Fall 2014


Fall 2014
The Art and Science of Wine Tasting


Editor’s Note
People who taste together…
Happenings
Contributors
Introduction to the Guide: The Art & Science of Tasting
What’s in a Scent? by John Szabo, MS
Last Word: La Force Tranquille Notes from Alexandre Thienpont
Editorial Features
Studying the Classics


What do winemaking students—trained to sniff out wine faults—make of legendary wines with their share of rough edges? We attend a class at the University of California at Davis’s Department of Viticulture and Enology, tasting classic California cabernets from the ’70s and ’80s.
Shape


Gilian Handelman, an enologist and educator at Jackson Family Farms, trains winemakers by drawing rather than writing tasting notes. She leads our tasting panel in a wine visualization exercise.
Oak


Explore oak’s influence on texture in Chablis, its impact on the coastal whites of Santorini and the facets it brings to Rioja, from wines with no oak at all to extended aging in barrel.
Tea Master


Luke Sykora tastes oolongs with Peter Luong of Song Tea in San Francisco.