The Art of Wine Tasting

Tasting wine is clearly an art, not science - at least for the millions of us who are not wine masters. Wine tasting is such a SUBJECTIVE experience; it's colored by company, atmosphere, circumstance, mood. I can think of two occasions in the past year when I absolutely loved a wine ordered with dinner; went out the next day and purchased said wine; and discovered it didn't taste quite as good as I remembered. Same wine, same vintage -- different setting.

So when I'm asked to name favorite wines, it gives me pause. Easy enough to say, "Ooh, ooh! The Altumura Cab! The Tomassi Ripasso! The Stag's Leap Chimney Rock Merlot!" But there are so many wines out there, thousands of them that are GOOD. I think of the Cain Cuvee NV -- but do I remember it fondly because I first tried it with good friends at Pierponts? I LOVED the Seghesio Sonoma Zin we had at Pot Pie with Leeser and Nancy on my birthday last year, and the Hess Cab we had there on Andie's birthday. Ditto for the Flora Springs Cab I had with Linda and Danny in Tucson. And yet something is missing when I try these wines at home. They are still good, but something is lacking.

And anyone who tells you she's not swayed by a pretty label or a glowing review is, like our Commander in Chief, a Big Fat Liar. For example, I was just reading about the Thorn-Clark 2003 Barossa Valley Shiraz Shotfire Ridge, about $16 a bottle. If I saw this wine on the shelf, I know I'd buy it. Why? Well, just look at the name: Shotfire Ridge. How fun is that? And then one reads, "A huge mouthful of peppery black cherry, plum and exotic spice flavors pulling themselves together into a supple wine that actually strives for elegance. It's all in the balance, which lets the rich flavors ride on a sleek track and linger beautifully."

Linger beautifully. . . rich flavors riding on a sleek track. . .striving for elegance. . .see there, a wine with a fun name, and a poetic description. I am predisposed to like it.

One night in the not-too-distant past, at The House of Ellen, we cracked the 2001 Dry Creek Mood Hill Cabernet Saugivnon we carted back from California in July. To accompany the "Mood," Ellen whipped up sauteed spinach and a killer szechuan dish, one of three meals at which she professes culinary mastery. (No, I don't know what the other two meals are. But I intend to find out.) Her dish was delicious, and so was the Mood Hill - - named after a vineyard named for the years in which a single father raised two teenaged girls. Heh-heh! Yet I'm guessing that both dinner and wine would have tasted less scrumptious in other company; Ellen and Andie were delightful companions, and mostly I remember good tastes and lots of laughter. Also a visit from a neighbor who was locked out of her house. Alas, like the nice neighbor's key, the Mood Hill by that time was history, so we were unable to share it with her.

Then there was the happy hour at Poco's Latin American Grille, with Katie and Darcy, and eventually, Laura and Sus. Some of my favorite people, which is probably why all the wines I tasted tasted great. ALL of them, even the Santa Barbara Pinot Noir that Katie ordered (the winery's name escapes me), and I am NOT a Pinot Noir fan, as readers know, although I loved "Sideways" and wish I DID like that finicky grape, so I could preen like the connoisseur I wish I were. Just as I wish I liked dark beers, and salmon -- it seems the thing to do, but I lack the tastebuds for it.

Along with our topnotch appetizers (goat cheese and veggie tamales, crab cakes, fish tostadas, white bean puree and some barbecued oysters that were every bit as weird as I'd feared) I had the Equis Something-or-Other from Spain, a Tempranillo-based red that is blended with Bobal, a grape I had never heard of but which has a GREAT sound to it, don't you agree? -- as if it belonged in a nursery rhyme. Or perhaps I'm thinking of Babar. The elephant. And as any good progressive will instruct you, Don't Think of an Elephant.

I also sampled the Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, a tasty offering from the Concha y Tora estate in Chile. The name supposedly derives from the winery's founder, Don Melchor, who in the 19th century discovered that his vineyard workers were sneaking samples of his greatest wine. As the story goes, the Don spread the rumor that his deepest, darkest cellar was the devil's abode - Casillero del Diablo means, literally, Cellar of the Devil. THAT kept the thieving tipplers away, and a legend was born. More to the point, this smooth, deeply red Cab is mixed with a touch of Carmenere, and a nice touch of toasty American oak. A great nose, with tastes of cherry, vanilla and plum, along with a great finish. What's GREATest about it is the price, a steal at $11 or so retail.

The Red and Green Zinfandel also took my fancy during this evening of tasting. It's full and fruity, with rasperry and cherry and something herbal. The 2003 R&G rates highly with Wine Spectator, but in that price range (around $18 retail), I prefer the Seghesio Zin. I also prefer my red wines served a bit cooler, so perhaps that was why I found the Red and Green Zin less compelling than I might have. But lordy, it was so much FUN to try all these wines!

Yum, yum and yum. Since every wine offered by the glass was $3 during happy hour, I felt free to knock myself out tasting, and so I did.