Starting a Wine Journal

[Chris Amirault]

I'm starting a new gig behind the bar at a restaurant that is going to have a very solid wine program. Back in the old days, I was pretty disciplined about schooling myself in the basic varietals, but that was a while back and I now confess more confusion than clarity when looking at many wine lists. So I figure this is a good time to learn more (and more effectively) about the subject.

I have a lot of resources both online and elsewhere, so I don't really need reading suggestions. However, I'm starting to realize that, as I get older, the idea of a wine journal appeals to me. I have no desire to compile ratings or anything like that; rather, I'd like to develop a basic vocabulary for describing wines -- taste, texture, tail, etc. -- and their relationships to food, both to help customers and teach myself. I should also add that I'm well aware of the critiques of herd-mentality wine reviewing, overblown claims of palate complexity, and the like.

That's to say, I'm not Robert Parker, nor do I aspire to be the bloke. I just want to be able to record what's happening in my mouth and learn why it's happening.

What tips have you for me?

[DaleJ]

Alas, I have no tips. Your post is going to prompt me to buy a little bound book of blank pages to post my wine experiences. I have come to wine only in the past several years, but have a couple hundred bottles stored and none, I believe, are less than $30. I, of course, can't remember where some of them came from but your post makes me think that it would be a good idea to record the particulars of each bottle, including the tasting particulars. Thanks for the idea.

[Nayan Gowda]

First tip would be to start making notes on every wine you try; even brief ones. You might not initially have the descriptive or tasting acuity to make more than general notes, such as saying citrus, dark fruits or tropical fruits, but the more you do it the better you will get.

When you do a wine course you are told to look at set elements of a wine ie, colour, acid, wood, fruit, developed flavours, tannins, bubbles, sweetness, persistence of flavour, alcohol level etc. You don't necessarily need to address each one with each note; you only need to ensure that when you read a note again in the future it is able to evoke the difference that particular wine and another. Your notes are going to be personal to you, so make them useful for your needs. One thing to definitely remember is to make a note of whether you like it or not (use a numerical scale if you want; I believe Hugh Johnson uses a scale along the lines of; don't bother, buy a glass, buy a bottle, buy a case, buy the vineyard...); I found an old tasting book of mine the other day with some excellently descriptive notes, but I could not for the life of me figure out whether I actually liked any of them!

While you might make brief notes on wines as you taste them, don't leave it too long before you formalise the note in some way; do it while the impression is still fresh (I find if I wait more than a couple of days, my initial notes seem to have lost their clarity).

You might choose to put them in a book, or use an excel spreadsheet, but one way I recommend is to utilise the excellent Cellartracker (no connection, etc, etc). You don't need to use it to record wines in your collection; it is also a powerful tool to record wines you have tasted and drunk. You don't have to share your notes with the rest of the community either if you don't want, but you can have a look nd see what others thought; always interesting even though other opinions should not be taken as gospel.

Most of all, have fun!

[nakji]

Actually, this is something I've been thinking more and more of starting lately. I started to really buy nice bottles of wine - and by nice, I mean more than $20 a bottle - obviously I'm a beginner, here - only in the last two years or so. My husband and I became interested as we had a really good wine shop that was able to offer thoughtful recommendations in our price range. Now we no longer have such a resource, and we're going to have to start developing some opinions of our own, and some idea on how to choose wines. What kind of information, other than maker; year; taste; rating/preference might be relevant?

[Nayan Gowda]

What kind of information, other than maker; year; taste; rating/preference might be relevant?

If you are talking about drinking rather than tasting, then I'd suggest when you drank it, where you drank it, what food (if any) you drank it with and who you shared the bottle with.

If it is a note from a tasting, then when and the context of the tasting (eg Bordeaux horizontal, vertical of Blue Nun) are generally fine.

[nakji]

vertical of Blue Nun

I laughed at this. I was supposed to, right? That's a good sign?

[DaleJ]

NAYAN GOWDA: Thanks for all the good advice as to content and organization of a wine journal. I bought a leather bound journal yesterday (only 12 bucks) and will begin my tasting-writing this weekend.

NAKJI: For what its worth, I have had great success purchasing wine on line. My favorites are Wine Library in Springfield, NJ, their offspring: Cinderella Wine, and Wines 'til Sold Out. All usually heavily discounted and dependable sources.

[Nayan Gowda]

vertical of Blue Nun

I laughed at this. I was supposed to, right? That's a good sign?

Absolutely!

For those that don't know, Blue Nun is a wine brand from Germany that was iconic in the 70s and 80s (at least in the UK). It was the way many people were introduced to wine for the first time, and was popular as it was innocuous, sweet and lowish alcohol. And it was cheap.

It is still around, but has been adapted to modern tastes by making it less sweet. I often put it in blind tastings, and it is invariably a pleasant surprise.

Glad I could help, Dale.

[GordonCooks]

Read everything Florida Jim writes

[xxchef]

For the flavor components of wine (probably the most complex part of recording your wine impressions), one of the most effective ways to communicate the qualities is to compare the aromas you perceive to something else - hopefully something fairly common and well known. "Strong black cheery notes" is more helpful than "Tastes like a cross between fresh Consort currants and Bonrata grapes".

While I was in culinary school I had the opportunity to play with an "Essence Box" It was a kit that had dozens of aromas in little bottles that we could open, whiff and use to compare to various wines. It had things like lavender, sage, mushrooms, leather as well as "bad" smells like rotten eggs, cork etc. It was a real eye-opener. I did a quick search and found this company that has several different kits available: http://www.winearomas.com/. They have a 54 pc.set that looks really sweet.

Good luck!

[Chris Amirault]

This is all really helpful, especially the stuff about KISS and noting contextual information. In particular, I've really come to believe that the food I'm eating -- or the fact that I'm not eating -- plays the essential role, and since I'm doing this for matching with food, it'll be a key element.

[CKatCook]

Since I started to learn about wines I find more and more that a journal would be helpful. The information in this thread has been great because so often I taste a wine and I never remember if I liked it or not. I am lucky to have a good shop here in town that the owner is wonderful in suggesting good wines, but I do need to "strike out on my own"

Thanks for this thread!