I thought all whisky tasted the same till I went for a distillery tasting recently. Where I was taught, a little, by a wonderfully down to earth master distiller on tasting whiskies and generally drinking them with a little insight. He said rather than worrying about whether I got the same "honey" notes as he did, I should focus on figuring out notes I liked and then trying lots of different whiskies till I found what pleased me the most.
Now I really do enjoy whiskies better. Oddly, maybe, the insights he gave me help me identify bad whiskies more than it does good. It turns out I like smokey malts. Cheers. On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 3:19 PM, Tim Bray <tb...@textuality.com> wrote: > Actually the evidence is on Charles' side. Practiced wine-tasters can > identify many different characteristics of wine with high statistical > significance. > > This is not to say it isn't a major outlet for snobbery. > > -T > > On Nov 10, 2011 4:36 AM, "Charles Haynes" <charles.hay...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> 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 >> >
