Does anyone know where this term comes from?
Terminology: A "flight" of wines
Started by
MsRamsey
, Jun 06 2003 04:16 PM
6 replies to this topic
#1
MsRamsey
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Posted 06 June 2003 - 04:16 PM
"Save Donald Duck and Fuck Wolfgang Puck."
-- State Senator John Burton, joking about
how the bill to ban production of foie gras in
California was summarized for signing by
Gov. Schwarzenegger.
-- State Senator John Burton, joking about
how the bill to ban production of foie gras in
California was summarized for signing by
Gov. Schwarzenegger.
#2
Craig Camp
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Posted 06 June 2003 - 04:22 PM
I believe it relates to a 'flight of stairs' - each wine being one step.
WARNING: this comes from a fuzzy memory
from a tasting many decades ago. I do not bet the farm on the accuracy of this statement.
WARNING: this comes from a fuzzy memory
from a tasting many decades ago. I do not bet the farm on the accuracy of this statement.
<a href='http://www.cornerstonecellars.com' target='_blank'>Cornerstone Cellars, Napa Valley</a>
#3
Wholemeal Crank
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Posted 17 April 2010 - 09:50 PM
Just curious about this point: why do we call a group of wines for tasting a "flight"?
I was reading this term regarding teas, which led back to wines, and to this forum, because it isn't a term that comes to mind when I think of teas, or wines.
I was reading this term regarding teas, which led back to wines, and to this forum, because it isn't a term that comes to mind when I think of teas, or wines.
#4
beef_and_burgundy
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Posted 18 April 2010 - 01:46 AM
The term 'flight' has been used to describe series of things for at least 300 years. So as far as the etymology goes, it's probably (though I'm not certain) no more than an industry adopting that specific term through common agreement.
Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary have recently included an entry pertaining to the specific use of 'flight' in the context of food and wine. Currently the earliest noted mention of the term is from the NY Times in 1978.
Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary have recently included an entry pertaining to the specific use of 'flight' in the context of food and wine. Currently the earliest noted mention of the term is from the NY Times in 1978.
#5
Wholemeal Crank
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Posted 18 April 2010 - 08:05 AM
I don't have access to the OED until I go back to work tomorrow: do you happen to remember what the earlier citations were referring to, before the flights of wine entry?
#6
Alcuin
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Posted 18 April 2010 - 10:41 AM
The OED doesn't seem to solve the problem. Here's the series oriented OED definition (all other definitions have something to do with things flying/moving:
7. a. The series of stairs between any two landings; hence a series of steps, terraces, etc., ascending without change of direction. [So F. volée.]
b. A series of locks on a canal, rising like steps one above the other.
c. A set of rails or hurdles. [Possibly a distinct word, repr. OE. fleohta, = Ger. flechte hurdle.]
Here's a special addition to the definition "flight" that OED doesn't connect to any other sense:
DRAFT ADDITIONS DECEMBER 2008
flight, n.1
A selection of small portions of a particular type of food or drink, esp. wine, intended to be tasted together for the purpose of comparison.
1978 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. C17/2 There were four flights of wines, as they say in the trade, four spätleses, four ausleses,..[etc.]. 1983 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 Dec. E1 They turned the dinner into a smoked salmon tasting... Each flight of the tasting was garnished differently. 1997 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 17 June (Good Living) 2 An inviting line-up of the famous single malt whiskeys available in tasting flights. 2005 L. L. NARLOCK & N. GARFINKEL Wine Lover's Guide Wine Country 151 The tasting bar offers three to six flights of wine in several categories: classic, prestige, all white, and all red.
7. a. The series of stairs between any two landings; hence a series of steps, terraces, etc., ascending without change of direction. [So F. volée.]
b. A series of locks on a canal, rising like steps one above the other.
c. A set of rails or hurdles. [Possibly a distinct word, repr. OE. fleohta, = Ger. flechte hurdle.]
Here's a special addition to the definition "flight" that OED doesn't connect to any other sense:
DRAFT ADDITIONS DECEMBER 2008
flight, n.1
A selection of small portions of a particular type of food or drink, esp. wine, intended to be tasted together for the purpose of comparison.
1978 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. C17/2 There were four flights of wines, as they say in the trade, four spätleses, four ausleses,..[etc.]. 1983 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 Dec. E1 They turned the dinner into a smoked salmon tasting... Each flight of the tasting was garnished differently. 1997 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 17 June (Good Living) 2 An inviting line-up of the famous single malt whiskeys available in tasting flights. 2005 L. L. NARLOCK & N. GARFINKEL Wine Lover's Guide Wine Country 151 The tasting bar offers three to six flights of wine in several categories: classic, prestige, all white, and all red.
nunc est bibendum...
#7
Wholemeal Crank
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Posted 18 April 2010 - 11:04 AM
Seems like the stairs may be the best explanation, put more clearly in a blog posting here:
"the term "flight" in the French language is"escale". Like a flight of stairs, wine Judges use this phrase in reference to the arrangements in coordinating a tasting, predicated on the Bordeaux classification of 1865. As it would be "unfair" to compare a "lesser" properties' Claret to a "Superiore" First Growth, the tastings would start with the lighter wines and escalate to the rankings of each level or "growth"."
"the term "flight" in the French language is"escale". Like a flight of stairs, wine Judges use this phrase in reference to the arrangements in coordinating a tasting, predicated on the Bordeaux classification of 1865. As it would be "unfair" to compare a "lesser" properties' Claret to a "Superiore" First Growth, the tastings would start with the lighter wines and escalate to the rankings of each level or "growth"."
