This week’s class was Tasting & Describing Wine with Mary Burnham, freelance writer and author of Food and Wine Magazine’s 2012 Wine Guide. Mary spent a lot of time here at SFWC tasting through her samples and writing her reviews. It was a blast to be able to taste the wines when she was finished with them and hear her impressions. Now that the guide is finished and at the printers, we’re glad to have Mary back here as a wine school instructor.
Our Tasting & Describing Wine class is the second in our intro series, and it focuses on blind tasting and interpreting our senses. We observe the smells, sensations, and flavors of the wine and draw conclusions as to where it was made and what the grape varieties are. For beginners, it is a really helpful class in teaching tasters how to recognize certain characteristics and match them with a particular wine. Mary did a superb job of taking us through the components of the wine, from flavors to acidity to body to tannin, and helping the students determine what the wine was.
The wines were typical expressions of their grape variety and origin, and it was a delicious lineup:
1. Comte Lafond Sancerre 2009
2. Loimer Lois Gruner Veltliner 2009
3. Stony Hill Napa Valley Gewurztraminer 2004
4. Chateau de Pierreux Brouilly Beaujolais 2009
5. Lazy River Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir 2005
6. Oddero Mondoca Di Bussia Soprana Barolo 1996
7. Chateau Laforge Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2003
8. Stuhlmuller Vineyards Alexander Valley Estate Zinfandel 2005
Thanks again to Mary for a great class and to the students who attended – we had a packed house! Let us know what you thought.
Until next time… cheers!
–Melanie Friedman