“The wine is deep ruby red in color and is exploding with spicy cherry and earthy raspberry aromas, with a hint of anise and white pepper. The palate delivers flavors of black cherry framed nicely by bright acidity and ripe mouth coating tannins.”

The Words of Wine

If you were to taste this wine without having read the above description, would you snap to attention and shout out:  “Spicy Cherry!  Earthy Raspberry!  White Pepper!”  Or rather, are such words forming and steering your experience for you, before you can even begin to consider your own true reaction?

If such words of wine have you tongue-tied if not palate-confused, then it’s high time for a read of this very well-written and informative article in today’s New York Times. Decide for yourself if you’re one for “sweet,” or for “savory,” or if you have some another, better words altogether.  In any case, with a nod to the article, I’m certainly one for streamlining the efficiency of clarifying our wine preferences.  Perhaps you are too.

While such typical wine-tasting descriptions can be creative and marketable exercises in palate anticipation, they are typically, if not always, open to interpretation.  At least that’s my wine-loving opinion!