Wine Tasting is BS

A nice overview of the literature in the field:

Bruce

Io9. Always high quality art and wine analysis.

I love Exhibit D - Some other guy on the internet said it, so it must be true.

Fooling people with red dye in white wine…lol

Well, to be fair, he correctly detected the smell of bs.

I’m done reading after the second sentence:

This begs an important question regarding wine tasting: is it bullshit, or is it complete and utter bullshit?

Nope, not what that phrase means.

that’s exactly what i came in here to post.

i’m sure the remainder of the piece was filled with razor-sharp observations and stunning, well researched conclusions.

deadhorse deadhorse deadhorse

How many more articles do we need like this that cite the exact same “studies”? blahblah “Another blog says it’s bull shit so it’s bull shit.” That’s a new one, though.

Might not all be bullshit, but trying to find useful reviews can sometimes be like panning for gold in the Mississippi River.

Today’s wine news…yet someone else made a wild and flagrant broad strike claim about wine that isn’t true.
That’s what, the third time this week?

That’s like reporting someone got attacked in NY today

I will say that with many wines, my reaction after the first “taste” is much different than drinking through the entire bottle (or half, some nights). Meaning, that for me, the taste of the wine changes after the first sip. It’s had time to work it’s way into and coat my mouth, continue to decant in the glass, change temp, etc., all of which can make a wine, often times, more enjoyable than after just a single tasting. If I were to judge wine just after one sip and spit, I think there would be many wines I’d unfortunately pass on.

That and the buzz after that half bottle. [drinkers.gif]

+1 Amen brother!

It’s only BS for wine made from vines planted next to the manure-filled horn in a biodynamic vineyard.

Terroir baby!

Maybe wine makers should include a little plastic packet of terroir dirt attached to each bottle? [snort.gif]

I am of the mind that wine doesn’t really change as much with time, as we do. As humans, we tend to think of everything around us as subject to change, rather than explore the possibility that perhaps it is more likely that we are adjusting to the wine more than the wine is changing with temp, air, etc. I am not suggesting that wine doesn’t change at all, rather that we underestimate how much our mood, our temperature, our relative tiredness or alertness, et al. affects our experience of a wine in a given moment.

I’ll also add that “rating” a wine based on a professional, semi-professional or even amateur set of criteria IS indeed bullshit. The only criterion that should be considered is: Is this wine WORTH drinking?

Very true. But that’s quite different from saying “wine tasting is BS”. In fact, your experience says quite the opposite to me. It suggests to me that your palate is evolved to the point where you can recognize the evolution of wine in the glass/decanter over time. The “half bottle” effect referenced above notwithstanding

champagne.gif

Much of the article discusses the futility of scoring. I doubt most here would object to that.

Sure has a funny way of approaching it.

I posted the article somewhat tongue-in-cheek (double entendre very much intentional). Anyway, certainly there is the issue of scoring wine, but there’s also the issue of trying to accurately describe the aromas and flavors in wine. And, of course, the obvious problems with label bias.

Bruce