Displaying items by tag: wine tasting

Few, if any, moments in wine are more dramatic than when a producer decides it is time to pick fruit. Whether they rely upon a Brix reading, a visual cue from the grape seeds, or the finely tuned instrument of their own palate, making the call to harvest a plot of grapes is a decision fraught with consequence. Get it exactly right and you can have a legendary vintage. Get it wrong, and nothing that follows from the vine to the winery to the bottle can make up for an ill-timed harvest.

“Ripeness is balance at its apogee,” notes Julia Harding, a Master of Wine, wine critic, contributor to JancisRobinson.com, and the co-author of the often-referenced book Wine Grapes. Yet given the frequency with which “ripeness” and “balance” are used as terms in wine discussion, it is worth our time to take a step back and try to find a consensus on what they actually are (or even, if they are the same thing), and the ramifications this may hold for our sensory perception. 

As we discovered, defining where that apogee of balance lies can be exceedingly difficult. Balance “resists codification,” says wine writer and Wine Scholar Guild Academic Advisor Andrew Jefford. “It varies culturally; it varies by individual; it varies by region and by variety.”

For our latest Great Debate, Andrew Jefford and Julia Harding tackle the finer points of ripeness and balance in wine. Their back-and-forth covers a lot of ground: how to decipher balance on the palate, the differences between tasting wine and drinking a wine, putting the value of alcohol levels into context, the role climate change is playing in defining our sense of taste, and even the dangers of allowing one’s intellect to override the sensual response. All of it, Jefford suggests, is in a quest for, what he calls, “resonance.”

While we may not have arrived at any convenient new truisms, in the end, wine’s remarkable ability to reveal the harmony of nature is — at least for now — something we can all agree on.

Summary: 

This WSG Live will explore wine in Ancient Roman society: what it meant to people, what viticulture and winemaking techniques they used, and we will imagine what it tasted like! This webinar will explore examples of ancient grapes and winemaking techniques still in use today to make many modern wines of Italy that are still known today. 

Presenter: Tanya Morning Star

 Tanya Morning Star is the owner of Cellar Muse Wine School in Seattle Washington where she teaches the French, Italian, and Spanish Wine Scholar certification courses, she is proud to have been named French Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year in 2018. Tanya is an approved WSET instructor for L1-L4 curriculums, and is faculty at South Seattle College where she is a professor of Wine History, and has developed many wines of the world curriculums. She is an Official Ambassador of Bourgogne Wines, the Official Ambassador of Orvieto Wines, and works frequently in both France and Italy.

Tanya holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts, is a Certified Wine Educator, has completed the WSET curriculums through Diploma Level, and has passed the Bourgogne Master, Provence Master, and Champagne Master Levels, all in the top scorer category.
Tanya brings joy into studying to help students find their path to success.

More of Tanya Morning Star

• The Mystery of the Climats: History, Evolution & Name Origins of Bourgogne's Greatest Vineyards
• Heroic Viticulture: Europe's Most Dramatic Vineyards
• Women in Wine History: Systematic Exclusion, and the Success of Tenacious Women
• Orvieto: The Magic and Mystery of the Place and Its Wines

Summary: 

Can you taste ‘minerality’? What do we mean by ‘terroir’? Where do aroma and flavour come from? Is too much attention paid to the role of the soil in discussions of the aromas and flavours of great wines? How rare are truly great wine-growing sites? These are some of the questions we aim to discuss in the upcoming Meeting of the Minds on November 25th.

Wine Scholar Guild Academic Advisor Andrew Jefford, speaking from France, will be bringing together a panel of key thinkers, educators, writers and experts in four countries to talk through these and other issues. Wales-based Professor Alex Maltman has had a forty-year teaching career, and now divides his time between writing about the relationship between geology and wine production as well as the influence of geology on other beverages and tending his own vineyard. California-based Professor Hildegarde Heymann teaches sensory science within the viticulture and oenology department of UC Davis, one of the world’s leading wine-educational institutions. Former plant scientist and science editor Dr Jamie Goode, speaking from the UK, writes, blogs and tweets about wine and wine science via his own Wine Anorak website as well as for The World of Fine Wine and other publications. Finally, speaking from Turckhiem in Alsace, comes Olivier Humbrecht MW, one of the world’s leading exponents and practitioners of site-sensitive winemaking and a widely acclaimed viticulturalist and winemaker.

This Meeting of the Minds aims to explore one of the most misunderstood yet also the most important topics in today’s wine world.

Host: Andrew Jefford

Andrew, Academic Advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild, has been writing about wine since 1988, notably for The Evening Standard and The Financial Times among other UK newspapers. 

He has columns in every edition of Decanter magazine and World of Fine Wine magazine, and is co-chair of Decanter World Wine Awards and vice-chair of Decanter Asia Wine Awards.  His books include The New France, Whisky Island and Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course.

Meet The Panel:

Emeritus Professor Alex Maltman

Aberystwyth University, geologist, teacher, writer

Professor Hildegarde Heymann

UC Davis, sensory scientist, teacher

Dr Jamie Goode

wine writer, wine judge

Olivier Humbrecht MW

wine grower, winemaker

Summary:

The third in our series of tastings like a Master of Wine. This session follows on from the previous two episodes of WSG Live : Taste Wine like an MW I, Taste Wine Like an MW II.  No problem if you missed those, there will be a short recap on how to approach wine tasting in an MW way. This will then be followed by a tasting of two wines using an MW Exam style question.

Expect a festive theme and you do not need to be an MW student to attend, just turn up with an open and enquiring mind.

Matthew will be tasting two wines during the seminar to illustrate the MW approach, 
Manzanilla or Fino Sherry
20 year old Tawny Port
If you can find them to taste along with him…great! If not, no worries you can still follow along with a dry tasting.

Presenter: Matthew Stubbs MW 

Matthew has more than 30 years of experience in the wine trade, from importing and distribution to running a supermarket wine department. He passed the Master of Wine exam in 1996 achieving the Bollinger Medal for the best-tasting paper and the Listel Scholarship for the best Vinification paper. He has been actively involved with the Institute ever since, either as Practical Examiner, seminar lecturer or mentor.

Since starting his own wine education business in 2008 the majority of his time is spent teaching and sharing his extensive knowledge of wine.

He has been a mentor to many MW students over the years and continues to help them fine-tune the tasting skills needed to succeed in the Practical exam.

He is now a regular on judging panels for wine competitions, Panel Chair for the International Wine Challenge and co-President of the Sud de France Top 50 in China. Matthew is also the current Practical Chair of the MW Education Committee.

Summary: 

Your brain —and all its sensory extensions in our eyes, nose and mouth— is your essential “tool” to perceive, remember and judge all the sensory components of wine. But do you really know how your wine-tasting “tool” works? Current advances in neuroscience are profoundly modifying our knowledge of the sensory and cognitive mechanisms of wine tasting and invite us to revisit the art of tasting.

Bridging the gap between oenology, psychology and neurophysiology, this “neuro-enological” lecture will present some recent insights into the diversity of our sensory receptors, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of our mental processes, and give some key elements to enhance our sense of taste. Join us for a wine journey into your brain!

Presenter: Gabriel Lepousez PhD

Gabriel Lepousez is a French neuroscientist and an international expert on sensory perception and brain plasticity. He received his doctorate in Neuroscience from the Paris Sorbonne University, and hold a research position at Institut Pasteur in the Perception and Memory Lab.

For more than fifteen years, Gabriel Lepousez has been exploring the function of brain circuits involved in sensory perception, memory and emotions, uncovering the key role of neuronal plasticity in olfactory learning and perception.

As a wine passionate, Gabriel also offers his scientific expertise to the world of wine education, sharing his extensive knowledge of the brain, this essential “tool” for wine tasting. In addition to international lectures and contribution to wine education programs, he has co-founded in 2016 L’Ecole du Nez, a neuro-sensory training for wine professionals to understand how the brain works during wine tasting and how to improve our sensory performance.

The Neuroscience of Wine Tasting with Gabriel Lepousez PhD is part of the Science of Wine Tasting Series, designed to help students of wine sharpen their tasting skills and master the latest scientific advancements in wine chemistry and sensory evaluation.

As part of a partnership between Wine Scholar Guild and Decanter, we are pleased to share with our readers this article pulled from Decanter Premium. 
Try Decanter Premium for 4 weeks for just $1! More information HERE

Robert Parker says a 100-point wine should be ‘as exceptional as a particular wine can be: a perfect blend of power, richness, texture, depth, length, balance, freshness, and of course a reflection of its vintage and terroir or origin’.

Here are Parker’s most memorable 100-point wines.

Summary:

Following on from the Taste like a Master of Wine session in May this will be another chance to test your tasting skills using an MW style approach. A quick recap on how to taste in an MW way will be followed by a tasting of two wines which will be used to answer an exam-style practical question.

No preparation is needed, the session is open to all.  Just turn up with an open and analytical mind!

Matthew will be tasting two wines during the seminar to illustrate the MW approach,
White : Adelaide Hills Chardonnay or any cool climate Australian Chardonnay
Red : Rioja Reserva
If you can find them to taste along with him…great! If not, no worries you can still follow along with a dry tasting.

Presenter: Matthew Stubbs MW 

Matthew has more than 30 years of experience in the wine trade, from importing and distribution to running a supermarket wine department. He passed the Master of Wine exam in 1996 achieving the Bollinger Medal for the best-tasting paper and the Listel Scholarship for the best Vinification paper. He has been actively involved with the Institute ever since, either as Practical Examiner, seminar lecturer or mentor.

Since starting his own wine education business in 2008 the majority of his time is spent teaching and sharing his extensive knowledge of wine.

He has been a mentor to many MW students over the years and continues to help them fine tune the tasting skills needed to succeed in the Practical exam.

He is now a regular on judging panels for wine competitions, Panel Chair for the International Wine Challenge and co-President of the Sud de France Top 50 in China. Matthew is also the current Practical Chair of the MW Education Committee.

Summary: 

Meet Coravin founder Greg Lambrecht and master the Coravin system during this upcoming educational webinar!

Join us for a special educational webinar with Coravin founder Greg Lambrecht. Bring along your Coravin and a favorite bottle for a hands-on, step by step instruction on how to most effectively use the Coravin system. Greg will also be giving you tips on how the Coravin can help you throughout your wine studies and pointers on how the Coravin can be used for the conservation of your wines.

We have been working with Coravin to put together an exclusive discount on the Coravin Wine Education Bundle for WSG members. Click HERE to take advantage of this discount! 

Presenter: Greg Lambrecht

Greg Lambrecht is the inventor, founder and board member of Coravin. Mr. Lambrecht is also founder and executive director of Intrinsic Therapeutics, Inc., a venture-backed medical device company focused on addressing the needs of patients with spinal disorders. In addition, Mr. Lambrecht is also the founder and board member of Viacor, Inc., a start-up medical device company in the Boston area.

Previously, Greg was Vice President of Product Development & Marketing at Stryker, a global orthopedic implant company where he directed the development and launch of numerous successful orthopedic implants. Mr. Lambrecht also held various management positions within Pfizer Medical Technology Group, where he directed and implemented a breakthrough process for inventing and developing new technologies.

Mr. Lambrecht holds Masters of Science in Medical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds numerous patents in the fields of gynecology, general surgery, cardiology, and orthopedics.