The View From The Top Of The Cliff

Well... here I go... about to take the leap off the of tasting cliff... the process of not just learning, but mastering the art of blind tasting is a matter of several things... you must first have a very strong base in theory (for instance, knowing that the Southern Rhone generally uses larger oak barrells that impart a more neutral oak flavor into the wine, or that Rioja uses American Oak, what cool climate wines look like in a glass, etc. - and learning to identify all of the characteristics.) That part is finite - you can learn all you can learn, and then you are where you need to be. You also need to have a very strong- and accurate - perception of the different components of wine - acidity, alcohol, tannin, fruit characteristics, length, oak, body - moderate plus and high alcohols are two very different things - and can mean two very different things when trying to analyze a wine. All of these are things that can be learned - they are the parts of the blind tasting process that you have to master. The last part - the most important part - is not something that can be learned - it is more of an instinct - you have to learn to trust that you are correct in your descriptions - and that you can use all of you descriptions to help you get where you are going. That takes experience - and a faith in your abilities - analytical, theory, and the "x" factor. I'm about to try to take the leap of faith that I do in fact know what I'm talking about and that I do know what's going on... this is the single most critical point in my tasting career thus far... wish me luck.