Why would anyone want to drink a wine that tastes of tobacco or dirt? Maybe it is ‘bullshit’ but, if you’re trying to pick a wine you’ll love, it’s a bit of helpful bullshit
I recently joined two friends at a wine bar where, when presented with a wine list, I chose a bottle with a description that read “gentle notes of tar and rose petal”, much to my company’s discomfort. Thankfully, the barolo that arrived reminded no one of asphalt or the soap in our grandmothers’ bathrooms; it tasted like a good red wine.
But that’s not to say that we all experienced it in the same way: everyone’s sense of smell and sense of taste is different, and our senses change with age. Plus, how a wine tastes is influenced by what we might be simultaneously eating, so my friend who had a soppressata panini would’ve described the wine differently than the other friend who ordered a sandwich with prosciutto and pecorino cheese. (The wine definitely tasted different to me after I ate a panini with a garlicky pesto.)
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