At the 40th anniversary of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Leslie Sbrocco showed guests how to write restaurant-worthy wine tasting notes.
When looking at a wine menu, it’s natural to feel somewhat confused. Not only are there varietals, vintages, and vineyard names to wrap your head around, but there might also be flavor descriptors that are hyper-specific and, frankly, don’t seem very appetizing. Maybe the Cabernet Sauvignon has leather on the finish, or or that Sauvignon Blanc has an aroma that is overwhelmingly similar to cat pee.
While these characteristics may sound unappealing, they’re just a part of what makes a wine complex. And no, sommeliers don’t pull these obscure ingredients out of thin air – they thoughtfully taste and evaluate the wine in order to write tasting notes...
Step 1: See
Before anything else, Sbrocco encouraged the attendees to pick up their glasses and tilt them slightly over their white placemats – an ideal platform since the white does not obstruct the wine’s colour.
If you are tasting multiple wines, Sbrocco suggests standing up and looking down into the glass from above in order to compare the wines’ colours. "When you’re looking at the color, it tells us a lot of things," she says. "Maybe oak treatment or age." Wine tends to change color with age due to oxidation. "You cut an apple or pear. What happens? It oxidizes. It turns brown. So over time a wine is going to oxidize." With white wines that means the color gets darker and more golden, and with reds, the colour gets browner over time.
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