Many Big Gulps.
"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
...
> Bill Loftin wrote:
>
>>
>> Mark, one of the aspects of tasting that we all consider is how long the
>> taste is on the palate. Can you experience that without swallowing? That
>> to me is on the back of the palate and only comes with swallowing.
>
> Bill,
> I think that you're talking about judging the finish of a wine. To me,
> that is all about retronasal olfaction, so simply swishing the wine in
> your mouth and fully aerating it give me a good sense of the finish. I
> can't say that I've felt any better informed about the finish when I'm not
> spitting vs. when I am.
>
> On a vaguely related note, I think that one of the major flaws in many
> people's sipping technique is taking too large a sip to judge a wine. I
> find that a comparatively small amount of wine in the mouth, thoroughly
> agitated and aerated, provides me with the best sense of what the wine is
> like. And, as I mentioned before, I usually take more than one sip of a
> given wine to judge it. Pros like M. Pronay are usually much quicker, as
> they've had so much more practice in both sipping and spitting (I feel
> like such a newbie when spitting during barrel tastings -- the pros send
> out the wine in a high velocity stream, whereas I'm mainly trying not to
> dribble it on my shirt front! :P)
>
> Mark Lipton
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