Spitting image

How to survive full-contact wine tasting

Uncorked by Thor Iverson

This weekend's Wine Expo is a perfect opportunity for us to talk about the other side of tasting wine -- not the sensory aspect, but the practical one. No matter how much you read about wine, there's no substitute for personal experience. But there's often a vast difference between the wine we can consume -- or afford -- by ourselves, and the wine we'd like to try given unlimited funds (and a liver of steel). Thus, there exists the beast known as the wine tasting. Whether it's a few bottles on a counter at the corner liquor store, or a thousand-wine formal event with etched glasses and hors d'oeuvres on silver platters, a tasting is an unparalleled learning opportunity.

Of course, as with most learning, it helps to take notes. Notes are absolutely essential if you want to remember what you liked, what you didn't like, and why. Everyone's method of note-taking is different, but here's mine: I write down the vintage and name of the wine (and the region/country of origin, if necessary). After that, I take notes in five categories: color (judged against a white background, though in a pinch white light will do), nose, palate, finish, and balance. All of these topics have been covered in Uncorked recently, and are archived here. Don't let meticulous note-taking get in the way of actually tasting the wines, though; at a large tasting like the Expo, you'll need to restrict your notes to a few adjectives per wine.

How do these events work? A small liquor-store tasting will probably offer plastic cups (you can bring your own glass if you prefer); large tastings will usually provide their own glasses. Wines, whether on a single table or a hundred, should be presented (grouped by producer) in a deliberate order of white to red, light to heavy, dry to sweet, and young to old; it's to your benefit to follow that order. Water will be available. While you're swirling, sniffing, and sloshing your wine, take notes. Then spit the wine into the container or bucket provided (not into the water pitcher), rinse out your mouth and glass with some water, and move on to the next wine.

Yes, that's right, you have to spit in public. Swallowing is not an option if you're tasting more than about five wines (unless you enjoy leaving these events on a stretcher). If this troubles your delicate sensibilities, practice at home with water instead of wine -- and in public, have a napkin handy to take care of any minor accidents.

A few more things to remember:

Don't wear perfume or cologne, because it interferes with the smell of the wine.

White clothing is a wine magnet. Wear dark clothes.

Don't push. Once you have your wine, step away from the table to do your tasting. Don't hover over the spit bucket or the water, either. This is the most frequently violated courtesy at wine tastings, and if you attend the Expo you'll realize how annoying it can be.

You might want to bring a toothbrush. Tasting red wine can leave a serious stain on your teeth and lips. If you have anywhere to go immediately after a tasting, a quick scrub of the enamel couldn't hurt.

And finally, leave your assumptions at the door. At last year's Expo, one tipsy taster approached the table of the great Alsatian winemaker F.E. Trimbach, pointed to a bottle of Cuvée Frédéric Emile Riesling, one of the firm's most outstanding and acclaimed wines, and said, "I'll try the chardonnay." Bad move. Chardonnay is not grown in Alsace, and the person pouring the wines was Jean Trimbach himself. Channeling 350 years of family pride into his pained expression, he seethed through gritted teeth, "Riesling, Madame." It made me cringe, and I was only an eyewitness. The taster swayed uncertainly, no doubt startled by the notion that not all white wine was chardonnay.

Remember: you'll be encountering winemakers who've been at their craft for many years (or generations). Approach them with humility and a genuine interest, and you'll be rewarded with a taste not only of their wine, but of their talent and passion for their art.

In lieu of wine recommendations, here's a short list of events and places where you can put all this tasting advice to good use. Except where noted, all of these are free:

The big tasting, just days away, is the Boston Wine Expo at the World Trade Center, February 7 and 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $38 in advance and $43 at the door for one day, $60 in advance and $65 at the door for both days. Call (800) 544-1660 for more information. If you love wine, this really is a must-attend event. I'll be there, so say hi.

Brookline Liquor Mart (1354 Comm Ave, Allston, 617-734-7700) hosts some of the city's most informative tastings every Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m., with a theme, 10 wines in the dispenser, and a handful of special bottles on a table at the back of the store. The staff goes out of its way to provide background info on the wines being poured, encourages note-taking by supplying paper and pencils, and offers a 20 percent discount on three or more bottles of the wines being tasted that day.

BLM's most serious competition for high-quality tastings is at Federal Wine & Spirits (29 State Street, Boston, 617-367-8605). Proprietor Len Rothenberg has a keen taste for quality in all price ranges, and for wine lovers the Wednesday evening tastings (5 to 7 p.m.) are the perfect end to what can be the week's most grueling day. A few blocks away, Merchants (6 Water Street, Boston, 617-523-7425) holds friendly, informal tastings every Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. In the Back Bay, Bauer Wine & Spirits (337 Newbury Street, Boston, 617-262-0363) hosts Saturday tastings from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and occasionally sponsors larger-scale tastings at the Vault (Liberty Square, Boston, 617-292-7718; sometimes these cost money).

A bit farther afield, Marty's Liquors (193 Harvard Avenue, Brighton, 617-782-3250) and Martignetti Liquors (1650 Soldiers Field Road, Brighton, 617-782-3700) hold occasional and informal tastings on Saturday afternoons.

Thor Iverson can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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