2020-05-31_Wine_Spectator

MAY 31, 2020 • WINE SPECTATOR 61

your time. Impressions can be elusive: “It’s like meeting a new per-

son: you feel them out for characteristics. You don’t hug them right

away. Maybe the first time, you shake hands.” Take notes and be

prepared to add to them as you go. Your first impression might be

“herbaceous,” and on tasting, that might develop into the more

specific “thyme.” Once you’ve sipped the wine, some aromas will

amplify while others change or reduce. Sweet or savory character

will come in, as will texture. It’s like a sunset; give it time and let it

reveal itself to you.

Once you’ve tasted through a flight, go back

through to see if you stand by your first assess-

ment. While we like to think we can taste each

wine in a vacuum, it often happens that the

wines’ relationships to one another will change

how you evaluate them. Also note that Sohm

chose wines that show great variation within

each category. This helps throw differences into

relief and give people confidence in their judg-

ments; wines that are too similar can be difficult

to parse, especially for novices.

The bonus to breadth is that there

will be something for everyone.

This is Sohm’s goal. While Le

Bernardin’s list is encyclopedic,

the wine bar has a tighter but still

far-ranging list. “People always

think the sommelier’s job is to

blind taste,” he says. “That’s part

of it, but it turns most people off.

It’s more important to recognize

the person in front of you, in 10

or 30 seconds. What are they look-

ing for? What do they like? What

do they want?”

Let’s Eat

The food here is served after the

tasting proper. While matching

wine and food is a large part of

Sohm’s work, for the purposes of a

blind tasting, the food can throw

you off. Just as you don’t want to

taste while sitting next to someone

who was liberal with the cologne,

you also don’t want food smells

when you’re evaluating the wine.

The following dishes can all be

prepared in advance and assembled

quickly so as not to interrupt the

flow. Once you’ve unbagged and

discussed the wines, serve the food.

Even if you don’t use these recipes,

don’t make anything too complex:

“I like to keep the food simple and

do most of the work ahead of time,”

Sohm says. “With simple food, you

keep the focus on the wine. The

more elaborate you get, the more you get sidetracked.” And keep

an eye out for which bottle gets emptied first. There’s always one.

Think of tasting as a fun version of marathon training: You build

capacity over time. “The more you taste and the more you drink,

you build up this mental library,” Sohm notes. “Then when you need

it, you can retrieve the data. The more you know about wine, the

more you realize you don’t know anything. It’s constantly evolving.

There’s a beauty to that because it’s a very humbling experience.”

What Is a Pirate Wine?

“A pirate is when you put a Basque sparkling wine in a Champagne tast-

ing,” Sohm explains. “It makes you aware that you have to think outside

of the box. We like to label things: Burgundy’s good, Bordeaux’s good. Yes.

But look, drinking wine was never as exciting as it is now. Look how many winemak-

ers did internships in Burgundy or Bordeaux and then carried that wisdom back to

their countries. There’s great wine made all over the place. You just have to open up

your mind to taste. Often they are deals. You don’t find a deal at Chanel or Hermès.”

For more Aldo-isms, see his new book, Wine Simple (Clarkson Potter), written with Christine Muhlke.

Taste, then eat

Treat the food

like dessert

WS053120_entertainingRev.indd 61 3/18/20 11:04 AM