I’m just putting the finishing touches to the tasting notes for tonight’s big Aussie Wine and Food event. I always try hard to make my tasting notes relevant but the problem is that taste is so personal. There are always a few attendees that will be worried by my descriptions of the wines on offer. On occasion, I have been asked if descriptions such as “bursting with juicy blackcurrant” imply that fruit juice has been added to the wine. This is not a silly question if you consider that many wine drinkers are unable to identify the flavours described on the bottle or wine list when they actually taste the wine. This clearly leads some to believe that the write up does not represent a comparison of flavours but rather a literal description of the composition of the wine.
Notes that describe a wine as “expressing good citrus flavours with underlying notes of melon” will concern those who cannot detect any trace of citrus or melon and this leads many to blame their taste buds or lack of wine knowledge for their failure to identify with the description. Conversely, guests at my tastings are often very proud if their own experience of a wine matches mine and, if they have announced this personal account of the wine’s taste to the group, it will be greeted with a mixture of admiration from some and accusations of having read my tasting notes beforehand, from others. And the accusations are frequently accurate!
It fascinates me that it is considered such a skill to be able to identify the same flavours in a wine as someone who makes or studies wine for a living. Even more interesting is the fact that so many are embarrassed by their lack of ability in this area. There is a perception that a certain level of expertise is required to appreciate a good wine and that for those who lack this talent, there is no point in attempting to enjoy anything beyond cheap plonk! But taste is personal and affected by your own experiences and associations. If you enjoy the sharp taste of freshly picked blackcurrants, your understanding of how a wine described as having “juicy blackcurrant notes” will taste, will differ vastly from someone whose only experience of blackcurrant is Ribena.
If your understanding of flavours differs completely from any winespeak you have ever read or heard, it doesn’t mean that such descriptions will never have any relevance to you. Taking the time to think about flavours whenever you have a glass of wine, trying different styles and grape varieties and finding out a little about the wine you drink, will all build new associations for you. Tasting a number of wines described as having blackcurrant flavours is a really fun way to gain an understanding of what this description actually means for your palate. Experimentation and exposure to different flavours and their associated descriptions will create a key to winespeak.
Now before I start comparing drinking wine with the Rosetta Stone, I’d better get back to my tasting notes……..
