On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 9:24 PM, ss <cybers...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Thursday 10 Nov 2011 2:17:14 pm Deepa Mohan wrote: >> I don't see anything wrong with liking the cheapest and most plonky wine in >> the supermarket. >> > Deepa wine appreciation is pure snobbery nothing else.
Certainly there are wine drinkers who are purely snobs and nothing else, but I assure you that I learned to taste wines in a rather stricter, more structured way. A friend of mine used to conduct semi-weekly wine tastings, usually 5-6 bottles either of a single varietal from a single producer over multiple years (a "vertical" tasting) or 5-6 bottles of a single varietal from multiple producers in the same region in a single year (a "horizontal" tasting). Both vertical tastings and horizontal tastings usually had one or two "ringers" - wines that were either from a different producer (in the case of a vertical) or from a different grape, region, or year in the case of a horizontal. The wines were put in opaque bags by one person, and given random letter labels by a different person. We then poured a measured portion of each wine into our separate lettered glasses. The tasting itself was relatively structured, each person evaluating each wine indepenently of everyone else, writing down observations about color, aroma and taste along multiple dimensions and at different times. Each person then rated the wines by letter, and the ratings were collected. The scores were aggregated and the wines were then revealed from lowest to highest. >From this, over time, we learned how to identify grape varietals, producers, styles, various kinds of defects, and how to distinguish and describe different wines. Because the tastings were double blind, we were not influenced by brand or price. It was in the course of years of these kinds of tastings that I determined my own preferences in wine style and varietals (I tend to prefer reds in a traditional burgundian style - usually pure pinot noir - and I dislike big extracted wines, or whites with a lot of oak for example.) I am a big fan of traditional champagnes, and at one point I could tell if a champagne from a producer I was unfamiliar with was from Marne, Reims, or Cote de Blancs, blind. We also did what's called a "components" tasting, where we would start with 5-6 identical bottles and add specific components (like tannin, oak, malic acid, lactic acid, sweetness, and ketones) would be added in small amounts to the wine to let us learn what those flavors were like in wines. Anyway, I'm just trying to say that no actually, real wine appreciation is a learned skill that can be used for snobbery or not as suits the inclination of the individual. I find that it enhances my enjoyment of wine to have a discerning palate, but it also means I do not get as much enjoyment out of boxed wine as I did when I was younger. I'm willing to make that sacrifice. -- Charles
