{"id":812,"date":"2017-11-29T21:53:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T21:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=812"},"modified":"2017-11-29T21:53:15","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T21:53:15","slug":"tasting-the-greats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=812","title":{"rendered":"Tasting the Greats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In some areas of Wine Country, you go tasting and you know not to expect much.\u00a0 In other places, you anticipate sipping some fine wines, but the discovery of which ones will appeal to you awaits the tasting.\u00a0 And then there are occasions, not many, when you know in advance that you will soon be tasting something superb.\u00a0 You might have an appointment at one of the <em>premier cru<\/em> chateaux in Bordeaux, say Mouton Rothschild.\u00a0 Or perhaps it\u2019s Opus One in the Napa Valley or Biondi Santi, the home of Brunello in Tuscany.\u00a0 The top of the top.<\/p>\n<p>If you love wine, these are very special experiences, akin to visiting the Louvre or the Grand Canyon.\u00a0 These wines are known to be the finest of their type and as you approach one of these special wineries, your sense of anticipation rises to a crescendo.\u00a0 You know you are about to have a very special wine tasting. This is a life experience in itself. \u00a0With all that, don\u2019t let your emotions carry you away.\u00a0 This is still just wine, a pleasing part of your life for sure but not, for most of us, central to it.\u00a0 Here are some tips for making the most of a very special occasion without being overwhelmed by it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-813 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem-300x141.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"515\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem-300x141.jpg 300w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem-768x360.jpg 768w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem-1024x480.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yquem.jpg 1429w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Chateau d\u2019Yquem.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of LVMH.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Don\u2019t complain.<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0The tasting is probably expensive.\u00a0 There may be a wait for a tour group to arrive.\u00a0 Outside the United States, you may have some difficulty understanding your guide or server.\u00a0 You probably won\u2019t get a chance to taste the 1982 vintage.\u00a0 Put all that out of your mind and recognize that even the greatest ch\u00e2teaux are run by wine people, not corporate efficiency experts.\u00a0 Don\u2019t spoil your visit thinking about what it\u2019s not.\u00a0 Make the most of what it is.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Savor the entire experience.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about tasting the wine.\u00a0 Often the tasting comes with a tour but if not, make arrangements to have one.\u00a0 Learning how the best make wine gives you some background for the lesser but still very good wineries you will visit in the future.\u00a0 There is something about seeing the Rothschilds\u2019 cellars or 100-year old casks that are still in use that is simply thrilling.\u00a0 Soak up the furnishings, the art work, the views of top-tier vineyards.\u00a0 If you enjoy wine tasting as much as we do, this will be the <em>summa<\/em>.\u00a0 Enjoy it to the fullest.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>In what seems like contradictory advice, remember that it\u2019s just wine.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 A press is a press, a barrel is a barrel and bottle is a bottle.\u00a0 The makers of plonk do it the same way as Robert Mondavi did, just with less skill, lesser materials and poorer grapes.\u00a0 It has been our experience that it is a pleasure to see someone do something as well as it can be done, regardless of what it is.\u00a0 But keep it in context.\u00a0 What you will see in these great wineries is the making of a fine beverage, not the cure for diseases or a flight to the moon.\u00a0 By keeping that perspective, you will enjoy this experience without diminishing the pleasure of other wine tasting adventures yet to come.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Appreciate the wine when you taste it.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 You won\u2019t get a lot in your glass and you may not be able to afford to taste some of these wines again, so sip slowly.\u00a0 Absorb the aromas.\u00a0 Think about the flavors opening up in your mouth. Think of where you are and look around to print that moment in your memory. \u00a0Try to remember the taste, as hard as that may be.\u00a0 We have long said that it\u2019s your mouth and your taste buds, so there is no one to tell you what\u2019s good and what\u2019s not.\u00a0 But honestly, if you don\u2019t enjoy these wines, it\u2019s probably you, not the wine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In some areas of Wine Country, you go tasting and you know not to expect much.\u00a0 In other places, you anticipate sipping some fine wines, but the discovery of which ones will appeal to you awaits the tasting.\u00a0 And then there are occasions, not many, when you know in advance that you will soon be &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=812\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Tasting the Greats<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":814,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions\/814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}