My last post got Digiboy and I into a discussion about the language of wine, so now we are doing an exchange à la school French trips at age 14. He will (eventually) be teaching me web-speak in exchange for wine-speak: two very modern languages for the 21st Century!
Wine is a language, you see. No one can be expected just to speak it straight away. And just because it uses words we all understand, the meaning is still often far from obvious.
Wine tastes like wine to the uninitiated - you know whether you like it or not and to be honest, that's the most important thing. Once you spend time concentrating on what you are tasting however, you'll see that the different grape varieties have certain distinctive qualities, no matter where in the world they are grown. The aromas and flavours associated with the various grapes are very similar to fruits, flowers and even textiles in some cases (see my Riesling blog). It's the fermentation process itself that releases them to be savoured!
As you taste more and more, you will also start to tell the difference between a grape grown in one country and the same grape grown in another. For example, the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety is usually full bodied and has a blackcurrant flavour. It is also quite tannic, so it looks dark in colour and has a rather drying texture. If you taste a French Cabernet and an Aussie Cabernet side by side, you will see that the two are similar in principal ways - body, blackcurrant, tannin for example, but the Aussie will probably seem much more juicy and may have a herbaceous character, whereas the Classic French will probably be more austere with less obvious fruit. These nuances are due to all sorts of things such as soil, weather, topography etc. but that's a subject for another time!
**Important point - a wine that is described as tasting of peach (for example) has not been anywhere near peaches. It's just the specific quality of that grape type! **
The reason wine ponces use this flowery wine language (which can definitely sound very OTT, it's true) is purely so they can describe wines accurately and judge its worth - both vital when buying and selling professionally. For the average consumer, such 'tasting notes' as are also useful, not because they are saying that a wine will taste of butter or melon or cat pee, but to give the customer an idea of the wine's style.
If I were to ask you which wine you'd pick to curl up with by the fire in winter, would you go for:
a) Crunchy, redcurrant fruit with herbaceous notes and refreshing acidity. Or
b) Rich and chocolatey, with notes of sweet spice.
My guess would be b) in most cases. You see, you don't have to 'get' the flavours yourself just because the pros and the ponces feel they do. It's about describing the style of a wine in a three dimensional way - feel, taste and smell. Don't take it all too literally!
If I were to ask you which wine you'd pick to curl up with by the fire in winter, would you go for:
a) Crunchy, redcurrant fruit with herbaceous notes and refreshing acidity. Or
b) Rich and chocolatey, with notes of sweet spice.
My guess would be b) in most cases. You see, you don't have to 'get' the flavours yourself just because the pros and the ponces feel they do. It's about describing the style of a wine in a three dimensional way - feel, taste and smell. Don't take it all too literally!
Now gimme some of wine b. it's snowing.
Winebird x
p.s Fernanda is a top Parisien Sommelier and Rob is after a kick ass Grand Cru Burgundy. In case you're wondering.
p.p.s If you want to get seriously into the description, see Jancis Robinson!
