In the fall of 2009, I worked with good friends Taryn Voget and Tim Hallbom on their project called “Everyday Genius.” Their goal was to deconstruct and model what I do internally when I smell and taste wine. To accomplish this, we set up two video sessions with Tim and me on camera for the better part of three hours. During the filming, Tim tracked my eye movements and language patterns, as I worked my way through more than a dozen wines. In time, we were able to deconstruct the sequence of what I internally do when I look at, smell, and taste wine. We also discovered some remarkable things about how I process the sensory information in a glass of wine, as well as how I organize and remember it.
The result of the video sessions was a tasting DVD called “Think Like a Genius: Wine Master,” that’s unfortunately no longer commercially available. By now, DVD’s are considered antiquated technology, even though LP’s have made a huge comeback. Go figure.
Tim’s and Taryn’s project completely changed how I thought about tasting. Afterwards, I was acutely aware of my internal smelling and tasting strategies. Also, how I used internal visual to code, organize, and store information found in a glass of wine. The findings also changed how I taught tasting, regardless of the skill level of the student. The experience would be the impetus for a long-term project that ultimately led to publishing my book, Message in the Bottle: A Guide to Tasting Wine over a decade later (https://timgaiser.com/tastingguide). Long before then, I interviewed over two dozen Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, and other top professional tasters, trying to deconstruct their tasting strategies as Tim had done for me.
In the ten-plus years since those two video sessions, my personal tasting strategy has streamlined, become simpler, and easier to explain and teach. To document the entire process, the following is the first of four parts that breaks down my personal tasting strategies. Each segment will make use of the following aspects:
Goals: What I’m trying to accomplish when looking at, smelling, tasting, and making a conclusion about a wine (if the context is blind tasting).
Requirements: What’s needed for every step of the tasting process, including tools and the tasting environment.
Deductive tasting grid criteria: important parts of the deductive tasting grid at each step of the tasting process.
Internal strategies: the Martian/alien part of the equation, most of which was revealed when Tim and I tasted on camera during the video sessions.
Procedure: What I physically do when looking at, smelling, or tasting wine.
Overall tasting goals
To begin, I have overall goals when tasting in a professional context. They include the following:
Using a grid: When I taste, I’m always using a deductive tasting grid as a guide. The grid is based on the Master Sommelier tasting grid I learned over 30 years ago. Every wine certification organization uses some form of a tasting grid. I think the deductive tasting grid is the most detailed version. It’s like a check list that guides one through the tasting process.
Blind tasting: If I’m tasting a wine blind, my goal is to piece together the most important information to identify it in regards to the grape variety (or blend), place of origin, and vintage.
Quality and typicity: The primary goal whenever I taste is to judge a wine’s quality. Ultimately, that’s what all wine professionals are trained to do—and what we are paid to do. A wine’s quality is largely based on the balance of fruit, acidity, and other structural elements (i.e., tannin). If there’s harmony among all the elements in a wine, it’s thought to be balanced. Otherwise, part of judging quality is to assess a wine’s typicity by comparing it to previous similar wines tasted.
Value: Along with quality and typicity, I’m assessing a wine’s value as I taste. For example, is the wine I’m assessing worth the suggested price? Is it too expensive for what it is? Or is it underpriced and a great value?
Food and wine pairing: Given my background as a sommelier, I might be thinking about potential food pairings for a wine as I taste.
Improving personal skills: Regardless of the setting, I’m always trying to improve my tasting skills and get better at what I do as a professional. I’m also trying to figure out how to teach tasting more easily and effectively.
Enjoyment: Though rarely mentioned, one of my goals when tasting is to have fun with the process. After all, if you’re a wine professional, tasting, and not having fun, you may be the one with issues.
Overall tasting requirements
Proper glassware: Any glass I use for tasting has to be clear, egg-shaped (wider at the bottom vs. the top), have a thin cut rim, and hold at least 14 ounces. The Riedel Vinum Zinfandel – Chianti Classico glass is my favorite tasting glass.
Tasting environment: Natural light is best for tasting, but a good source of incandescent light also works well. I try to avoid fluorescent lighting when tasting because it alters the color in any wine and renders everything else a shade of gray. I also use a sheet of white paper or other white background to view the wines against. The tasting space also has to be quiet and free from distractions. Finally, any tasting environment must be devoid of any extraneous odors such as cologne, perfume, garlicky foods, or other strong smells. Likewise, it’s important to never, ever, wear a strong scent to a professional tasting.
Tasting mindset: With so much tasting practice over the last 35-plus years, I can easily drop into my tasting “zone.” I’ll discuss more about how I do that in the “smell” segment. Otherwise, for me, tasting is all about shutting the world out and being present to what’s in the glass. Curiosity could be the single most important criteria. The desire to know how and why a wine came to be what it is, is a never-ending quest of discovery that’s immensely enjoyable.
Sight: Judging the appearance of a wine
Goals: What I’m trying to achieve when looking at a glass of wine
- The appearance of wine in the glass can—and should—build expectations about the wine’s age, storage conditions, winemaking techniques, and even the grape variety.
- I’m trying to assess any factors that may have influenced the depth of color in the wine.
- I’m also doing a quick inspection of the wine to see if there are sediments in the glass, as well as the qualities of the legs/tears.
- I do all the previous using the “sight” portion of the deductive tasting grid as a guide. It goes without saying that I’ve memorized the grid. More on that shortly.
- Finally, if the appearance of a wine is atypical, I’m trying to see if it’s still sound, well-made, or even drinkable—or what went wrong.
Equipment requirements: good glassware, wine, spit cup, water, and a quiet, well-lit tasting environment.
The deductive grid
The sight portion of the deductive grid includes the following criteria:
Clarity: Is the wine clear, hazy, or even cloudy? Clarity in wine is determined by how much it was fined and filtered.
Brightness: how the wine reflects light in the glass and underneath on the sheet of white paper or other white surface. Brightness is a function of clarity as well as the depth of color. Clarity is also more important in white wines vs. red wines. That because a deeply-colored red wine like Malbec from Mendoza in Argentina is opaque and doesn’t reflect much light.
Color: White, pink, and red wines have established ranges of colors with specific names.
Secondary color: All wines display secondary colors in the glass. Green, silver, and gold are common secondary colors for white wines. Pink, salmon, and garnet (reddish-brown) are common secondary colors for red wines and can often be found at the rim or edge of the glass.
Rim variation: in red wines only. The difference in color between the wine at the center of the glass and the edge of the glass. The color at the edge of the glass will usually be lighter and in some cases more evolved.
Sediment: in the form of tartrate crystals in white wines (and red) and sediment in an older red wine or a young unfiltered red wine.
Legs/tears: The way wine drips down the side after the glass is swirled.
Procedure: how I look at a glass of wine
To get a clear visual of the wine, I hold the glass by the stem and tilt it away from me at 45° over a white background. I then assess the wine using all the criteria in the sight portion of the deductive grid listed above. Finally, I swirl the glass gently and assess the tears/legs and staining of the tears, if it’s a red wine.
Internal strategies: how I process the appearance of a wine
The deductive grid: it goes without saying that I long ago memorized the deductive grid with its over 40 criteria. But until I had done enough work with the grid—wine in hand or not, tasting never made sense to me. However, at some point shortly before I took the MS tasting exam the second time, the grid went inside. Specifically, it went from being something written on a page I had to look at, to living in my internal IMAX theater where I could see it any time I thought of it. The difference was the difference in passing the exam even with a horrible head cold and little, if any, sleep. The grid is still there now. I only have to think of it, and it appears. It looks like a huge game show board the size of a billboard complete with lights.
Eye positions: one of the major discoveries during the video sessions with Tim Hallbom was that I use consistent eye positions and patterns throughout the tasting process. These are called “eye accessing cues,” or “vertical and lateral” eye positions. All have to do with accessing different kinds of sensory memory. For example, most of the human race looks up and to the left to retrieve visual memories. We also tend to look down and to the left when we talk to ourselves, which is called digital audio. There are also eye positions for visual creation (imagination), auditory memories, auditory creation, and kinesthetic memories, both physical and emotional.
Given that, there is a set pattern of eye positions when I look at a glass of wine. After looking at the wine for a few moments, my eyes move up above the glass to process what I’m seeing. Specifically, I look out in front of me approximately six feet away. I’m not looking at anything per say, but internally “viewing” images or even short movies of previous experiences as they relate to the clarity, color, and other aspects of the wine’s appearance noted in the deductive grid.
For example, if I’m working with a white wine and want to identify the color, I’ll initially look at the actual wine in the glass for a moment or two. Then my eyes move up and out front. In short order a series of images of different colors for white wines appears in my internal field. The series of images is like a horizontal paint strip. The images are a sequence of glasses with wine showing the lightest color (water white) on the left to the deepest color (gold or brown) on the right, with other colors in between. The images have labels of the colors written underneath.
I also use sets of images and movies for the other aspects of a wine’s appearance including secondary colors, the presence (or lack of) sediments in the glass, the tears/legs, and staining of the tears. In every case, paint strip-type images (or movies) based on memories of previous wines help identify and confirm what I’m seeing in the glass.
I use internal images/movies for every aspect of tasting wine. The fact that smelling and tasting wine is a visual experience internally was one of the most important discoveries from the videos sessions with Tim. Prior to that, I wasn’t aware I relied on internal visual so much when tasting. I’d also never previously read of anyone using internal images to process wine, and likewise never heard a colleague talk about it. I’ll include more about the internal visual aspect in the other segments of this series.
Internal auditory: There’s one more important aspect of processing the appearance of the wine, and that has to do with digital auditory, which means talking to yourself. And I do that constantly when processing a wine. However, most of it is at the unconscious level, meaning I may not be aware of the fact I’m continually asking myself questions about the wine. Questions such as, is the wine clear? Or is it cloudy? What color is it? What are the secondary colors? How would I describe the tears? You get the idea. Again, most of the questions are unspoken, but they are still being constantly asked. All are based on the criteria in the deductive tasting grid. Finally, once a question is posed, my eyes move from the glass to out front where they use internal images to answer the question.
Other important additions: If something about the wine’s appearance seems unusual or off, as in the wine being cloudy or full of sediment, I internally ask what the problem could be. As usual, my eyes move out front to process. Then I use other series of images of potential wine problems that I’ve encountered in the past that I’ve filed away as memories. For example, if the color of the wine is atypical for the grape or place of origin, I’ll note that. If needed, I’ll use internal images of other wines with similar characteristics to confirm.
Rinse and repeat: The sequence of looking at the wine, asking internal questions, and then eyes moving out front to process using internal images and movies repeats, until I’ve gone through the sight portion of the grid and have all the information I need. At that point, I’m done with assessing the appearance of the wine and ready to smell it. Then thing get complex—and interesting.
