Wine Descriptors

[adrian1]

It's really late and I am in the middle of a heated debate.

When tasting a wine, a Gewurtztraminer to be specific, we refer to "Spicy" notes on the palate. What do we mean by "Spicy"? This descriptor is used rather often, generally, without getting more specific.

Part of our group says that spice is not a flavour, but a sensation. The other half, a little less organoleptic, believe one can relate to specific spices when discussing wines.

What's your opinion? What's your spice?

[johnsmith45678]

Flavor...sensation...sort of the same thing. Spicy is that same sort of flavor/sensation with hot chiles, etc. -- it has a bite to it. Yeah, I'd say Gewurtztraminer can be spicy. Shiraz too.

Actually, the Wikipedia article on taste is ambiguous -- at the top it lists seven tastes: bitter, salty, sour, astringent, sweet, pungent (eg chili), and umami; but then lists spiciness under sensations.

[Daniel Rogov]

When I use the term "spicy" as a descriptor it implies a light peppery sensation imparted to the palate.

As to the question of "tastes" in general, the six (or seven, depending on how you define them) to which we usually refer are not fully adequate for wine. For example, one sometimes says a wine has a flinty or a mineral-rich flavor. Now it is well known that neither flint nor minerals have a formal "taste" but I can assure you that if you touch your tongue to the metal on a gun-barrel (taking great care as you do so - the purpose is to gain a taste sensation, not to commit suicide) you will know precisely what flint "tastes like" or if you touch your tongue to a coin you will have a good idea of the "taste" of metal.

[johnsmith45678]

Right -- tastes aren't usually just one of the 5-7 basic tastes, they are a combination.

[Brad Ballinger]

I use spicy to denote any spice-like flavor or sensation in the wine. Pepper is a spice. Cinnamon is a spice. Clove is a spice. Etc. On most days, I'm not keen enough to pick out a specific spice (although pepper is pretty easy), but a wine I'm tasting may definitely have a spice-driven component to it. This can be true for both whites and reds.

As far as Gewurztraiminer wines are concerned, the term "spicy" is a common desciptor used. And, when tasted side by side with many other white varietal wines, most Gewurztraminers are going to appear to have more spice stuff going on.

Similarly, the word "herbal" shows up from time to time in tasting notes. Sometimes its a specific herb, like basil or mint, but usually use of the term refers to an herbal sensation. See also, vegetal, meaty, earthy, and so on.

[johnsmith45678]

I don't know that all spices are necessarily "spicey."

[Daniel Rogov]

I don't know that all spices are necessarily "spicey."

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Agreed, and that is why I use the term for "peppery". When it comes to other spices I try hard to isolate precisely which those are (cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, etc)

[JohnL]

I don't know that all spices are necessarily "spicey."

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Agreed, and that is why I use the term for "peppery". When it comes to other spices I try hard to isolate precisely which those are (cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, etc)

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You touched on a pet peeve of mine.

Far too many tasting notes these days are too vague.

Just noting a wine is "spicy" in a tasting note is a result most often of laziness on the part of the taster.

This, in part, has led to the prevailing "fuzziness" regarding wine appreciation and communication.

In the case of Gewurtztraminer it has become accepted that these wines are often possessing of a spice component. Unfortunately, all gewurtztraminers are assumed to be "spicy" and instead of making that assessment honestly and then applying some specificity (what spices?) the term is sort of "tossed about."

A perfect example is the gooseberry trait in some sauvignon blancs.

I would venture that most people here in the US have no idea what a gooseberry smells or tastes like (we do have a small gooseberry market and they are grown in some quantity in California I believe).

Yet I hear tasters remark about gooseberry notes in sauvignon blancs far too often--certainly our of proportion to the likely exposure in this country.

I suspect that it is the Brits (gooseberries are much more widely distributed throughout the culture) are responsible.

Anyway--wine tasting for the purpose of communicating the attributes and flavors (evaluation) should be honest and precise. If one notes spice on the nose or palate one should support that with specifics.