Tools to use

vinogrona — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:23:55 +0000

I have gathered all the tools for my journey. Please see the resources page at any time to revisit these links.

This podcast by William Wilson is a great place to start. Wilson walks the newbie through the basics of tasting, the big six grapes, basic viticulture, and additional varietals. Each podcast is about 15 minutes. Not the most detailed account, but a great place to start!

Wine Library TV

Another podcast, however this one is focused on wine tasting. The host, young and quirky Gary Vaynerchuk, has become an internet superstar over the last two years. While there is little to no “basic education” on this podcast, it is a fun way to expand your horizons in the wine world and pick up on terminology and learn about whats hot now. Did I mention that he has an exquisite palate and his descriptions can amuse you for hours? Since he has done hundreds, here is a suggested starter episode that discusses learning to pick up aromas.

Wine Aroma Wheel

This $6 wheel is a great starter tool and shows an assortment of regularly encountered aromas by categories. Follow the directions on the back of the wheel to set up your own aroma tasting.

Wine Aroma Card

This is a free pdf from Vinography that is very similar to the above wheel, just without the tiered categories.

Wine Snob

If you are going to start tasting and learning, everyone will tell you that you need a wine journal. Of course as an apple geek, I forgot how to write by hand years ago and I now take advantage of this great iphone app. Not only can I quickly enter my tasting notes on the go, but I can take a picture of the label (to enter name etc later) and it will organize the wines for me.

Wine Spectator School

Wine Spectator has created a great online resource. I urge you to check out their free resources at the above link. If you are feeling like a big spender, check out one of their online courses. Their tasting chart is the first thing you should print!

Book: Great Wines Made Simple by Andrea Robinson

There are a lot of great books out there, but this one is a great place to start. Robinson focuses on the Big 6 varietals and really gives great explanations on aromas, geography and terminology.

The start of a new learning adventure . . .

vinogrona — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:17:32 +0000

I was running late for dinner before the opera in San Francisco. I flew in, plopped myself down across from my waiting dinner mate and the waitress asked if she could get me a glass of wine. I knew I wanted a Sauvignon Blanc because I enjoyed the crispness (thats about all that I could explain regarding why I preferred it over a Chardonnay). The waitress instead suggested I try a Gewurztraminer, I shrugged and said why not. I gave a little sniff and in that moment my palate perked up. I smelled honey, cinnamon and citrus. Right then and there I decided to educate my palate more – I had a breakthrough. Since then I have started learning more about wine, listening to podcasts, tasting different varietals. Talking with friends of mine I learned I was not the only one that found that distinguishing between the different aromas was difficult. So I hope you join me as I start from the beginning again to learn to taste, discover aromas and step through each varietal to learn the hallmark characteristics of each.

A little bit about me. I live in Silicon Valley with vineyards 200 miles north and south of me. From Los Olivios through the central coast and alongside the Russian River in Sonoma, there are hundreds of varieties of grapes. I graduated away from two buck chuck years ago (although admittedly it still makes a great sangria base) and started exploring the world of wine.

I have decided to educate myself and my palate. Join me on my adventure! A Vino Adventure!