Confessions of a Wine Columnist

I admit it. Sometimes I refer to wine reviews from other critics when I’m trying to come up with an extraordinary word to describe a wine. I don’t think of this as a bad thing and equate it with referring to a thesaurus when I’m looking for just the right word.

But please stop me if you find me using words and phrases such as “approachable” (meaning ready to drink fairly soon), or “juxtaposition of power and elegance” (the wine is well balanced). And what about some of those adjectives you read about? Pencil shavings, tobacco, grass clippings? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not come across any of these things in my wine glass.

When I talk about a wine I like to refer to its color, aroma, finish and one or more of the basic elements of taste such as fruit flavors, residual sugar or acidity. But how does one know what a particular fruit – say for example, red currant – tastes like? Easy. Buy a jar of currant preserves and taste it. Besides being able to enjoy it on piece of toast, you’ll get a better idea of what it tastes like and the subtle, but noticeable differences between it and similar fruits such as cranberries or red cherries.

Another great way to discern flavors is to do a side-by-side tasting of the same varietal from different wineries. When you’re learning about wines, it’s much easier to detect flavors when you have something to compare them to rather than drinking them on their own.

Above all, practice, which is a great word of advice when tasting wines. And if you find one that tastes like pencil shavings while I’m enjoying a spicy, jammy glass of Syrah, please keep it to yourself – even if it’s approachable.