Oliver, that’s awesome!
Wondering how best to bring a re-openable crappy beer with me, driving around Napa… May have to stick with bread and seltzer.
Don’t get stopped by the Highway Patrol. ‘I was just cleansing my palate, officer.’
I swallow the beer. Have gotten to where I can spit Montrachet, Musigny, Yquem and Krug, but have got to swallow the beer.
20-30 wines, especially with pauses in between, should be manageable without palate fatigue, but of course it’s a training as well.
I would say don’t overthink it: you don’t have to drink beer after each visit. If you do both mornings and afternoons, have a light lunch with a beer and you should be fine.
What’s probably even more important is to keep a manageable pace with pauses to relax, walk around, take a nap. This will help you keep focused all along. If you’re not used to doing it I’m pretty sure that mental fatigue kicks in way before palate fatigue. I often have the impression I can still taste but my mind isn’t focused.
Now if we’re talking hardcore stuff (in the range of 80-100+ wines a day), then water, beer, and gently brushing your tongue with a toothbrush are probably in order.
What Guillaume said. A whole day for 20-30 wines? Why would you even worry about palate fatigue? Come on, I had over 20 wines last night - did a blind tasting of 12 and then went out to dinner, for which I brought seven wines and someone else brought six Madeiras.
Palate fatigue comes from tasting many wines in rapid succession, like 30 wines per hour. But if you have all day long, just enjoy the wine and stop worrying! Cheers!