Suggestions to become a better taster

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:31 am

Blind tasting vs. non-blind tasting of wine always makes for a contentious argument and tends to polarize those in the discussion.

However, I think a very generalized "idea generating" thread here for helping new wine/Port lovers to fully appreciate the drink in their glass would be most helpful.

So, what can you add to help improve the tasting accumen of an individual who is looking to hone their palate and tasting skills?

Adam F · Post by **Adam F** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:49 pm

Personally I have always found blind tasting informative but probably the thing that made the most difference is tasting several ports against each other. Living in London there are opportunities to try half a dozen ports from the same family or vintage and I've found this useful as a means to identify what my pallate picks up on.

Jay Powers · Post by **Jay Powers** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:37 pm

I have a couple of thoughts, which one should take with a grain of salt as I'm not that sure I'm a great taster. Some may contradict, but there you go...

1) Try lots of examples. By yourself, with freinds, and without (as best you can) preconception. Try not to read about wines before you try them. Then read about them afterwords. Take what you think is right from what you just read, and discard the rest.

2) Try thinking about the wine as you drink, in terms of descriptive words for what you are tasting and smelling. The descriptors need not match up with anyone elses, but over time you may find that what you think of as "taste X" is described by others as "taste Y". You need not change your descriptor, but you may better be able to find those features you enjoy in the wine by reading somebody elses description when you can associate the terms.

3) Taste blind. Don't let somebody sell you a wine you thought was not as good when tasted blind because of ratings. Go with the wine you thought was best, and if it's the cheapest of the lot count you blessings.

4) Taste with others, and see what you find in common about the wine. For tasting young wines and thinking about aging potential, taste with people who have 40 years of experience and have lived through a couple of 20-year aging cycles.

5) No matter what, enjoy! There are no "wrong" tastes. Only whats good for you.

Jay

Todd Pettinger · Post by **Todd Pettinger** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:51 pm

I would love to be part of a blind tasting... I haven;t yet found a willing group to spend a hundred bucks each to get together and sample a variety of Ports, but when I do, we will have to do both blind and non-blind - for experimentation. Hey, it's all about the science folks!

Todd

Todd Pettinger · Post by **Todd Pettinger** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:58 pm

My previous post sat in "writing mode" for about an hour while I was away from the computer and put the kids to bed, and during this time you had a great post Jay. There were a couple of things I wanted to respond to...

Jay Powers wrote:1) Try lots of examples. By yourself, with freinds, and without (as best you can) preconception. Try not to read about wines before you try them.

I agree. You won't find out what you palate likes and dislikes unless you try a lot of examples.
Only thing I would add to this is don't be afraid to try the "lower varieties" such as Ruby Port. Graham's Six Grapes is still a favourite of mine, and despite being the most expensive Ruby in existence, it is a great example of what a Ruby CAN be.

Jay Powers wrote:3) Taste blind. Don't let somebody sell you a wine you thought was not as good when tasted blind because of ratings. Go with the wine you thought was best, and if it's the cheapest of the lot count you blessings.

Agreed. A couple of the best VPs I have tried have been (bargains in Canada) $50 bottles. Ferreria '97 and Baron van Zellear '87 are two such examples. $50 and $56Cdn respectively (which currently sits at par with the USD!

)

Jay Powers wrote:5) No matter what, enjoy! There are no "wrong" tastes. Only whats good for you.

Amen brother. If everyone in the world thinks that Nacional '63 is the best 100 pt vintage EVER and you disagree, hey, that's your right! (Of course, I would have to TRY a NN'63 before being able to make that judgement call, but a guy can dream!) :)

Todd

Moses Botbol · Post by **Moses Botbol** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:00 am

Use a flavor wheel and take your time. Sampling more than one port of the same house or similar vintage gives great contrast.

When I have one port by itself, I often find it better (in my memory) than when I have it next to something else.

Alan C. · Post by **Alan C.** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:28 pm

I think we have to blow away a lot of Cobwebs away on this subject. I would hazard a guess there are only a handful of Port Experts who are generally correct at Blind Tastings. I was at a cracker a while back, where some reknown Port experts had a blind Cruz 87, and had it as coming from a major House, possibly Fonseca!
Don't take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the occasion, and drink Port! Not an exact science...but a great science!

Alan

David Sweet · Post by **David Sweet** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:00 pm

I really like Jay's list--that is one that should be used in all wine tastings!

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:24 am

David, I agree. Jay's answer is spot on for me. Especially the tasting blind part. There is no pre-concieved ideas about a wine this way. I've been to numerous tastings where wines were served blind and its always interesting to see the results. Some big players have not done so well and some weaker ones have done great. The power of the mind on your taste buds is amazing.

Mark DaSilva · Post by **Mark DaSilva** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:00 pm

Blind tastings is the way to go.

And don't let WS & WE ratings influence you. We tried a 90 WS Warre recently and did not like it. We only found out after that it was rated a 90.

How can this be??? General consensus in the room was, keep that bottle away.

Luc Gauthier · Post by **Luc Gauthier** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:23 am

Alan C. wrote:I think we have to blow away a lot of Cobwebs away on this subject. I would hazard a guess there are only a handful of Port Experts who are generally correct at Blind Tastings. I was at a cracker a while back, where some reknown Port experts had a blind Cruz 87, and had it as coming from a major House, possibly Fonseca!
Don't take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the occasion, and drink Port! Not an exact science...but a great science!

Alan

Enjoy the occasion , and drink Port !
Not an exact science . . . but a great science !!
In other words : Savour the moment !!!!!!

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 4:29 pm

I'm not sure that blind tasting will help one to become a better taster. Blind tasting can be very informative to an experienced taster by not letting pre-conceived notions or the label influence you but I don't see how it will improve ones palate.

If anyone has seen Gary Vaynerchuk on winelibrary tv or real tv, you know that you need to eat dirt, sweaty socks, and leather to become a better taster. :) Although Gary Vaynerchuk takes it to the extreme for the sake of amusement, exposing your palate to a wide variety of flavors will help you keep them in your mind then spot them in wine.

For example, chocolate is a descriptor I see used often in Vintage Ports. So, sit down with some chocolate and a glass of VP. Taste the chocolate, cleanse your palate, then taste the Port to see if there are any characteristics in the Port that are in the chocolate. This could also be done with a wide variety of fruits and other things.

Another thing I find very helpful is to taste with someone more experienced than yourself. You can compare the more experienced tasters impressions with your own. Likewise, I find it helpful to have a professional tasting note to see what kinds of descriptors they are using then see if I can find those in the wine.

Lastly, the only way to really become a better taster is to drink a lot of Port. I find horizontals and verticals very educational.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:09 pm

I'm not sure that blind tasting will help one to become a better taster. Blind tasting can be very informative to an experienced taster by not letting pre-conceived notions or the label influence you but I don't see how it will improve ones palate.

I agree with this 100%. Kris hits upon a very solid point. I believe it is imperative when doing a full scale analysis of a group of bottles say ... for a serious evaluation of cask samples, to taste them blind. However, whether one has the accumen to be able to determine a producer, grape, region or vintage (etc.) by blind tasting ... that equates to having a solid "palate memory" which is important ... but has little to do with the overall quality or accuracy of one's palate.

I have seen full panels of MWs make total fools of themselves in front of an audience (on two seperate occasions) trying to pick wines out of a lineup. In one case, all they had to do was to pick 1995 Washington State Bdx blends from the real 1995 Bdx before them. There were some impressive names playing the game and boy did they look foolish picking wrong more often then 50%.

Steven Tanzer was in the group ... just to toss out one name.