We seem to be growing very wine-conscious, though not every one of us can understand all the verbiage that is thrown around about it. There are a few on British television who enjoy attributing flavours to wines which at times soar into surrealism. Or just taking the Mickey out of us. Aromas or flavours from wine could be as far out as Christmas pudding or boot polish. But the Michelin guide to an area of south-west France reassures us: you don't have to be an expert to enjoy wine-tasting, it says. You just need a little curiosity, a lot of passion, and a few hours' practice.
You begin by examining the colour and limpidity of the wine in your glass. It differs with each one. Then you look at the surface to make sure that nothing alien, such as a bit broken off from the cork, is there. Now to the aroma, the fragrance or the smell. Those which are evoked by wine are classified in eleven families, Michelin tells us. There is the animal family (musk, game, fur); the wood family (often arising from contact with new wood); the spice family; the balsamic family (pine, resin, turpentine, incense, vanilla, juniper oil); the chemical family (alcohol, chlorine, sulphur, iodine); the fruit family; the vegetation family; then a very broad one which includes smoke, roasted almonds, baked bread, burning wood, burnt stone, flint, caramel, coffee, cocoa, leather; then there is what is called the ethereal family and fermentation odours (candle, dairy produce, leaven, cider). A wine of some age gives off more exotic and spicy aromas. A wine which has "nose" is rich in aroma.
You begin the testing, they say, by inhaling, but without shaking the glass; then roll the glass and the aromas are released. There are three stages of the tasting. First is the impact in the mouth, lasting a few seconds, while the wine contacts the tongue. Then, rolling it around in the mouth you can appreciate at more length all the nuances it has. You may then swallow a little of it and spit out the rest.
Well, thanks to the Michelin guide people. This is, as translated with a few blips, from the French. The English language edition doesn't carry it.