In order to get my tastings under way, I’ve made a small purchase to guide me in what I’m “supposed” to be looking for when sipping wine. Actually, my boyfriend bought it for me — LOVE HIM!
It’s a little black book that holds the secret to wine tastings! Well, maybe not the secrets, but it should be very helpful. Anyway…It’s a wine passport!
This thing should have me speaking like an expert in no time, right?
Not only does it have handy categories for sorting the wine I try, it tells me what things I should be looking for. I mean, let’s face it – I really have no idea what I should be looking for.
The inside cover reads, “This handy journal will help you keep up with any wines you may have sampled along life’s byways. There are so many wines out there to enjoy, it can be hard to impossible to remember those you’ve tried and those you haven’t. Then there is the vintage, maker, price and other points which you can hardly keep just in your head. Take this journal along wherever you go and jot down the pertinent information that’ll help you recall particular wines. You’ll turn to this personal record over and over as your appreciation for wine grows.”
Ok, a few things…
First, what is a vintage? I’m assuming it has to do with how old the wine is? Let’s look it up…
I just Googled it and found a blog where someone says: “We know that the vintage indicates the year. Duh.” Duh? How is that a duh? I thought vintage had to do with being old-fashioned and incredibly lovely in an “I’m-so-old-I’m-awesome-again” way. You know, like Reese Witherspoon’s 2006 Oscar dress when she won for “Walk the Line.” It was vintage Dior. So, obviously it’s not really the same kind of vintage.
Also, how do people actually remember all of this stuff about the wines that they’ve tasted? I’m going to be carrying this around in my purse and taking it out on multiple occasions because, otherwise, I would have no frame of reference at all! I usually try a small glass of wine with meals and, even though I’m told the name, year and/or country it’s from, I forget just like that. This passport is not leaving my side.
So, when I start my tastings, this is the info that I will be writing down and reporting back (as listed in my wine passport):
- Name
- Variety
- Vintage
- Producer
- Country/Region
- Where Sampled
- Date
- Price
- Red/white/sparkling/blush
- Rating
This seems like a lot of gibberish to me, but I’m sure I’ll be speaking the lingo in no time. I’ll be all, “Ooh, this wine is so vintage-y and it has such a nice variety. I shall give it 3 stars out of a possible 5 stars. Mmm…it has a nice blush colour and is typical of its…region.”
Haha. That’s how wine connoisseurs talk, right?
