On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:03:37 +0100, Mike Tommasi >
wrote:

>On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 13:48:53 GMT, Leo Bueno
> wrote:
>
>>
>>Wondering what your take is on the technique of evaluating a wine by
>>the typical one sip and spit method, used of necessity at wine
>>tastings.
>>
>>I find that one sip can be used to rule out a bad wine, but it's not
>>enough to fully appreciate the good ones. In other words, wines that
>>are merely good upon sipping at first later get better the more of
>>them I drink (i.e., don't spit), while others do not

>Seriously, wine WAS made for accompanying a meal shared with good
>friends, I find that sip and spit works to get some fleeting
>impressions about the most obvious characteristics of a wine, but one
>can get fooled by wines made to seduce precisely in such
>circumstances. This is whi so many wines that impress under these
>conditions can be so disappoionting once you take them home.
>
>It is also hard to separate each wine from the previous when you do a
>series of sip and spit. Sure, pros do it and some of us fake it, but
>if you love wine there is nothing more boring. More than six and I
>lose interest.

God, but I love this group! It regularly triggers memories from my
checkered past; experiences that I'd misplaced in the clutter of an
aging mind but when suitable jostled back to the surface give me a
warm toasty feeling with resolved tannins, a hint of dark fruit and a
long velvety finish.

I've never been a sip and spitter (stop thinking those disgusting
porn-site thoughts, you over there in the corner!) I like wine and I
like to drink it, usually sitting with friends and talking rather than
standing at a table among twenty jostling snobs sucking wind between
their teeth and making disgusting gargling noises. And, nothing is
more off-putting to me than a bucket, even if it is silver of
expectoration.

But, once during a magnificent five day Bacchanal in the Burgundy and
Beaujolais region which included visits to Lameloise, Troisgros and
Bocuse, I stumbled (not literally) into the great market or whatever
they call it in the center of Beaune. There in this great museum-like,
minimalist grotto there were bottles for the tasting displayed in
grand array.

"When in Rome....er, Beaune...." they sip and spit. So, for once in my
disgusting life, I sipped and spat. I even rinsed with water and
"cleansed" my palate with cheese niblets and crackers and tiny squares
of baguette.

What did I learn? I learned that for me, I achieve sensory overload
and taste-bud burn-out in about five wines. Sip, slosh, snort, gargle,
and spit. Sure, there's some flavor there. And, yep, this one seems
pretty good, but that last one was better, I think. Ooopss, my tongue
is numb, my teeth are furry and the insides of my cheeks are on fire.
Can I taste much? Nope. Screw it, let's go to lunch and sit down with
a bottle of something...

YMMV.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com