| If you enjoy wine, you enjoy wine tasting. It is a | | | | the bottle you tasted so you can reference it in |
| good way to experience new vintages and really | | | | the future. On the lower page, you record your |
| develop your palette. Over time, you can really | | | | impressions of the wine in question. The page |
| nail down the wine you enjoy and eliminate those | | | | should include a lined area for you to write general |
| that simply do not pass muster. Keeping a wine | | | | impressions in as well as questions to remind you |
| tasting journal is the way to do this. | | | | to jot down important information. |
| The world of wine is unique in that it tries to | | | | Your wine journal should be sacred to you. In a |
| apply objective standards to the subjective act of | | | | hustle and bustle world where it is hard to |
| tasting. For years, wines were evaluated on | | | | remember what you had for lunch yesterday, a |
| whether they met these objective standards and | | | | wine journal will be a running record of the |
| you were expected to approve of them | | | | evolution of your tastes. When you are in a rush |
| accordingly regardless of whether you actually | | | | and need to pick up a bottle for a dinner or party |
| liked the taste or not. | | | | or the like, you can flip open your journal and find |
| Fortunately, those days are pretty much past. | | | | a vintage that is appropriate for both the |
| The approach now is two fold. You want to | | | | company and the food being served. This alone |
| develop your own taste and preferences while | | | | eliminates the risk of bringing a bottle of |
| also narrowing down the vintages you prefer. | | | | something that tastes closer to vinegar than a |
| Basically, you improve your ability to evaluate | | | | vibrant rose. |
| wines while also recognizing which wines are | | | | Wine is a world unto its own. Unlike most food, it |
| better than others per your taste. To do this, you | | | | is rife with variations that range from the subtle |
| need to keep a wine tasting journal. | | | | to the extreme. Identifying the vintages you |
| A wine tasting journal is pretty much what it | | | | prefer versus those you wish to avoid is a |
| sounds like. It is a journal that you record your | | | | matter of taste, tastings and time. A wine journal |
| impressions of a wine in. Quality wine journals | | | | is an effective way to make sure you keep an |
| usually provide you two pages that open | | | | effective record of your conclusions. |
| vertically. On the top page, you paste the label of | | | | |