Tasting Group Interest Form | The Grape Grind

Hey friends! Let’s make this easy! Drop your name and email below for a reminder sent to your inbox when Tasting Group ‘doors open’ next!

Hey friends! Let’s make this easy! Drop your name and email below for a reminder sent to your inbox when Tasting Group ‘doors open’ next!

Each month there is a one-week window (28th-4th) to sign up for Tasting Group – due to the dripping of content and making sure everyone has ample time to purchase the wines and make the call!

thegrapegrind

💭Anyone else think about this one when tasting!

💭Anyone else think about this one when tasting!?

👅 Phenolic Bitterness is a structural element that can be a huge clue in narrowing down white wine varieties in a blind tasting.
It’s always part of my process of elimination!
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Phenolic Bitterness in white wines is caused by phenols, which are found in grape skins, seeds, and stems.
Yes, tannin is part of the phenol family.
In a sense, this is the ‘tannin’ of white wines. However, it’s not qualified to be tannin since the quantity is less.
Phenolic bitterness creates a similar ‘grippy’ but more bitter sensation on the palate!

💡Tannin is more about bitter TEXTURE, where as Phenolic Bitterness more about bitter TASTE …leading to texture!

😛The common descriptors to look for are almond skin or grapefruit pith and it is most noticeable on the finish of the wine.
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Where to find it?
🌼Semi Aromatic wines like Albariño, Pinot Grigio, and Grüner Veltliner. (And most other Italian whites 😉)
🌹Aromatic wines like Torrontés, Gewürztraminer, and Viognier.
(❌ not common in neutral whites, like Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Melon B)

〰️ What are your thoughts?
Do you consider Phenolic Bitterness when tasting white wines?
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⁣wines:
@lochopb
@zenatowinery
@zenatowinesusa

#phenolics #phenolicbitterness #grippywhitewines #italianwhites #whitewines #winetasting #blindtasting

🥊 Mountain wines are a really good punch. 🫂

🥊 Mountain wines are a really good punch.
🫂 Valley floor wines are a really good hug.

Napa is a great example of this with both valley floor and mountain regions, but you can also find examples in other mountainous areas like Chile and Argentina!

Got some good Mountain wine or Valley Floor wines examples?
Tag your favorite wineries below so we can try!

#mountainwines #valleyfloorwines #napawine#grapegrowing #viticulture #winestudy #wineeducation

💭Let’s talk tasting notes!⁣ ⁣ Do tasting

💭Let’s talk tasting notes!⁣
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Do tasting notes matter to you?⁣
How do you express them?⁣
How do you best receive them?⁣
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🤓Some people choose to describe a wine with simple, direct, “traditional” notes.⁣
🥳Some people choose to describe a wine based on an experience.⁣
🤗Some people describe their feelings about the wine.⁣
🤠Some people are really, really, good at storytelling with wine!⁣
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None of these are wrong nor do I think there is only ONE way to describe wine.⁣
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(I do think there is a big difference between tasting and talking about wine in academia vs talking about wine with peers, however!)⁣
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▪️Traditional tasting notes can be helpful in forming a baseline for what to look for in a wine, but in some settings they can be very one sided, perhaps boring/overplayed, intimidating, or not very useful …especially as wine continues to move forward!⁣
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💥This topic seems to come up in a lot of conversation, articles, and posts! It’s very apparent that wine lingo is constantly evolving and we are embracing new and different ways to talk about what’s in the glass! ⁣
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➡️How do you choose to talk about wine?⁣
➡️What is your biggest pet peeve with tasting notes?⁣
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#winetasting #tastingnotes #wineflavors #winearomas #winedescriptors #winestudent #winestudy #tastingwine #wineeducation #winenotes

Comparatives a series of various themed tastings

Comparatives
a series of various themed tastings
episode 1: Oak vs Stainless 🍂⚡️

-an oak comparative might seem a little obvious, but oak can show up in many ‘non-obvious’ forms and in various %’s
ex: American Oak is wider grained and more obvious than French Oak
ex: New Oak has more obvious flavor vs Neutral Oak
I’d encourage you to grab a few!

Wines:
@leeuwinestate
@apaltagua

#comparativetastings #winetastings #blindtasting #blindtastingthemes #winestudy #wineeducation #chardonnay #oakedwines #unoakedwines #stainless

How do you feel about the word TYPICITY? ⁣ This

How do you feel about the word TYPICITY?
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This is a term that is used to describe a wine who’s characteristics reflect the conditions of the area where it is produced (with respect to the land as well as the original winemaking processes)
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Example:
What should a “typical” Chardonnay taste like? ⁣

It depends on where it is grown.
🐚If it’s from Chablis, it “typically” should be citrus driven, with chalky/mineral driven notes and high acid

🍐If it’s a Bourgogne Blanc it can start to take on more orchard fruits with slightly less acidity, more body, and often subtle French oak influence

🍍If it’s a California Chardonnay the fruit will show up more tropical, it will have more alcohol, and the winemaking (oak/malo) is often more noticeable
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Not all good and quality wines need to be “typical” and typicity changes over time, but it is a consideration when picking bottles for blind tasting! People rely on these benchmarks when evaluating wine.

Also, ‘typicity’ is meant to reflect the land or grape growing conditions, but often times winemaking has to be the driver in getting the finished wine to taste “like it should”. Climate/Vintage certainly matters.⁣ 🌤️
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✨Here’s why I embrace typicity:⁣
▪️It’s incredibly helpful to have reference points in blind tasting⁣
▪️It sets a standard that I can compare other varietal wines to⁣
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✨Here’s why it’s not always helpful…⁣
▪️It puts the variety ‘in a box’⁣
▪️Some of the best wines in the world are not “typical” and absolutely fantastic (+ we can be taught to hold a higher standard for ‘typical’ or ‘classic’ wines)⁣
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〰️ What are your thoughts?
Do you appreciate “Typicity”?
How often do you consider it when tasting wine? ⁣
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⁣wines:
@williamfevre_chablis
@olivier_leflaive
@hanzellfarm
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#wineterms #winedescriptors #typicity #winetasting #tastingnotes #evaluatingwine #winetypicity #wineeducation #sommlife #blindtasting #thoughts #winestudent #winestudy

💥I’ve been seeing a lot of “TRY CHARDONNAY

💥I’ve been seeing a lot of “TRY CHARDONNAY or TRY AGAIN” posts…and I’m going to have to firmly agree! It’s all very different depending on where it’s from and how it’s made!

▪️If you haven’t previously enjoyed Chardonnay and want to explore more than just the heavy fruit and ‘in your face oak’ styles
OR
▪️If you want to practice tasting for winemaking (Oak, Malo, Lees)…

🗓️ Join in our next variety themed Open Label tasting for September!

This is a new addition to Tasting Group but a non-blind option. You can taste and learn at your leisure and/or taste and learn with our community on a monthly meetup!

Sign up now through September 4th! (This gives you plenty of time to nab the bottles by our LIVE meetup on September 23.)

📝 A Chardonnay cheat sheet and a detailed map of Burgundy are just a few of the extra’s you’ll get to download. PLUS accessible examples of more mineral driven/less ‘oak attack’ Chardonnay bottles to add to your “to try” list!

Comment
“OPEN LABEL”
and the details to join will be in your DM’s!

➡️ What is your favorite area for Chardonnay?
➡️ Do you enjoy oaked, un-oaked, or all of the above?

#tasting #openlabel #comparativetasting #winetasting #blindtasting #chardonnay #chardonnaywine #burgundy #winestudent #wineeducation

Tell me the wine (variety or actual bottle) that g

Here is my advice for tackling the overwhelming am

Here is my advice for tackling the overwhelming amount of info when getting started...

Ready?

SIMPLIFY IT ALL!

☝🏻STEP 1 - Simplify the amount of grapes you are tasting!

Don’t start with everything!

Get clear on your view of a few varieties to start. Adding a few at a time is much less daunting.

Do a month or two of tasting only 4 whites (and/or 4 reds) blind!
Maybe start with Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio and taste only those over and over. Buy a few different bottles of each from different areas and spend the month with a focus on those.
(doesn’t mean you can’t drink anything else - just have a focus on comparatively tasting those wines consistently)

✌🏻STEP 2 - Simplify the GRID

(honestly, I wouldn’t even look at a grid to start)

What I would do is write down 3-4 standout notes for each wine you pour!

1. a fruit descriptor
2. a nonfruit descriptor
3. the structural note that stands out the most (is it acid, body, alcohol, or tannin?)
…and maybe color for red wines

Then, if you are focusing on a specific exam, see if some of your markers match their listed benchmarks.

Taste them over and over again and see what you come up with for your “top three” each time you taste, and then you’ve created your benchmarks for that variety.

Once you have an idea of your benchmarks - start looking at the grid in its entirety, factoring in winemaking, climate, and everything else little by little and as you learn more! ...I’m still adding things in!

If you need ideas for what to taste for, as far as benchmark notes, as well as a place you can note your own personal tasting notes,
Comment FRAMEWORKS.
I have a helpful resource for you.

➡️ Where are you at in the blind tasting process?

#blindtasting #tastingtips #blindwines #winestudent #winestudy #winestudent

COLOR is usually the first thing you think about w

COLOR is usually the first thing you think about when going through a tasting.

🍇 while variety can be correlated with a certain color of wine (mainly due to its skin or size), a lot of times, it’s also impacted by other factors…

✨Swipe to see all of the variables impacting color (+ concentration) in wines

➡️ Would you add anything?

#winetasting #tasting #blindtasting #colorofwine #winestudent #wines #tastingwine #winefactors #winestudy #winestudent #wineinfo #wineeducation

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