On Jan 16, 2:21*pm, Short Cellar > wrote:
> There are a few interesting books floating around now about the nexus
> of wine and philosophy: "Question of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine"
> edited by Barry Smith, and "Wine and Philosophy: A Symposium on
> Thinking and Drinking" edited by Fritz Allhoff.
>
> Barry Smith has some interesting things to say about whether wines
> have an "objective" taste, or whether are experiences of them are
> purely subjective. I find this pretty heady stuff given how much
> authority people now give to wine experts, especially those wielding
> numerical scales. It seems people really want an authority figure.
>
> Anyway, my idle thoughts on this topic are hewww.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar
>
> I wonder what other people think.
>
> Matthew

I would like to react to the following:

- ...His main concern is whether the experience of wine is subjective
and unique to each individual, or whether the wine has an objective
taste that can be shared among people who know what to look for. Can
anyone be "right" when giving judgment about a wine?

Concerning the question, "Can anyone be 'right' when giving judgment
about a wine?", I would say 'of course' just as anyone can be wrong
about their judgment. As far as I am concerned, an art form cannot
exist once people being start believing that there is no such thing as
an error.

Getting back to that statement, I feel that the key phrase is
"...people who know what to look for."

Only an authority can not only show you what to look for, but also
where to look for it. And also only an authority can tell you what
matters (or matters more) and doesn't matter (or matters less).

Also, only an authority can explain what an ideal aesthetic experience
is and how far and in what way the wine you are tasting is from the
ideal.

I believe that if an aesthetic experience is evaluated using a
systematic procedure, you become aware of things you never noticed
before.