Tips from the Tasting Room
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Confessions of a Winetaster
WineDown was privileged a few years back, to participate in a professional tasting panel.
The 8:00 a.m. start was only briefly off-putting. But the sight of 95 brown-paper-bagged bottles that were to be tasted before lunch was (ironically) sobering.
The bottles had been grouped and numbered A01 – A15; B01 – B23 and so on. WineDown was kitted out with a schmick white lab coat (though a raincoat might have been more apropos), and we began. The seasoned tasters set off at a cracking pace. WineDown started well, but - lacking match fitness - began to flag early. A quick breather was a good opportunity to review some hastily scrawled notes - which I still have as a treasured memento of the day. They indicate that the As 1-5 were: Delicious; Nice; Quite Good; OK; and A Bit Funny – in that order.
Turns out, wine tasting is harder than it seems.
Knowing the Score
As relatable as WineDown’s Delicious-to-A Bit Funny ratings may be, Benchmarking is crucial. And for that, you need a system. There are lots of different scales for assessing and rating wines, but only 2 are really widely used: the 20-point system and the 100-point system. Naturally, each has its champions and detractors.
The 20-point judging system originated in Europe and the UK. It’s preferred by wine critic and writer, Jancis Robinson, and it’s the system that the Australian Wine Show circuit was founded on. In the 20- scale, points are awarded put of a possible 3 for Appearance, 7 Nose, and 10 for Palate – and the results determine medal status: Bronze = 15.5 – 16.9; Silver = 17.0 – 18.4; Gold = 18.5 – 20.
In the late 1970s, Robert Parker Jr (absolutely no relation to Robert Downey Jr) pioneered a 100-point scale - ranking wines from 50 to 100 points. (Presumably the ones that scored below 50 were so hideous they didn’t even warrant a Robert Parker Jr lambast.) Considered wildly controversial at the time, the 100-point method has achieved much wider acceptance now. It’s the preferred model for many Australian writers and is increasingly used in wine shows. James Halliday’s version of the 100-point scale awards Bronze at 86 points; Silver at 90 points, and Gold at 95 points.
How it’s done
Tasters invoke all the senses when assessing a wine. OK – hearing, not so much (a professional tasting is a pretty quiet affair: tasters don’t confer until after they’ve scored a wine) – but Sight, Smell, Taste and Feel all come to the aid of the party.
Sight: First up, the wine’s appearance is assessed against a white background for colour, clarity, brightness, and intensity. (In the 20-point system, that’ll earn you 3 points, max).
Smell: Perfumes, deodorants, cosmetics, or fragrances of any kind are a serious distraction and so are banned from the tasting room. Tasters are on the lookout for faults – including Cork Taint; Oxidisation or Brett (short for Brettanomyces: a yeast spoilage said to taste like band-aids. Although why anyone would know what band-aids taste like is a matter for some contemplation). Assuming no faults, tasters then assess the intensity and quality of: Primary aromas (fruits, florals, herbs, spices, etc); Secondary aromas (e.g. vanilla, caramel, nuts etc from oak or winemaking techniques like malolactic fermentation); and Tertiary aromas (from ageing).
Taste: After completing the first two assessments, a sip of wine is finally permitted. It gets swished, sloshed, chewed and comprehensively churned in the mouth, before being expertly expelled into a spittoon. (Tasters NEVER swallow.) In addition to flavour, tasters consider harmony, complexity, balance, and weight.
Feel: Mouthfeel refers to the textural sensations caused by tannin, alcohol levels and oak contact. All of which influence the length and finish of the wine.
That’s a helluva lot of stuff to consider 95 times before lunch...
Great or Merely Good?
We Aussies are notoriously fond of medals. Maybe it has something to do with our passion for sport (GOLD!! Gold for Australia!!). Or maybe it’s simply that we don’t trust our own judgement. So here is WineDown’s solid gold tip for finding a great wine, every time:
Open a bottle of your favourite wine (you like it, so it’s a good wine.) Pour a glass for yourself, and one for each of your favourite friends. Now close your eyes. Hear laughter? That’s a great wine, right there.