Wine Workout

I just came across this fabulous article in the October issue of Food & Wine magazine.  "Train Yourself To Be a Better Wine Taster" really breaks down the essential steps in evaluating wine by taking wine out of the process completely.  What???  Oh yes, absolutely.  

Working on an account with Andrea Robinson too many years ago I first heard her describe wine to a hotel waitstaff in this manner and I can't tell you how enlightening it was.  I won't go into all the details but when she spoke about body, tannins, oak, etc. using comparisons such as milk (nonfat, 2%, whole), tea (oversteeped), and toast (burnt), it was an analogy that made wine so sensorially easy to understand you could instantly see light bulbs going off around the room.  The article breaks tasting wine into six tasting exercises to more clearly define the meaning of body, tannin, acidity, sweetness, flavor, and oak.  It is a brilliant way to "help even a wine know-nothing become a smarter, happier, more insightful taster."

Cheers!