Comments on: The Inner Life of the Wine Review http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/ A Wine Blog Dedicated To Terrior Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:30:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Jim http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-88 Jim Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:23:33 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-88 Thanks for the encouragement, Tom. I will certainly keep trying. After all there are worse things to practice than savoring wines. Thanks for the encouragement, Tom. I will certainly keep trying. After all there are worse things to practice than savoring wines.

]]> By: Phil Ward http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-87 Phil Ward Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:18:08 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-87 I just finished, Monday, a massive tasting of about 50 wines from my portfolio. We had a round table tasting in a clinical setting to break the wines down by color, aroma, palate and finish to make tasting notes for our US Tech sheets. Would we have prefered to have these with foods? YES, but in this case we had to take the clinical professional tasting approach. We all made sure to take wines with us to try later that evening with food. Phil I just finished, Monday, a massive tasting of about 50 wines from my portfolio. We had a round table tasting in a clinical setting to break the wines down by color, aroma, palate and finish to make tasting notes for our US Tech sheets. Would we have prefered to have these with foods? YES, but in this case we had to take the clinical professional tasting approach. We all made sure to take wines with us to try later that evening with food.
Phil

]]> By: eljefe http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-86 eljefe Wed, 13 Dec 2006 06:30:21 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-86 How does sex feel? It is one thing to analyze the components in detail (rub here, feels good). It is another thing completely to try and grasp and describe in words the entire experience. Boom! Excellent wine for thought! - j How does sex feel?

It is one thing to analyze the components in detail (rub here, feels good).

It is another thing completely to try and grasp and describe in words the entire experience. Boom!

Excellent wine for thought! - j

]]> By: admin http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-83 admin Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:16:07 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-83 Jim- So glad that this sort of comment came out. There are so many people who feel the way that you do, and I'm here to say that there's hope! The first question I ask folks who tell me this is "How long have you been trying to make these kinds of identifications?" So many folks think that they can just stick their noses into a glass and write like a wine critic. Think back to your childhood...those big kids doing the figure 8s with their new bikes...they made it look so easy...and you, still struggling to even stay up on two wheels for more than 10 feet...but then one day, you manage a squiggly ride of 30 feet, then 50, and by the end of the week, it's figure 8s for you too! What I'm getting at in a goofy sort of way is that practice makes perfect...listen, doing critical reviews of wines is like any other (semi) arcane pursuit: it's all about desire and effort. To employ a sports analogy: can every baseball player grow up to become Willie Mays? No, but EVERYONE can IMPROVE their skills if they want to get better, and make the effort to do so. Hey, I wasn't born with a golden nose, and I wouldn't even say that I've yet developed one, but practice makes perfect! Keep trying and I'll bet one day, a choclate covered strawberry will come flying out of your glass and hit you straight in the septum...just one thing, with all that effort, don't forget to ENJOY the wine too! TOM CIOCCO Jim-

So glad that this sort of comment came out. There are so many people who feel the way that you do, and I’m here to say that there’s hope! The first question I ask folks who tell me this is “How long have you been trying to make these kinds of identifications?” So many folks think that they can just stick their noses into a glass and write like a wine critic. Think back to your childhood…those big kids doing the figure 8s with their new bikes…they made it look so easy…and you, still struggling to even stay up on two wheels for more than 10 feet…but then one day, you manage a squiggly ride of 30 feet, then 50, and by the end of the week, it’s figure 8s for you too!

What I’m getting at in a goofy sort of way is that practice makes perfect…listen, doing critical reviews of wines is like any other (semi) arcane pursuit: it’s all about desire and effort. To employ a sports analogy: can every baseball player grow up to become Willie Mays? No, but EVERYONE can IMPROVE their skills if they want to get better, and make the effort to do so.

Hey, I wasn’t born with a golden nose, and I wouldn’t even say that I’ve yet developed one, but practice makes perfect! Keep trying and I’ll bet one day, a choclate covered strawberry will come flying out of your glass and hit you straight in the septum…just one thing, with all that effort, don’t forget to ENJOY the wine too!

TOM CIOCCO

]]> By: Brandon M http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-82 Brandon M Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:50:51 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-82 I enjoy wine at a height any Oenophile would aspire to. I also critique and analyze wine almost constantly. Analyzing a wine has naturally come with educating myself with a broad base of wine knowledge. I analyze wine to recommend to family and friends while family and friends ask me to analyze wine for them, eagerly awaiting my opinion on their latest find. It's all so enjoyable I don't think of the analysis as anything other than part of the tasting and enjoying process! I enjoy wine at a height any Oenophile would aspire to. I also critique and analyze wine almost constantly. Analyzing a wine has naturally come with educating myself with a broad base of wine knowledge. I analyze wine to recommend to family and friends while family and friends ask me to analyze wine for them, eagerly awaiting my opinion on their latest find. It’s all so enjoyable I don’t think of the analysis as anything other than part of the tasting and enjoying process!

]]> By: Jim http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Jim Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:05:34 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-81 I don't have a nose. That is, I don't have a nose that seems to discover the varied scents that other noses recognize. Perhaps my nose and I need some training? I know I like different types of wine and do recognize certain differences, but to say that this wine has a "black cherry" or "chocolate" or "strawberry" or "a hint of fall" is beyond me. But that doesn't stop me from trying. I still try to read James Joyce though I only get a sentence every now and then. I don’t have a nose. That is, I don’t have a nose that seems to discover the varied scents that other noses recognize. Perhaps my nose and I need some training? I know I like different types of wine and do recognize certain differences, but to say that this wine has a “black cherry” or “chocolate” or “strawberry” or “a hint of fall” is beyond me. But that doesn’t stop me from trying. I still try to read James Joyce though I only get a sentence every now and then.

]]> By: Nico http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-79 Nico Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:27:38 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-79 I do keep my own personal tasting notebook (well, an e-notebook at corkd.com/people/nasv ). I personally find thinking about the wine and where it came from to heighten my "experience" with the bottle - it is part of what fascinates me about wine, in addition to its taste and its taste with food. Great post! -Nico I do keep my own personal tasting notebook (well, an e-notebook at corkd.com/people/nasv ). I personally find thinking about the wine and where it came from to heighten my “experience” with the bottle - it is part of what fascinates me about wine, in addition to its taste and its taste with food. Great post!
-Nico

]]> By: admin http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-78 admin Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:24:17 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-78 Julius- Everyone derives pleasure from wines in subtly different ways, but the analysis that I do is not for my own pleasure (though I enjoy doing it) but rather to allow me to write the reviews that appear on our site or on the "shelf talkers" that appear on our shelves - doing this is part of what I must do in my job here at WL, though some non-professional wine lovers do indeed keep tasting notebooks as a record of their drinking. TOM CIOCCO Julius-

Everyone derives pleasure from wines in subtly different ways, but the analysis that I do is not for my own pleasure (though I enjoy doing it) but rather to allow me to write the reviews that appear on our site or on the “shelf talkers” that appear on our shelves - doing this is part of what I must do in my job here at WL, though some non-professional wine lovers do indeed keep tasting notebooks as a record of their drinking.

TOM CIOCCO

]]> By: Julius http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-76 Julius Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:50:21 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-76 I always, or nearly always, drink my wine with food. I very often start drinking the wine before I sit down to eat, to eventually it will accompany the meal. That being said, I do not "critically analyze" the wine. I enjoy (or not) the wine, but do take pleasure in recognizing the characteristics (flavors on the nose and palate, body, texture, acidity, tannins) that make it so. I don't find writing any of it to add or detract from the pleasure. IMHO. I always, or nearly always, drink my wine with food. I very often start drinking the wine before I sit down to eat, to eventually it will accompany the meal. That being said, I do not “critically analyze” the wine. I enjoy (or not) the wine, but do take pleasure in recognizing the characteristics (flavors on the nose and palate, body, texture, acidity, tannins) that make it so. I don’t find writing any of it to add or detract from the pleasure. IMHO.

]]> By: admin http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/comment-page-1/#comment-75 admin Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:43:23 +0000 http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2006/12/11/the-inner-life-of-the-wine-review/#comment-75 NickG- Thanks for the your interest and kind words. For me the inclusion/exclusion of food is never a factor since I NEVER review wines without a plate of food in front of me. For me it's a matter of "intention" - essentially I think different parts of ones consciousness are at work in the two scenarios. I think it's clear that the purely sensory scenario is "prime", but the "analytical" approach to a wine, at least for me, crystallizes and completes the sensorial side of things, though I believe that discussing the wine with a drinking partner has the identical effect, i.e. moving the sensations from the inner world to the outer world - somewhat analogous to the notion that thoughts and the speaking of those thoughts are NEVER precisely the same things. TOM CIOCCO NickG-

Thanks for the your interest and kind words. For me the inclusion/exclusion of food is never a factor since I NEVER review wines without a plate of food in front of me. For me it’s a matter of “intention” - essentially I think different parts of ones consciousness are at work in the two scenarios. I think it’s clear that the purely sensory scenario is “prime”, but the “analytical” approach to a wine, at least for me, crystallizes and completes the sensorial side of things, though I believe that discussing the wine with a drinking partner has the identical effect, i.e. moving the sensations from the inner world to the outer world - somewhat analogous to the notion that thoughts and the speaking of those thoughts are NEVER precisely the same things.

TOM CIOCCO

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