How to Win Friends in the Tasting Room
I’ve been amiss in tasting room tips, so it’s time for another.
You really don’t have to rinse your glass between tastes, unless you’re going from red to white, and then it’s mostly about the color. Reasoning behind this relates to the strength of the wine, rather than purity. It’s better to have a few drops of wine in the glass than water, because the second waters down the wine. Many wines these days are blends anyway. Even if the label says Cabernet Sauvignon, legally it only has to contain 75%(85% in Oregon) of that variety, and probably has a little Merlot, etc. to soften it.
People also ask about “this stuff in my glass” and sometimes request a new one. Nothing to be scared of, readers. It could be sediment, which comes from the skins and other bits of goodness that add flavor when the wine isn’t filtered or maybe tartrates, from tartaric acid, helpful in preservation.
If you still want to rinse, only put a small amount of water in your glass, and shake as much out of it as you can.
I promise I won’t gasp loudly and almost yelp in disbelief, as two men in a tasting room did to me, making this girl from Mississippi feel about two inches tall. I won’t be catty and name the winery. I’ll just say I was about to drink the Insignia…
tasting room, rinsing wine glass, sediment, tartrates
…..Farley Walker
January 6th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Hi Farley,
One thing I am surprised at is the amost disdain that a lot of tasting room workers have towards spitters like me. Some actually seem offended, and the other day at Eberle they were none too enthusiastic about dumping their spit bucket for me so I wouldn’t get the splashback.
If I were a tasting room rep. I would pay special attention on the spitters because they are often the most serious wine people.
What percent of people come into your tasting room to get a quick buzz on, as opposed to serious tasters that spit and move on?
CD
January 7th, 2007 at 12:42 am
I do appreciate the spitters, though some people look at me strangely when I spit. I’d much rather someone want to remember what’s being tasted.
I’d still say the drunk seeking percentage is pretty low, mainly because we’re up on a mountain, at least 25 minutes from the next winery.
January 7th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
When I’m tasting in a friendly room I sometimes ask for a tiny bit of the “next” wine to rinse the glass. Take it, swirl the glass with it, then get the full taste. This makes sure the next taste will not be diluted with anything.
Cheers!
January 7th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I’d hazard a guess at where you were tasting. If I’m correct, I’d say in general, it’s not a very friendly place. And even if I’m wrong, the winery I had in mind was not so kind to us. Our first stop of the day and there were serveral other people in the tasting room, but it wasn’t crowded and there were two servers. We waited quite a while for our tasting, which is fine, but then were hurried through. We weren’t even offered the chocolate to taste with one offering that the other groups were languishing over. It wasn’t common, but it was one of the places that made us feel like chopped liver on our trip!
January 8th, 2007 at 12:16 am
We call the buzz seekers “sport tasters”…
As far as spitting goes, I always say something like “you can spit here, you don’t have to finish it, and no hard feelings.”
As far as rinsing goes, I always offer a wine rinse. And if they do a water rinse, I do a wine rinse anyway, because the important thing is to present my wine in the best way.
As far as chopped liver goes, I’ve been made to feel that way plenty of times - and guess who doesn’t get my $$$? I amazed by this because people remember being treated poorly at least as long as they remember being treated special - and ANYONE who walks in that door could be your next big customer!
I can still remember being in a big name tasting room in Los Olivos a few years ago. Big name winemaker with pictures of him and his bike all over the walls, flirting with the hot chicks at one end of the bar, and his TR person ignoring us at the other end…. Someday when I’m a rock star I want to be better behaved than that!
January 8th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Megan and Jeff, I know I may not be the wealthiest person in the TR, but I almost always buy something if I like it (one of my sicknesses, yes), so I like to be attended to, not treated like a nobody. p.s. happens a lot in Napa, from my experience
Joel and Jeff, I’ll give someone a wine rinse if they ask, especially for people who really seem to care about the wine.
January 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I always buy too. I can’t help it….that’s how we returned from California this summer with nearly 200 bottles of wine….