Due to the all-encompassing death head-cold that I've managed to acquire using my weak immune system powers most likely attributed to my drinking habits, I will not be able to do a review this week. Considering I can not smell the wine and therefore tasting is altered, not to mention I have a constant fuzzy feeling in my head similar to the second-day-stubble your teeth grow from not brushing. I'm not exactly thinking with clarity.
That was three sentences... Lord, I'm wordy.
Anywhosers, I will not you leave this site empty handed. Oh no, I will not have all four of you that read this walk disappointed, dismal from the lack of wine suggestion for the week since you avidly follow my vinocentric counsel.
This week, kids, we're going to be learning about sensory evaluation! That's right, your tongue can feel more than kissing and your nose smell more than your boss' posterior.
A wise wino once said that the analysis of wine is 80% smell and 20% taste. The nose knows and there's no way around it.
In a step-by-step process, wine tasting can be narrowed down to many cheesy acronyms so we'll keep it simple. You look at the wine to observe the color and marvel in its beauty. I've learned that the appearance of the wine has little to do with the tasting process other than the fact that you can get a bit of insight into the age of the wine from the color's distinctness as it hits the rim of the glass (the darker, the older). The cloudiness or clarity of the wine can tell you a bit about the filtering and/or fining processes of the juice but can have little to no effect on the actual smell or flavor of the wine.
Get a looksy then take her for a spin. Swirling the wine in the glass releases the aromas for you to suck in and absorb the majority of what that girl has to offer. The stronger the perfume, the more you can take with you as you taste.
Smelling the wine you'll pull out initial aromas as well as ones that come along later after the wine has had a little time to take in oxygen and open up. It's like laying out in the sun - you'll get a better tan the longer you're exposed to the rays. However, if you're out for too long, you might get burned. Same as the wine, it can get over-oxidized and become flat. Bad analogy.
In your mouth, the wine should have three separate effects. The attack of the wine is the first taste you're getting, the initial reaction to the juice on your tongue. The mid-palate is the quality taste as you're savoring the wine in your mouth. The finish happens once you've swallowed, the lingering affect of the wine.
Finally, as I've found it, after the looksy, the sniff, the taste n'gulp - comes the drunk. This is the fuzzy feeling in your head, the warmth in your face and chest and sometimes why there's a new person in your bed and loss of memory regarding previous actions.
Aw, wine. The drink of the Gods, the juice of the happy drunks and my new best friend. I've hope I've given a better understanding to how I roll and you two can now be as close as we are. Then let's drink up.
1 comment:
Hmmm...I'll have to give this approach a try.
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