Wine Tastings: Extreme Fun For Us & Vital For Any Winemaker.

Anther facet of producing great wine.

Oh, you thought you could just quaff your glass of wine without giving it another thought? Well, yes but don't forget all the little bits that make your glass of wine so very 'quaffable'.

Wine tasting or lets face it, tasting the wine can have many distortions. What you eat before you have a sip is the main factor for you mistaking a top drawer wine for a glass of plonk. Or if you eat at all. When you do go out for a nice evening at a wine tasting ( singles galore ) the chances of you brushing your teeth are very good. At least we hope so. But here's the problem.

How do you get the taste of toothpaste out of your mouth and taste buds. Some toothpastes are leaning towards a licorice taste that frankly takes a lot of eating to get rid of. How many divine wines tasted were ( are ) misjudged just because of that darn minty / licorice taste masking the taste buds.

For any winemaker worth his salt, it should be vital to have the best available taste bud cleansers at hand. Gosh, if I were show casing my wines I would hand out neutral crackers at the door and keep them supplied all evening long. Any overly spicy or taste bud cloaking foods would not be served or available. Chewing gums or peppermints will have to be spat out. Extreme wine tasting...no, I would just like to sell the perfect taste.

Fashion designers show their wares on models so why should winemakers / wine designers not show their vintage on a neutral palate platform? Smoking is also a bit of an iffy. Aren't smokers notorious for needing extra salt on and in their food? Smoking hinders / cloaks the taste buds too, doesn't it? ( I would love to know whether the top winemakers in the world smoke or not? My money is on " not "...)

Years ago Bob and I went to Waterford Wine Estate in the Cape Wine Area. Funny, they are the only estate I remember vividly. Each of their wines to be tasted, came accompanied with its own piece of chocolate.

Not a supermarket chocolate but one specifically made for each individual wine. Chocolate made with spices to enhance or rather reveal the true flavour of their wines. It worked and I can still remember the sensation of having the various taste buds cajoled and caressed with the perfect combination of chocolate and wine. Of course Bob remembers the waitress more. She wore a short skirt...and if I know my husband, he'll probably remember her name too!

Biggi