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THE WINE TASTER
By Robin Garr
The Courier-Journal, Sept. 7, 1988
I've long argued that the most effective way to develop wine-tasting
skill is to open bottles and taste wine.
One good short cut, however, is a "component tasting."
This system, used in many wine-tasting courses for beginners and
intermediate students, presents tasters with small samples of specific scents
and flavors to "train" the nose and mouth to recognize such basic
characteristics as sweetness, acidity, tannin and fruit.
An intriguing new "wine toy," the WineAlyzer Wine Essences Winetasters
Kit, now available by mail order, makes it easy to arrange your own component
tasting at home.
The kit is a collection of sample flavors that can be used to train a
beginning palate. It includes a small tasting glass, instructions, and nine
vials of flavors that may be mixed with water or, ideally, with wine.
(A "neutral" wine without strong character is best; I tried the WineAlyzer
recently using Orvieto, a moderately priced Italian wine that's about as
neutral as anything on the market.)
The principle is simple: Take nine glasses of wine -- or one glass,
refilled nine times -- and "doctor" each with the recommended number of drops
from the WineAlyzer vials.
Sample each in turn and notice the differences in aroma and taste.
Over the course of an enjoyable evening, I worked my way through sweet,
bitter, sour (malic acid), smooth (lactic acid), acetic (vinegary), flowery,
fruity, oaky and tannic.
It was a useful exercise for me, and I think would be even more useful
for a beginner. It helped me focus my attention on the basic aromas and
flavors that tasters find in wine, fixing them in memory, making it easy to
recognize them in everyday tasting.
For this column, I've also included notes on a selection of everyday
table wines (in addition to the Chateau Thomas wines) in which these
components (highlighted in capital letters in the tasting notes) are
particularly marked.
I think the WineAlyzer kit would be well worth while for a novice wine
taster interested in improving tasting skills.
I'd caution, however, that the "flowery" and "fruity" vials are all but
useless. Strongly artificial scents and flavors in these vials resemble no
flavor that I'd want to find in wine.
The WineAlyzer is available for $28 (plus $4.50 for shipping) from
Buyers & Cellars Wine Consultants, P.O. Box 10206, Aspen, Colo. 81612.
(4 stars) Preston Vineyards Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County) Cabernet
Sauvignon, 1985. (Cab-air-nay So-veen-yawn.) This clear, dark reddish-purple
wine has a cedary aroma, characteristic of the grape, with hints of cherries
and vanilla in its scent. It shows crisp acid and ripe fruit in its excellent
flavor, with an edge of TANNIC ACID as astringent as strong tea indicating
its potential for aging. (To be about $11 when released in this market.)
(3 stars) Preston Vineyards Cuvee de Fume Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County)
Dry Sauvignon Blanc, 1987. This clear, pale straw-colored wine has a
pleasant, grassy scent with a hint of melon that may be contributed by the
inclusion of small amounts of Chenin Blanc and Semillon in the blend. Its
flavor is exceptionally SMOOTH and faintly SWEET, with a citric quality of
lemons and grapefruit. ($5.69)
(2 1/2 stars) Rosemount Estate Hunter Valley (Australia) Chardonnay, 1987. A
distinctly OAKY quality as clearly defined as the scent of a just-sawed plank
stands out in the apple-like aroma of this clear, bright-gold wine. The same
oakiness runs through its fresh-fruit and crisp-acid flavor, making a
full-bodied wine that's interesting but ultimately unbalanced. ($7.49)
(2 1/2 stars) Antinori Orvieto Classico, 1986. (Or-vee-eh-toe.) This
clear-gold wine has a light, pleasant scent of wine grapes and a crisp, dry
flavor of fresh fruit balanced by tart acid. It's a typical, moderately
priced Italian white wine: Clean, well-made and essentially NEUTRAL.
($7.39)
(1 star) Chateau Greysac Medoc, 1983. (May-dawk.) An unfortunate edge of
ACETIC ACID weaves through the otherwise mature scent of this dark-garnet
Bordeaux, and flaws the flavor with a strong vinegary quality as tart as
salad dressing. ($9.49)
"The Wine Taster" appears every other Wednesday in the Louisville
Courier-Journal Food Section. Wine and Food Critic Robin Garr rates table
wines available in the Louisville area, using a one- to five-star scale
determined by quality and value. Send suggestions or questions in care of The
Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, Louisville, Ky. 40202, call (502) 582-4647,
or leave a message for 73125,70.