The Vintners Voice

   Ok, I admit it.  I like my work.  When I am not at the winery cleaning something or walking the vines with Chuey ( learning something ) I seem to gravitate towards yet more work.  Oh, please.  Don't feel sorry for me.  I consider tasting wine, wine I didn't make, as an important part of 'staying sharp' professionally.   I drink wine at home, usually with meals and when hanging out with friends.  I taste  wines with other wine makers, sales people, sommeliers, retailers, chefs and 'serious' wine lovers.  Most wine makers belong to some sort of a 'tasting group' that meets periodically, some meet regularly and others are a bit more sporadic.  I taste with a couple of different groups, each provides a different view point and perspective.  It helps prevent 'cellar pallet' which develops from narrowing ones wine experience to too few regions, varietals or producers.

    One such group I taste with is all wine makers.  We tend to be analytical with the wine, commenting on what we like and don't, as well as the condition of the wine.    We also work backwards with the wine; speculating on how the wine was handled, what the vintage was like, how the climate shapes the character of a wine, and of course trying to figure out how they accomplished the things we like and how they could have avoided the things we don't.  We are wine makers, it is just the way we are.

      The most recent tasting had a Piemonte nebbiolo theme.  We had 7 wines that we pulled corks from, poured them immediately and got to swirling, sniffing and slurping.  We are all Oregon Pinot Noir producers, we all make wines in a New World style; soft and lush, sweet with fruit.  We were completely unprepared for the tannins that over the next 40 minutes would precipitate on and parch our tongues.  Each wine was described, to some extent, as; tannic, hard, bitter, chalky, drying, etc.  The format of the tasting is to taste through all of the wines, making notes, then discuss each wine separately before 'disrobing' ( the wine of course ).  This format of tasting and later discussing forces us to go back to wines repeatedly over time.

      By the end of the tasting many of these wines had totally redeemed themselves.  With air they had softened and opened up, showing the powerful elegance the region is known for.  Then came the meal.  Once these wines were put into the context of food, any issues we had had with the tannins had completely disappeared.

      Sometimes you don't learn your lesson and the lesson gets repeated.  What I learned was that every wine behaves on its own timeline that will not submit to your desires.  That every wine will reach its particular zenith, like a star in the night sky, in its own due time.  I also learned that each wine has a place that it is most right.  Sometimes it is on the back patio in the late afternoon sun, other times it is with friends or next to fireplaces, most of the time it is on the table with food.