Читать книгу The Wine Etiquette Guide - Your Defense Against Wine Snobbery - Chuck Blethen - Страница 21

“What grape to keep its place in the sun, taught our ancestors to make wine?”

- Cyril Connolly

If you've never been to a wine tasting party, be aware that there are a few matters of etiquette that apply. Familiarizing yourself with this etiquette will help you feel more comfortable. Otherwise, you're likely to be surprised or alarmed by what you see or hear.

Professional wine tasters long ago discovered that if they swallow every wine they taste, they're far less thoughtful tasters by the time they reach wine nine or ten. So spitting became acceptable. In wineries, professional tasters sometimes spit right onto the gravel floor or into the drains. In more elegant surroundings, they spit into a spittoon, usually a simple container like a large plastic cup (one per taster) or an ice bucket that two or three tasters share.

At first, naturally, some tasters are loath to spit out wine. Not only have they been brought up to believe that spitting is uncouth, but they've also paid good money for the opportunity to taste the wines. Why waste them?

You can drink all of your wine at a wine evaluation, if you wish — and some people do. But I don't advise that you do, for the following reasons:

•Evaluating the later wines will be difficult if you swallow the earlier ones. The alcohol you consume will cloud your judgment and dull your taste buds.

•Swallowing isn't really necessary in order to taste the wine fully. If you leave the wine in your mouth for eight to ten seconds, you'll be able to taste it thoroughly — without having to worry about the intoxicating effects of the alcohol.

•If you have driven to the tasting, you're taking an unnecessary risk driving home afterwards if you drink instead of spit. You are risking your life and health, others' lives, and your driver's license.

The simple solution: Spit out the wine. Nearly all experienced wine tasters do. Believe it or not, spitting will seem to be a very normal thing to do at wine tastings after you have practiced a few times. (And, in the meantime, it's one way to appear more experienced than you really are!)

If you know that you can't bring yourself to spit, be sure to have something substantial to eat before going to a wine tasting. You absorb alcohol more slowly on a full stomach — and the simple crackers and bread at most wine tastings are not sufficient to absorb the extra alcohol. Pour any unconsumed wine into the spittoon or bucket provided by the proprietors.

You may hear loud slurping or gurgling noises from "serious" wine tasters at tastings. Drawing air into your mouth does enhance your ability to taste the wine. With a little practice, you can gurgle without making loud, attention-getting noises.

Avoid wearing scent to a wine tasting affair. This includes perfumes, colognes, after-shaves, and scented hair spray or gel.

Because smell is such an important aspect of wine tasting, courteous tasters try not to interfere with other tasters' ability to smell. This means that you should not smoke at any wine tasting. Smoking at, or just before, a wine tasting will also affect the taste of your wines. The smoke and odor of cigarettes or cigars not only interferes with the enjoyment of the taste and smell of the wines, it can be irritating to other guests.

Bubble gum, chewing gum and breath mints will alter the taste of wine. Be sure to rinse your mouth well with water before beginning a tasting.

If you have negative comments about a wine, keep them to yourself, particularly when at a vineyard tasting room. Courteous wine tasters do not volunteer their opinions about a wine until other tasters have had a chance to taste the wine. Serious tasters like to form their opinions independently and are sure to throw dirty looks at anyone who interrupts their concentration.