The Subjectiveness of Smell
Slate's Mike Steinberger continues his look at the physiology of tasting wine with a probing of the nose. There's some good information there, and it reinforces what I already tell my students: You are always right about what you smell and what you like.
Steinberger, quoting a researcher, mentions the classic "white wine" vs. "red wine" experiment in which a white wine with red dye results in red wine descriptions. He also alludes to the "label" experiment mentioned in Mindless Eating, in which the same wine with a Napa label gets more praise than when it sports a Montana label, though in this case he mentions "vin de table" versus "grand cru" as the variables. It makes you wonder about the lack of bias in those wine critics who claim to taste wines blind but in fact know the grape and region before they sip.
- Where Does Wine Lingo Come From?
Mike Steinberger has an interesting piece at Slate about how the modern wine tasting note, the "cherry-and-berry" style to use his term, came about. I have struggled to make my tasting notes readable, both here and in print, but I grew up in the "list...
- Wbw 16: Judging A Wine By Its Label
What catches my eye about wine labels? What catches yours? This was part of the goal for Wine Blogging Wednesday 16. Many of us can spell out our vinous biases: I dislike overoaked Chardonnay, Alder isn't a fan of German wine. But other, more subtle...
- Reminder: Wine Blogging Wednesday
Have you unearthed a bottle with a pretty label yet? You know, for Wine Blogging Wednesday 16? No? Don't worry. You've still got a week. Find a bottle with a pretty label, open it, taste it, write about it on December 7, send me a link to your...
- Wbw 4: New World Riesling
In the previous three Wine Blogging Wednesdays—the monthly wine blogging event concocted by Lenn—the hosts selected themes of New World Merlot from outside the U.S., Spanish Reds, and most recently Australian Shiraz. Enough with the reds...
- Ann Noble
Today's Chronicle has a nice piece on Ann Noble. Noble created the Aroma Wheel, which helped standardize the language for describing wine, and has been a leading force in helping people describe wine not based on whether they like it or not, but...