One of my favorite stories to tell people, especially those who seem to struggle with their descriptors, is about my very first job in the wine industry. It goes a little something like this:
I was hired to work in the tasting room at a local winery. Before he was going to put me on the floor he wanted to gauge what I "knew" about wine. He gave me a wine to try, which was one of the client wines (not one of theirs), and asked me to tell him what I thought. Immedimately I told him "I don't want to". He encouraged me and said there was no wrong answer (come to find out he does think there is a WRONG answer) and I told him once again that I didn't want to. Finally, I was out with it and this is what I said, "It reminds me of cheap, cold turkey lunch meat, the slimy kind". Told you! He realized at that moment he did think there was a wrong answer, and that was it!! He promptly, with confusion and a large smile, asked if that was REALLY what I thought. He also disagreed with me. I stood by what I said (and couldn't get myself to try that particular wine again). Needless to say I worked there for over a year.
This story always gets a good laugh and tends to help loosen people up and that is the point. Over time I stopped this kind of honesty when describing wines, even in my own private notes. I had become one of the "wheel people". What are "wheel people"? I think I will leave that for a future post! Now that I am note-taking again I have found that my confidence has allowed me to be honest in that innocent way as I was all those years ago. I think someone once said, "Honesty is the best policy!" and I believe there is something to that.
Cheers
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wine Maker Insures Nose and I start a Blog!
So sometimes things just work out. I have been throwing around blog ideas for a long time and have even got to the point of creating said blogs...but then...I can't do it. Today was another one of those fateful days, I had, as I had many times before decided what I wanted to blog about. Now, I should mention that the general theme of my blog attempts have all been the same, wine. This time around I have decided that I am going to blog about the notes (and therefore the tastes and smells I experience) that I take when trying a new wine. Ok, I know...there are about a million people doing this very thing via blog, magazine, back of wine labels, professionally, etc. Believe me, I never thought I was going to do a wine blog that actually described wine, I always wanted to focus on the experience of wine.
I had almost religiously, for a long time, been taking notes when tasting when. Then, just as so many half written diaries of my youth, I just stopped. Currently, I am taking a wine appreciation class in which I am required to note what it is that I smell and taste and I have realized how much I miss writing my wine notes. The notes that I am taking in my class now are different...they are liberated...free of the "accepted" venacular when describing wines. I realized that in the years that have passed since I first started taking wine notes, my beliefs on how we should relate to wine have become firm and my confidence has grown. I am writing this blog to promote and encourage people to interact differently with their wine. I plan on doing this by leading by example.
Just this evening I stumbled upon an article about weirdest insurance policies. A dutch winemaker that makes wine in France has insured his nose for $8 million because he claims that he can detect, via his nose, not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of scents. I have my doubts that any one could even name millions of scents let alone detect them. However, what this claim means is that there is the possibility of smelling something other than the simple range of fruits, woods, spices, and a small variety of other things we have been taught to detect (and I completely agree!!). This is exciting for me and I think should be exciting for some many others, especially those who feel "inadequate" when it comes to verbalizing or relating to their wine experiences. Check back soon and see what I mean first hand!
Cheers
I had almost religiously, for a long time, been taking notes when tasting when. Then, just as so many half written diaries of my youth, I just stopped. Currently, I am taking a wine appreciation class in which I am required to note what it is that I smell and taste and I have realized how much I miss writing my wine notes. The notes that I am taking in my class now are different...they are liberated...free of the "accepted" venacular when describing wines. I realized that in the years that have passed since I first started taking wine notes, my beliefs on how we should relate to wine have become firm and my confidence has grown. I am writing this blog to promote and encourage people to interact differently with their wine. I plan on doing this by leading by example.
Just this evening I stumbled upon an article about weirdest insurance policies. A dutch winemaker that makes wine in France has insured his nose for $8 million because he claims that he can detect, via his nose, not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of scents. I have my doubts that any one could even name millions of scents let alone detect them. However, what this claim means is that there is the possibility of smelling something other than the simple range of fruits, woods, spices, and a small variety of other things we have been taught to detect (and I completely agree!!). This is exciting for me and I think should be exciting for some many others, especially those who feel "inadequate" when it comes to verbalizing or relating to their wine experiences. Check back soon and see what I mean first hand!
Cheers
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