wine tastings is that the retailer will usually know all about the wine. So you can gain a a deeper understanding of the bottle as each bottle has it’s own story to tell. And if you like it and take it home to share with family and friends, you can tell the story as you Uncork Happiness.

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Wine Tasting in Context, Part One

January 6, 2010 at 1:02 am (California Taste Fine Wine, Tasting, Uncategorized, wine critics)
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Wine tasting is a very subjective thing. The most important things to know are these: It is a good wine if you like it and your taste is really the only on that matters. That being said, listening to myself or other experienced wine critics can be a helpful guide in finding the right wine for you. This is also because we tend to taste more wine in a year than the average person tastes in a lifetime. Rough work, but someone has to do it. It is the remembering what we have tried that is hard.

So what makes all of this interesting is the context of actual tasting. There are a number of things that can effect taste other than just the wine itself. Mood, location, people and the reason for drinking.

In this post, we are going to tackle the concepts of mood and people.

Our mood can severely affect our taste. If you wake up in a great mood, wine can taste fantastic. A friend once said to me, ” The person who comes in to get their car repaired is typically in a very bad mood. The person who is going in to try or buy a bottle of wine is almost always happy.” See if this isn’t true for you. Go and have a cup of coffee when you are happy and then the same cup of coffee when you are angry. Then try the same experiment with wine. I have done this and I know that when I am not feeling well or am unhappy, wine tastes fairly bad. I do not want to drink. I think that mood and say the amount of sleep you get and the condition of your sinus play a a huge role in the taste of wine. And yes, taste is 70% in the nose. Remember you only have salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami in the mouth. The real nuances in any wine are in the nose. Taste just confirms the nose of the wine.

With all that being said, people can affect the taste as well. If again someone is in a bad mood and with you wine tasting, things just are not that good. That mood can spread. And when wine tasting, that one loud, rude person can ruin the tasting environment. So can that person with the heavy perfume. when wine tasting, do not wear perfume. I like to just put a little dab of wine behind each ear and call it a day. The people you are with can also get you into a buying frenzy and their opinion on a wine can very much affect your impression on the wine. In my wine study group, I struggle very hard to not be a victim of group think. So it is most imperative that you stand on your own taste and decide what it is you like.

So we will explore both wine tasting in wine country and in a wine shop. Two very different experiences and two very different circumstances.

And if you need more help with this, you can call or visit me at California Taste fine or at caltaste.com. Wine tasting is truly Uncorking Happiness.

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