wine: Wine N00b

The Alpha Bitch (

vtladyhawke) wrote in

wine,
@ 2008-05-01 10:28:00

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Wine N00b
*Wave* Hi! I'm just getting into the wonderful world of vino, and I can safely say that my experience is fairly limited. My fiance got me into wines, more specifically red wines. I've had my share of Merlots and Cabernets, but those always tended to have too strong of a finish for me (I do love me a good Merlot from Blackstone winery though...YUM.) More recently, however, we went out to dinner at the Tasting Room with some friends, and ordered a Speri Valpolicella ripasso. I was in HEAVEN. Not too sweet, with a light finish.

On the white side, I like 'em sweet...Gewurtztraminers and Rieslings. I had a Pinot Grigio once...too dry. Chardonnay is middle-of-the-road to me, and champagne is just NOMMY.

However, there is a point to all of my ramblings...this is my wine experience so far, and I have a dillemma. My Blackstone Merlot, for example, is described as having "rich fruit aromas, elegance, supple oak characters and soft tannins. With lifted dark cherry and berry aromas and a touch of spicy clove, this wine is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. The texture is ripe and soft in the mouth, with bright cherry fruit flavors and a soft, lingering finish." However, I don't taste ANY of that. My mouth goes "hmmm....strong, heavy with a mouthpuckery finish." I don't taste the "lifted dark cherry" or the "bright cherry". How, then, can I develop my palate? (Or is the wine description merely a longwinded way of saying "hey, this is a Merlot"?)

*Edit* I just realized I missed a "t" in the Tasting Room link...the Tasing Room sounds like a restaurant I'd want to avoid. ;)

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	specialk268402 2008-05-01 02:47 pm UTC (link)
	Totally not related to wine, but I got engaged at the Tasting room! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	vtladyhawke 2008-05-01 02:58 pm UTC (link)
	It's an awesome restaurant isn't it? I think that's my favorite spot in Frederick...with the tapas bar across the street (Isabella's) running a close second. :-) Congrats BTW!! :) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

specialk268402
2008-05-01 03:04 pm UTC (link)

Thanks:) We got engaged about two years ago and go married in Oct. I love Isabella's too! And my husband loves Brewer's Alley. We moved farther south, so we don't get there too often now, but definitely some fond memories!

I am also really into Rieslings. If you ever feel like taking a drive somewhere, you should go to the Iron Bridge Wine Company in Columbia. It is a great place to try new wines- the have several "flights" where you can get three wines. http://www.ironbridgewines.com/

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vtladyhawke 2008-05-01 03:11 pm UTC (link)
	Iron Bridge Wines is like, 5 minutes from my house. ;) Tasting Room is actually more of a haul for us, as we live in Ellicott City. I haven't been to Wine In The Woods yet in Columbia, but I'm thinking that's more of a waste of money than it's worth...unless the food is free... (Reply to this)(Parent)

dirtntrees
2008-05-01 03:04 pm UTC (link)

There are times when I look at a bottle's tasting notes and think that it's an "Emperor's new clothes" sort of thing. "Oh yes, I can surely taste the blackberry and the hints of tobacco."

That said, I find the best way to develop your palette is to A: Taste lots if wine. B: Talk about that wine even more.

My girlfriend and I will taste the same bottle, and she will get one flavor, and I will get another that's listed. Some people keep wine journals reporting what they tasted, and how their taste compares with the tasting notes. Your pallete will follow as long as you pay attention to what you are drinking rather than blindly throw back glass after glass.

(Reply to this)

druiaen
2008-05-01 03:08 pm UTC (link)

I can rarely taste any of the things they say you're "supposed" to either. And I figure that if I can't taste or identify them then those descriptions aren't useful to me anyway. We keep a wine diary using terms that we understand, so if a Viognier tastes like dirty socks to us that's what we write. We have the Wine Enthusiast's Wine Tasting Kit which is moderately helpful because it gives suggestions for what a white or red may taste like because we're terrible at describing and identifying tastes ourselves.

In the end it works for us since we're only concerned about what the two of us like. Your taste in whites sounds pretty similar to mine - we should all get together and drink! :-)

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	vtladyhawke 2008-05-01 03:10 pm UTC (link)
	I hear that! I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I do enjoy your posts. :) BTW, what's your IM/Gmail handle? I'll harass you online...mwahahaha. :P (Reply to this)(Parent)

jinglebellz61
2008-05-01 04:33 pm UTC (link)

In my opinion, the best way to taste the other flavors in the wine is not to taste it. By this, I mean that taste comes from smell. Before you taste (and don't gulp) swirl the wine around a bit in the glass and put your nose in the glass (as far as you can put it)and take a big whiff (don't put too much wine in the glass at first, or you'll drown yourself). Then take some in your mouth and swish it just a little so that all the parts of your tongue get a chance at it since different parts of your tongue taste different aspects. Finally, carefully slurp it, bringing some air into your mouth and making it bubble a little. Then swallow. That first taste is really the only time you'll taste other flavors if you're just drinking it and not repeating the process. They won't necessarily be the same flavors that the description says, because those comparisons are strictly made by the frame of reference of the taster. For example, if you've never tasted dark cherry, how would you be able to describe it as such?

Wine as a sensory experience uses all of the five senses.

But deciding what wine you're having for dinner with what course depends completely upon what you like. Don't let anyone else tell you what is a good wine. If you like it, it's good! If you don't, just say "no thank you".

(Reply to this)

yinshu
2008-05-01 06:06 pm UTC (link)

To develop your palate, first you have to develop your mental "catalog" of smells, because flavor and aroma go hand in hand. This is easier than you might think, because you already recognize hundreds, if not thousands of smells, and smell is strongly linked to memory. you can smell something once and remember it for years afterward.

To build your smell library, just... become a smelling-geek. Practice smelling everything around your house- your bedroom, your kitchen, your garage, etc.
Smell the plants in your yard - rub a leaf between your fingers to crush the oils onto them, so you can smell them better. Smell fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. This may feel funny or embarrassing, but it is really educational, I swear. I mean, you obviously have to find your own comfort level with how much public awkwardness you can subject yourself to in the name of education, but... anyway, I think you get my point.

In the meantime, download and print one or both of these, or just google "wine aroma wheel" and buy any of the fine pre-printed ones you find, which might be more legible.

http://www.vadim.com/Wine/wine_wheel.jpg
http://www.sweetmarias.com/tastewheel2.jpg

Keep it with you, and refer to it often, especially when smelling/tasting a new wine, or even tea, coffee, food, etc.
You will notice that most of the aromas you come into contact with every day generally fall into one of the major categories on the wheel. You can start mentally grouping those "aroma families" together.

After a while, you won't need to refer to the wheel anymore. You will start to "get" it.

I've found it helpful to taste two or three wines at a time for contrast- you can taste two Merlots side by side and although they will share some aroma/flavor characteristics, you will definitely be able to tell the difference in the particular blend.
This is because, each type of grape has certain flavors/aromas unique to that species, so, for example, people always expect Merlot grapes or Chardonnay grapes to have certain base characteristics. But the difference between one merlot and the next is all the stuff the wine-maker did to that species of grape- where they grew it, when they picked it, how they processed it, how long it aged, etc.

So anyway, using the wine wheel and building my mental "smell library" is how I learned, back when I was in wine class at college, and it really worked for me. In the beginning the only way I knew how to distinguish between wines was "red" and "white". As the semester progressed, I got to the point where we were blind-tasting a flight of reds one day, and I smelled this one and thought, "my god, this smells like.... mushrooms and... leather? err, no- who would make a wine that tastes like leather? That can't be right, I must be crazy."
And just at that moment, I looked up from my wine and the instructor was saying, "...and some of you might notice this wine's earthy aroma, with a hint of 'old saddle'..."
I was like "OMG! I got it! I really can recognize that all by myself!" It was really exciting.

So, as to your question about whether it's marketing hype- the answer is... yes and no. There really are differences in types of wine, and when your palate develops you really will be able to tell.
At the same time, I feel like some wine writers either embellish a little (because they're paid to do so) or they fall back on basic varietal descriptions because their nose isn't good enough or they're just going through the motions.

Remember, you are your own best wine taster, and if you like it, it's good wine.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	jinglebellz61 2008-05-01 07:20 pm UTC (link)
	Great advice! I've never seen the wheels before. They look complicated. I like the idea of smelling everything you possibly can, though! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ronebofh 2008-05-03 04:12 am UTC (link)
	If you like sweeter whites, give chenin blanc a try. It takes a bit of training to find the various aromas in wine. Try finding various things that are described in wine, arrange them in a circle, then take turns sniffing each object and then the wine, to see what you can find. There are probably classes out there that do this, too. (Reply to this)

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