What Language Do You Speak

The Wine Not Files:

What Language Do You Speak?

Wine lingo seems to be its own language. There are all those terms like wet slate, crushed leaves, sweaty saddle. Um, excuse me, have you gone and literally licked or tasted those things? That is disgusting!

No kidding! I really have no intention of tasting a sweaty saddle or eating crushed leaves. No thanks! Where it gets even more difficult is when the sommelier in a restaurant where the wine list is as big as reading The Count of Monte Cristo starts talking about a wine in crazy terms where you wonder if you two are speaking the same language. It can be really intimidating, and I apologize on behalf of the wine professional world as a whole. That is truly a disservice to you.

Now, what do I mean by, ‘what language do you speak’? This is about how YOU, the one drinking, describes what you smell and taste. Put aside all that weird stuff. Sure, if you identify with gym socks freshly burned, OK, go for it. But I would like to encourage you to create your own language. This can be really fun! It is all about how you identify with the wine, how you connect with what you smell and taste. Your wine language can be based on the region where you live, your life experiences and travels, the people in your social situations. I would also suggest connecting those wines with memories. Like a movie you watched or a song that you heard at that one point in your life that had a significant impact on your outlook, let wine do the same thing for you.

In my Introduction post where I mention my “aha” wine which was a 2009 Petite Sirah from Bella Grace Vineyards in Sutter Creek, CA, I will forever associate a bottle of wine from them with that memory. I have just one bottle left, and I will never drink it, because that wine represents the start of this journey.

Find your voice! Create a language! And enjoy it to the fullest!

Cheers!