BottleBlog by Bottlenotes: wine tasting notes, wine tasting event info, wine tasting trip recommendations, and more.

What makes wine taste good: the product or the tasting experience itself?

For a recent press interview I was asked the following question about "what influences how you taste wine: the experience or the product itself?" I had a good time pondering the answer so thought it might interest you.  

 

Q) Do you think it's the taste of a good wine or the experience while drinking the wine that makes it good?  Why?

A) Both. A phenomenal bottle of wine is a phenomenal bottle of wine, whether enjoyed in the woods or in a five-star setting. As my friend Robert Hall, the founder of Bottega del Vino Crystal, says and has trademarked, “If the wine matters, so does the glass.”™ It is easier to enjoy fine wine in fine stemware- which is often easier to find in fine dining establishments- so in that sense, the setting can impact the physiological experience/sensations of wine drinking.

 

But like so many forms of artistic appreciation, the setting in which you are experiencing the art (a museum vs. someone’s home vs. the artist’s studio), with whom you are experiencing the art (knowledgeable/engaged friends or companions vs. not), and what is complementing the experience (great “pairings” or not), will undoubtedly impact one’s experience of the art- or wine in this case. So, in short, in my humble opinion, intrinsic and extrinsic factors both impact one’s perception if wine is or isn’t good, though the objective criterion on which one assesses a good or bad wine are actually not impacted by the setting, as they are discrete: acidity level, body weight of the wine, subtlety of the tannins, color, aromas, etc.

 

Alyssa J. Rapp, Founder & CEO, Bottlenotes, Inc.

Birthdays & Bubbly

It’s a week of birthdays for multiple members of Team Bottlenotes, so I couldn’t help but pause to reflect upon the significance of birthdays as a whole (I’m having my quarter life crisis four years late, experiencing great angst about leaving “28,” so please indulge my modern neurosis), and on Birthdays and Bubbly.

I attended the James Beard Foundation's Taste America event in San Francisco on Friday night and was seriously disappointed by the sheer dearth of cuisine, in addition to the hidden nature of the star women chefs that we came to “see.”

I was, however, wild about the Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Brut Rose that was poured. It was the color of pink rose petals, with tiny beads for bubbles that danced in one’s mouth balletically. As my friends toasted my upcoming non-milestone birthday, and I paused to consider:

Why bubbly? What makes it so festive and fun? My hypotheses are threefold:

1. The dramatic pop when a sparkling wine is opened (insider’s tip: when opening Champagne, the goal is to make as little noise as possible, to avoid the release of CO2);
2. Bubbles are celebratory- whether produced by Champagne or a Fisher Price Bubble Mower;
3. Tradition.

Trite? Perhaps. And like our guest at the Emmy’s a few weeks ago, I’m an even bigger fan of Prosecco than Champagne these days. Unless it’s a Brut Rosé. But whether you’re a Champagne aficionado or solely the obligatory Bubbly bouvenderie, it’s the perfect beverage- and gift- for a birthday, anniversary, or the holidays.

Dehydrants-Diuretics-Depressants

I heard the funniest line of 2007 Thursday night. Not surprisingly, it came from a colleague in the wine industry, someone who also seems to find her day scheduled around beverages.

In an attempt at wit, when saying goodbye, knowing we needed to re-connect again soon, I said, “I look forward to scheduling a beverage with you.”

“Dehyrdrant, Diuretic, or Depressant?” she asked.

I howled with laughter at her epithet- namely, due to its blatant truth. I reflected that I nurse my “bucket of Bodum” loose-leaf green tea (that on the “toasted” vs. “herbal” side, my preference of late) ritualistically each morning, moving into good old fashioned H₂0 on the days that I work out in the am vs. evening; then move back to the remains of the green antioxidants until 11:30am or so, at which point I move into iced tea for lunch. I usually elect to give my kidneys a bit of an afternoon reprieve, swapping water for tea, unless I schedule a late-afternoon meeting with a non-wine industry contact wherein Earl Gray with milk is a must. If industry meeting anytime after 3 pm, it usually involves wine, invoking the “its 5 o’clock somewhere” maxim.

On the detox days, which I strive to make 3-4 days of the week (yes, really), I move from the final caffeination into water for the rest of the day, turning off the tap till the following morning. If it’s a wine night, we usually pop corks between 6:30 or 8 in our house, have a glass and a half each, saving the second half of the bottle for day two.

Dehydrants to diuretics to depressants it seems to be not just a catch phrase- but a way of living. (Alyssa Rapp, Founder & CEO, Bottlenotes, Inc.)

If the Wine Matters, So Does the Glass

“If the Wine Matters, So Does the Glass.”™

Since this tagline is trademarked by Bottega del Vino, Bottlenotes’ crystal partner, clearly I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. But the question naturally is ,“How much does it matter?”

I’ll try to convince you in less than 2 minutes, with 2 answers, that it matters a lot:

1)      Great stems enhance the aromatics of a wine.

Ever notice how things taste duller if you have a cold? It’s because your olfactory system directly impacts your sense of taste. In fact, 80% of the wine consuming experience is what you smell. Utilizing stemware that is design to enliven the aromas of a wine will thereby directly impact your sensory experience of the wine. Stems such as Bottega del Vino’s Rosso Amarone that have a bulbous basket and are tulip-lipped are designed specifically to bring out and accentuate the aromas of red wine.

Don’t believe me? Try tasting red wine in any stem by first just tasting it. Then, swirl the glass of wine, aerating the wine, which serves to “enliven” the aromas of the wine. Now taste it. Should create a more fragrant bouquet, therefore richer notes on the nose.

2)      The shape of the glass affects your experience of the wine.

Ever notice how at a restaurant a server will bring you different stems whether you are drinking a white or a red wine, and perhaps even whether you are drinking a Sauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay, or a Pinot Noir vs. Cabernet Sauvignon?

This is part in parcel for the pomp and circumstance of bringing out multiple stems, which I for one love. But it is also due to the bio-chemistry of your palate.

Great stems direct the given wine to the exact portion of your palate with receptors most attuned to given flavor profiles of the white or red wine. It’s for this reason that a Sauvignon Blanc will come in a narrower stem, and a Chardonnay in something with a wider “basket.”

In Conclusion: If you only have patience/budget/room for one glass right now? Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) glasses are the most versatile, according to the experts. If you have room for a white and red stem? A “Chardonnay” (White Burgundy) and Pinot Noir/Red Burgundy or an Amarone stem are the broadest in versatility.

Final Note: Your stemware should at least be “as good” as the wine you are drinking. (ie: no one would buy a tricked-out BMW and have a super JV stereo system.) Best of all: great stems can “enhance” average wine to good, and sometimes even good wine to great. They’re an investment that keeps giving back. So yes, if the wine matters, so does the glass. Cheers! (Alyssa Rapp, March 12, 2007)

The >$12 bracket

My wife, Amanda, and I, had company for dinner tonight for the first time in our new apartment. We served two wines, the beautiful Te Awa Sauvignon Blanc, and the Bacco Divino Pazzo. Our guests commented that both wines were great, and this launched into a discussion of the four wine brackets: $4 and below, $5 to $12, $12 to $20, and above $20.

I sheepishly said that since working at Bottlenotes I have learned the beauty of the >$20 bottle, and that <$12 tends to be fairly lacking. My guests looked at me like I was substituting caviar for lox. But the fact is, perception is reality. You don't have to be ashamed to like an inexpensive bottle of wine; indeed, if you find a great $11 bottle, then you should enjoy it happily. But it is also true that as your taste gets more sophisticated, there will always be a better (and more expensive) wine to match it.

And Bottlenotes is there to help you find it!

Michael Levinson
VP Product Development and Finance