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Wine tasting 101

My wife recently made a bet and lost. She now has to buy me one nice ($20-30 cdn) bottle of wine each month. This works great because if I like the suggestion made by the LCBO wine specialist, then I buy more when I have the $.

Problem is she's making a spreadsheet of the wines I've had recently, my rating (out of 5) and comments. The last column is the one making me look like a real beginner wine taster (which I am).

To over simply things;

If I like a wine that is "strong" in flavour I know I need to say full bodied. (reds) If I like one that does not 'burn" on the way down do I refer to acidity level? If I like a wine that does not give you that pucker your lips feeling do I ask for a less "tannic" wine? And if I like a "chewy, rich, thick, fruity type red...what do I say?

Maybe when she asks me again for my comment on the wine she has bought me, I can use a few proper terms so she can take them to the wine specialist.

Sorry for the basic level of post. Any sites that will explain further are appreciated.

TIA

Larry Stumpf, S. Ontario, Canada

Reply to
Larry
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One of the best basic compilations of wine terms, along with a search engine on them, is in epicurious:

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which by the way describes "chewy" as "Descriptor for wines that are rich, dense, intense, and full-bodied (see body). Such wines (which are generally red) give a mouth-filling impression that make them seem almost thick enough to chew; they are also sometimes referred to as fleshy or meaty."

pavane

Reply to
pavane

The epicurious site does have a good dictionary. You might also try the lexicon at Robin Garr's page (wineloverspage.com), and maybe the one at Strat's Place (don't have URL handy).

I might also suggest some targeted tasting. Is the burn you're talking about acidity, or alcohol? It's hard to say what another is tasting. By targeted tasting, I mean this. Find a good local merchant (first step in a wine journey, in my opinion). OR in your case, the LCBO specialist. Tell him you'd like to do some comparative tasting, and have him suggest some paired wines. Read your definitions, then try your pairs (side by side if possible, good if you can get friends to join you so you're not stuck with too many open bottles). You could try: full-bodied vs. lighter bodied oaked vs. unoaked Lush round low-acid vs. bright nervy acidity Tannic vs. Low-tannin etc. I find tasting oneself tells more than an abstract descriptor. As wines have lots of elements, it helps if someone who knows the wines can suggest two wines that are otherwise mostly similar. While the easy example of full-bodied vs. light body might be a big Cal Cabernet vs. a Beaujolais, there's a lot of other differences.

BTW, as far as recognizing tannins, try oversteeping a tea bag.That'll give you a good idea. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Reply to
Dale Williams

Thanks Pavane for the web site mentioned below. I think it's just what I needed.

I can now better recognize cassis(didn't know it meant black currant) and eucalyp flavour. I bought a 2002 Penfolds Shiraz and since it listed these two on the label I now can associate them when drinking other wines.(hopefully). It also mentioned it had a long finish and I can understand that better now.(I like the lonngggg one)

I'm on my way to the 201 course.

Larry Stumpf, S. Ontario, Canada

Reply to
Larry

Larry, One of the best ways to "educate" your olfaction is a kit known as "Le Nez du Vin." It provides you with small samples of many different odors associated with wine and permits you to calibrate your own recognition of those smells. It ain't cheap, but if you're interested it's quite a unique tool.

HTH Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

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