I realize that I may be the only person with a test engineering background writing about wine. Over the past 25+ years I have worked as an engineer and program manager responsible for testing combat systems which are integrated onto Navy guided missile cruisers and destroyers. My experience in that field is important as it provides background to a question which I am often asked, "How do you taste wine?"
In testing combat systems and evaluating wine you have to begin with requirements.
In the case of weapon systems the requirements are quantitative with binary answers being either "yes" or "no". Weapon systems do, or do not meet requirements.
In tasting/testing wine the requirements are qualitative with the benchmark established by the individual taster with input and assistance from others. I, for instance, lean heavily on my experience as Wine Director at Restaurant 213 where I tasted some fantastic wines and from other food and wine authors such as M.F.K. Fisher* and Robert Parker. The evaluation of wine tends NOT to be binary: that is, the answer is somewhere along a value-oriented continuum.
I have my own capabilities and limitations which I am mindful of when tasting. In my case:
I see wine as an accompaniment to food and will almost always comment on a particular wine's ability to pair with food.
I am mindful of the taste-holes. I have never, ever experienced violets when drinking a red wine - yet many of my wine writing friends mention it regularly in the reds they sample. I have never sensed tangerine in a white wine. Never.
I am mindful of over-sensitive taste spots. In white wines I am quick to pick up vanilla, burnt toast, baked bread, flowers. In red wines I am quick to pick up cherries, raspberries and camphor.
I take notes as I drink but my notes are more like impressions than a listing of sensory experiences.
Quite simply, the first thing I ask myself is, "Do I like it?" That is an easy binary response and then based on that initial response I sip, chew and drink my way through the bottle. I jot down impressions as I drink the wine and I'll start my first draft on the computer the next day.
The second thing I ask myself is, "Would I buy it again?" A "yes" to both of these questions will always yield a favorable write up.
~ Terry
* If you don't know her - it is worth your time to research this writer - foodie (in that order).
A couple years ago I read a book by Eric Arnold titled, “My First Big Crush: The down and dirty of making great wine down under” and was immediate taken by his off-color, and frequently irreverent perspective towards the wine industry. His story is a personal account of working the crush during one of New Zeeland’s biggest harvest years as an aspiring author, turned would-be cellar rat. I was inspired by his adventure and captivated by the idea of an extraordinary Sauvignon Blanc – and thus, I began my tasting with high expectations.
Each of my tasting notes, unless otherwise indicated, is designed as a vertical blind tasting. Four of us were gathered around a square table with five wine glasses, atop of white paper, in front of us. We tasted silently (as silent as we could) and took notes. Then we discussed.
1. 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. Angeline, Russian River Valley (CA). Source: ?, cost: ?)
At 13.9% alcohol, Angeline displayed a light straw color and gave off a delicate, almost imperceptible floral fragrance and a touch of melon. Other than a full, round mouth-feel, this wine lacked substance with the exception of a slight perception of sweetness and a hint of oak. The finish was long and unpleasant with its high alcohol. Some of my comments: “nondescript, burns, high alcohol, kind of boring”.
An intriguing golden-hued wine greeted me with prototypical floral characteristics and wisps of fruit, citrus and pineapple were predominant. A nicely balanced, yet thin, pleasing green-apple flavor lasted just long enough to leave me wanting more. Comments: “light smoky quality, guessing this is a French wine. Maybe some oak” Delicious.
Crystal clear and pale yellow, this Barefoot Cellar represents a good wine gone bad! At first glance this bottom-shelf wine gave rise to a light spritz as evidenced more by visual inspection than by taste. This hint, a clue to a possible fault, should have stopped me right here, but instead I dove nose first into what can best be described as olfactory overload! First sniff reminded me of one of my earliest jobs working in the paint shop of a Chevy dealership in Grand Rapids, Michigan – yes, a paint shop aroma! Leaving good sense behind the tasting continued, my notes read: “thin, unpleasant chemical quality, possibly turpentine”. If the smell and taste wasn’t bad enough, the lingering finish left my mid-palate begging for a cracker and a rinse.
4. 2005 Sauvignon Blanc - Reserve. Rancho Zabaco, Russian River Valley (CA). Source: Hy-Vee, cost: $5 on sale).
This California Sauvignon Blanc, golden-yellow in color, initially overloaded my sensory neurons with a familiar smell. I’ve heard about the aromatic compound of this varietal, frequently cited in the literature, but as they say, I hadn’t experienced it firsthand. Cat pee. Apparently, wine science geeks who study such things have identified the odor as “p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one”(a sulfur compound) that does strikingly, in fact, smell an awful lot like cat pee. Once I composed myself from the initial shock of the aromas (now, I’m being nice), I took a slurp and found a powerhouse wine full of grapefruit, medium bodied, seductively balanced and dare I say…Interesting. Frankly, the more I tasted (I returned to this wine several times) the more complex and interested I became. My $5 sale rack wine was a hit!
5. 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. Allan Scott Family Winemakers, Marlborough (NZ). Source: Johns Grocery (I.C.), cost: $9.99
In my lead in to this posting I introduced you to Eric Arnold, the author of the book I read, but what I didn’t mention was the fact he worked at Allan Scott. I was thrilled to find this brand at my Iowa City store and couldn’t wait to taste it. Visually, a nice green-to-yellow tinted wine gave way to a lackluster hint of citrus and melon on the nose. Not a strong starter aromatically and gustatorily speaking, provided an equally disappointing bitter, almost a pithy grapefruit quality, much like chewing the white flesh of a grapefruit. On a positive note, this Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wine did offer a full, rich and almost creamy mouthfeel that I wasn’t expecting. My notes read: “not terribly memorable, some lingering post-swallow heat, bitter taste”. Honestly, after revealing the wines I was disappointed, not because it was necessarily bad, but because I had such high hopes for a wine (and wine company) that felt I knew.
Post Tasting Notes: For me, this tasting was less interesting than the previous two (i.e., Chardonnay and Riesling) and I am not really sure why. Perhaps it was due to my high expectations for this varietal or maybe it was the result of poorly chosen selection of wines. In any case, my favorites were the California, Rancho Zabaco (surprisingly!) and the French, Sancerre (Domaine Franck Millet) – both very yummy!
My affinity for Marechal Foch, a French-American hybrid red wine grape (a cold-hardy varietal), is well established. As the Rodney Dangerfield of the Midwest wine grape community – it doesn’t get much respect! That’s unfortunate because if you were to investigate Marechal Foch, commonly referred to as “Foch”, you would soon recognize its real potential. Foch is made into world-class wines in Ontario’s VQA region and most notably in Oregon where it is grown next to its relative, Pinot Noir.
Even my wine club, the Eastern Iowa Wine Club, has a soft spot in its heart for Foch. Each year, during our annual amateur wine competition (Eastern Iowa Amateur Wine Competition), we honor the Marechal Foch with a special category and award known as the “Fochy”. A true honor to win this inspiring trophy!
Recently I have taken to learning more about wine appreciation by enrolling in a class at Des Moines Community College. In my VIN 150 class, I am learning about the wine industry, wine appreciation, and sensory analysis of the traditional wine grapes – vitis vinifera. It is too frigid for vinifera in Iowa so we grow cold-hardy grapes, such as Foch. Intrigued by my new education, I sought to learn more about the varietal tasting characteristics of Marechal Foch. In my firsthand experience as a vintner and occasional drinker of Foch I’ve developed my own way of understanding this grape – and use the term “Fochy” to describe it. Not being terribly satisfied with my ability to describe Foch in a thoughtful, wine-guy sort of way I thought I’d spend some time reading and compiling a list of common tasting notes.
Common Marechal Foch Adjectives: unique, distinctive, rugged, hybrid, gamy, herbaceous.
FINAL THOUGHTS: With Foch it seems you either love it or hate it. I cannot help but be inspired by the winemakers of Ontario and Oregon who continue to work with this challenging grape. The wine industry in Iowa is young and the first plants we planted were Foch and frequently the first grapes to be pulled out were also Foch. There is much to be learned by this wine grape, first of which is Patience – patience in learning its peculiarities, patience in learning how to craft delicious, albeit, unique and distinctive wine. And secondly, patience from our vineyard, in understanding and enhancing its growth potential. Finally, there needs to be an appreciation from wine consumers, a daring, a spirit of adventure to try something that is “earthy, gamy, spicy, and smoky” – that sounds like a real treat to me!
