The Auswine Forum

Would you suggest series of blind tastings, going along to stores and cellar doors and trying everything, perhaps a wine appreciation course ?

How did you educate your palate ?

yourNme wrote:Would you suggest series of blind tastings, going along to stores and cellar doors and trying everything, perhaps a wine appreciation course ?

How did you educate your palate ?

Need to learn some basics first - text book or wine course (wine course best because it usually incorporates some interaction with the next step), then taste and consider as much as you can with outside input. Then learn some more again...

Simple

I also recommend you download (right click > save target as), not open, TORB's tasting sheet, for red wine only, at: http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~mardi/TORB's%20Tasting%20Sheet.pdf as it details some of the many things that may be considered in a wine.

Adair

Need to start with the basic like how to taste wine and have some wine knowledge. After you have good basicv knowledge then it is to taste as many different types of wine as possible to develop your own palate and preference. Through regular wine drinking and tasting you can keep improving your knowledge and skill. Of course wine forum like this helps too.

Cheers
Rob

Firstly it should be fun, it should not be an academic exercise requiring homework or whatever research.

Drink as much as you can afford, or want to afford, then start looking for free tastings in your area. Go along as often as possible, and when you start finding your feet, feel free to ask questions of the host.

never ask questions for the sake of it, however if it's an honest question, that you genuinely want to know the answer to you should expect a good response no matter how basic the query.

From here you may want to look at some intro to win courses.

Michael wrote:Firstly it should be fun, it should not be an academic exercise requiring homework or whatever research.

Although FUN is an important part of wine drinking/tasting, but if you don't know/understand how to taste, assess and describe the wine, I don't think you can get the full pleasure from it

A little bit of homework/preparation will go a long way. This applies to everything doesn't it?

Cheers
Rob

I am not a very good taster, but this was how I started, still going forwards and backwards between the stages.

First Stage--Grape varieties
Read about how they tasted, then buy and taste good examples of each common variety. You can get the information from basic wine books, a good bottle shop or JH's wine companion will give you the good examples.

Second Stage--Regions
Read about how they should taste (i.e. cool vs warm climate; eden vs clare riesling). Again, buy good examples from each region of interest and taste them.

Third Stage--Benchmark Wines
Get a few friends together to chip in for benchmark wines, and try to work out why they are so famous, cost more than others, or are just overrated.

Forth Stage--Old World vs New World
Again, read, taste, compare.

Fifth Stage--International Benchmark Wines
Same as third stage.

Ah, learning to taste and educate the palate. Sometimes I think its like learning to play golf. You really need instruction to get the technique down and then its practice, practice, practice. And that practice should include thinking about the flavors in things other than wine, like food, because the biggest stumbling block is not having a large library of flavor descriptors to help you accurately describe what you are tasting; even if its for yourself.

For example if a wine tastes like the wringing from a camel drivers loin cloth its important that you have that experience stored away in memory so that you can bring it out and show everyone the depth and breadth of your tasting experience!

Seriously, education through quality Wine Appreciation or Tasting classes is an important first step. Most of the best courses will go through the technical aspects of tasting and should also include tasting of different wine styles. You can often meet others at such courses who are willing to taste after class which will at the very least expand your wine exposure and maybe even be the start of a serious tasting group. Its been so long since I did this type of course that I can’t recommend anything. But you might like to check out the Wine Diva’s site on Enthusiast Courses – that is if you are in Australia!

Books on tasting are also important. Michael Broadbent's Wine Tasting is a must as is Emile PeynaudÂ’s The Taste of Wine: The Art and Science of Wine Appreciation. BroadbentÂ’s is a gem of a little book, while PeynaudÂ’s is more technical and can be a struggle; I know as IÂ’m rereading it at present. Jancis RobinsonÂ’s How to Taste : A Guide to Enjoying Wine is also supposed to be very good; although IÂ’ve not read it. However her The Oxford Companion to Wine is a must for anyone wanting to expand their wine knowledge, or just as a reference work.

You should also find a reputable wine shop, preferably a specialist wine shop and not the local supermarket. Many specialist shops have tastings of different wine styles and you should go to these as often as you can. These tastings should bring you into contact with more serious and experienced tasters than the wine appreciation course and you can learn a lot by watching and talking to them.

You can be as serious as you want about developing your palate. You can spend countless hours recording your impressions of various tastes, tracking down wines, drinking wine, and in general debauchery. But remember in the end its just fermented grape juice and there to be enjoyed.

Mike

PS. It can be hard (expensive!) to do but you should also take Len Even's advice and drink only quality wine.

This is on my site but wasnt written by me and you may find very helpfull. Some TAFE students are now using it too.

Check out "A Guide to Tasting Wine" at http://www.torbwine.com/index.htm?..//stuff.htm

Rob wrote:

Michael wrote:Firstly it should be fun, it should not be an academic exercise requiring homework or whatever research.

Although FUN is an important part of wine drinking/tasting, but if you don't know/understand how to taste, assess and describe the wine, I don't think you can get the full pleasure from it

A little bit of homework/preparation will go a long way. This applies to everything doesn't it?

Cheers
Rob

I think this research becomes an important part of all the fun. My wife used to hate the way I spent so much time with my head buried in books, swirling and, and... then come the dBase notes of your cellar, more books, too much time warbling on forums when you should be listening... All part of the miracle !!
cheers,

simm wrote: My wife used to hate the way I spent so much time with my head buried in books, swirling and, and... then come the dBase notes of your cellar, more books, too much time warbling on forums when you should be listening... All part of the miracle !!
cheers,

And shes ok with it now ?

First helps if you enjoy a glass of wine - then start thinking if it seems similar to anything you've had before and what you like about it (then ignore for a while and enjoy what's in front of you)
try some courses often run by good wine stores, adult education, wine society etc - they are a great why to try lots of different wines and styles next to each other plus give good information
If you are learning just for your own enjoyment that may be enough if you are involved in selecting wine for others it can be very different trying to assess what is good value across a wide range of prices.
Trade shows or events like wine Australia are another great way to see lots of different things - can be good to target what you look at because you will get overloaded and palate fatigue.
Read everything that comes your way - if you are in an office that gets a range of papers read every wine column that comes in (SMH/Age Tuesday, Daily Telegraph and Canberra Times Wednesday, etc)

somethings to think about when combined with what everone else has suggested

David

Hi 'yourNme'

Some great advice already offered so I won't repeat it. However I would just like to add one thing of potential interest for you.

One of the very first steps in educating yourself is to have a grasp of the specific terminology used within an industry/science, and I wrote the 'Essential Wine Tasting Guide' for exactly this purpose.
It is basically a winemakers 'cheat sheet' that provides the novice with an instant vocabulary, and the seasoned taster with a prompt when stumped.

There are over 1200 different wine descriptors contained within the size of a credit card, and you can get a better understanding of the product by going to my website listed below. However I recommend and encourage you to purchase one (if this is of interest to you) through the Auswine shop here on Gavin Trotts website.

Also, once you are ready for advanced palate training, you may like to have a look at these wine aroma sets:-

http://www.auswine.com.au/perl/vsf


Everybody, please don't interpret this as spam as I work closely with Gavin in providing these learning aids to consumers.

Rob wrote:

Michael wrote:Firstly it should be fun, it should not be an academic exercise requiring homework or whatever research.

Although FUN is an important part of wine drinking/tasting, but if you don't know/understand how to taste, assess and describe the wine, I don't think you can get the full pleasure from it

A little bit of homework/preparation will go a long way. This applies to everything doesn't it?

Cheers
Rob

Rob,

this is exactly the attitude I think a new comer should avoid, getting so caught up in it all, you miss the basic point.

I don't think becoming caught up in the jargon, and pseudo science has anything to do with enjoyment, certainly not at this level.

I have completed a great deal of formal training, but I don't know if I 'enjoy' a wine anymore because of it. I can certainly assess it well, but I wonder if assessment gets in the way of a relaxing drink at times.

Cheers
M

Glen wrote:Hi 'yourNme'

Some great advice already offered so I won't repeat it. However I would just like to add one thing of potential interest for you.

One of the very first steps in educating yourself is to have a grasp of the specific terminology used within an industry/science, and I wrote the 'Essential Wine Tasting Guide' for exactly this purpose.
It is basically a winemakers 'cheat sheet' that provides the novice with an instant vocabulary, and the seasoned taster with a prompt when stumped.

There are over 1200 different wine descriptors contained within the size of a credit card, and you can get a better understanding of the product by going to my website listed below. However I recommend and encourage you to purchase one (if this is of interest to you) through the Auswine shop here on Gavin Trotts website.

Also, once you are ready for advanced palate training, you may like to have a look at these wine aroma sets:-

http://www.auswine.com.au/perl/vsf


Everybody, please don't interpret this spam as I work closely with Gavin in providing these learning aids to consumers.

Glen,

At least your not hiding the fact that your post is spam.

M

Michael wrote:Rob,

this is exactly the attitude I think a new comer should avoid, getting so caught up in it all, you miss the basic point.

I don't think becoming caught up in the jargon, and pseudo science has anything to do with enjoyment, certainly not at this level.

I have completed a great deal of formal training, but I don't know if I 'enjoy' a wine anymore because of it. I can certainly assess it well, but I wonder if assessment gets in the way of a relaxing drink at times.

Cheers
M

Hello Michael,

What I meant is that you should have some basic understanding of the wine at least the fruit variety. A person should know a little about the basics, like grape variety, region. It's all too common when you asked a person how is the wine? Majority will say either say yes it's nice or no I don't like it, but when you ask any further they can't tell you why. I don't mean you should study and training wine tasting religiusly, but by having some very basic knowledge you can get the best out of the wine.

I suppose people approach this issue differently, I am not trying to impose my view as the best, just merely my experience and thought.

Cheers
Rob

Glen wrote:Hi 'yourNme'

Some great advice already offered so I won't repeat it. However I would just like to add one thing of potential interest for you.

One of the very first steps in educating yourself is to have a grasp of the specific terminology used within an industry/science, and I wrote the 'Essential Wine Tasting Guide' for exactly this purpose.
It is basically a winemakers 'cheat sheet' that provides the novice with an instant vocabulary, and the seasoned taster with a prompt when stumped.

There are over 1200 different wine descriptors contained within the size of a credit card, and you can get a better understanding of the product by going to my website listed below. However I recommend and encourage you to purchase one (if this is of interest to you) through the Auswine shop here on Gavin Trotts website.

Also, once you are ready for advanced palate training, you may like to have a look at these wine aroma sets:-

http://www.auswine.com.au/perl/vsf


Everybody, please don't interpret this as spam as I work closely with Gavin in providing these learning aids to consumers.

Glen:

Looks like an interesting aid, especially if its so small.


Has anyone tried the Wine Aroma Dictionary? I've been looking for something that could replace the usual myriad of glasses containing flavors (piece of chocolate here, drop of vanilla there, etc etc,) that can be used to train flavor recognition, but most synthetic products are not all that realistic.

Mike

Michael wrote:

Glen wrote:
Everybody, please don't interpret this spam as I work closely with Gavin in providing these learning aids to consumers.

Glen,

At least your not hiding the fact that your post is spam.

M

That's a bit harsh! This is a commerical website, and the poster is one of the suppliers whose products are sold by the website. Think you're pushing the definition of spam a bit far there...

cheers,
Graeme

Started tasting at cellar doors when I was 17. Used to go top to bottom not spitting. Second day got sh*t faced and ended up buying a case of wine that was cr*p. Thought big mistake spent the next 24 years tasting, reading, drinking etc. Learn to spit if your serious as you can tatse more wines within a limited time frame. Cannot not emphaise enough to try tasting as often as possible, however a little research can go a long way. If you really cannot spit then limit the number of wineries you visit at any one time and if it is toward the end of the day try and avoid purchasing (in bulk) and go back again the next day if possible. Try and purchase mixed dozens (of your choice) from retailers such as Gavin. Try and find an example of corked wine and learn to recognise this as I wonder how many corked wines I wrote of years ago but now know better. Look for tatsers and writers who styles of wine you agree with in terms of ratings. Have fun as it is really satisfying when you buy a wine/s and latter find out that they are receiving rave reviews.