Читать книгу The Wine Etiquette Guide - Your Defense Against Wine Snobbery - Chuck Blethen - Страница 8

“Where there is no wine there is no love”

- Euripedes

There are a number of specialized terms used to describe various grape/wine experts. Some work in the vineyards, some work in the wineries, and some work in wine shops and/or restaurants in the hospitality industry. The following terms and their meanings are offered to provide a basic background about the various grape growing/wine experts:

A Viticulturalist is the grape grower who plants, prunes, and picks the grapes. He/she is skilled in irrigation, fertilization, soil chemistries, understanding the effects of weather on grapes, various grafting techniques and propagating grapevines as well as specialized pruning, application of trellising methods, pollination and cluster thinning. They also know how to identify and prevent various diseases that can impact healthy grapevines.

An Oenologist (or enologist) is the technical name for a winemaker who uses his/her skills to make the wines from the various grapes grown by the viticulturalist. He/she is skilled in grape tasting, fermentation processes, wine chemistry, zymology (growing yeasts), bacteriology, use of testing instruments in the laboratory, crushing, maceration, pressing, racking, cooling, use of clarifiers, blending, bottling/corking technologies and wine evaluation. The best ones use their taste buds and their observation of grape seeds to determine when the grapes are ready for picking.

A Vigneron is a special designation you may hear from time to time around small, boutique wineries. The Vigneron grows his own grapes and makes wine from the grapes he grows, thus having total control over the total winemaking process from vine to wine. A vigneron has to have a much broader knowledge of all things grape and wine to be successful in making good wine.

A Sommelier is a French term for the individual who has been trained in how to match each wine on a wine menu with the various foods on a restaurant menu. In finer restaurants you can recognize the Sommelier by the “taste vin” (small, nearly flat tasting cup) that hangs around his/her neck on a large decorative chain. The shallow indentation in the metal cup allows the Sommelier to evaluate the robe (color) of the wine, the nose or bouquet of the wine, and the flavor of the wine before it is served.

A Master Sommelier is a member of an elite group of individuals who have been trained to a higher degree of wine knowledge. Master Sommeliers usually associate themselves with a particular winery, wine shop or restaurant (their sponsor) and teach wine evaluation classes.

You may see or hear of a Member of the Court of Master Sommeliers. Members of this group specifically work in the service and restaurant arena. Instead of concentrating solely on wine, they also study food pairing with beer, spirits, and even cigars!

At the top of the hierarchy is a Master of Wine, the top level of certification by the Institute of Masters of Wine that takes many years to complete. Members are tested on a broad range of knowledge about wine and wineries. It is truly an achievement to reach this certification level. Only 233 people in the world had this certification in 2004.

Then there is the oenophile – or wine connoisseur. These are common folk who have made it their hobby to develop a serious streak when drinking wines. They insist on having their wine served at the correct temperature, in the correct wine glass, and paired perfectly with the meal they are about to enjoy. They can discuss vineyards, vintages, remember tasting wines from decades past and fill the evening with wine related trivia that will amaze and entertain you.

There are several notable professional oenophiles who have made it their business to taste thousands of wines each year and write about them for the benefit of those of us who have neither the time, money nor inclination to endure the rigors of serious wine tasting. Robert Parker is our country’s most famous professional taster. He publishes a monthly newsletter called the Wine Advocate in which he shares his personal tasting notes on 10,000 wines each year. He has been referred to as the man with a million dollar nose.