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Phil Rambles, Phil Price blog.
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pnprice@creekcats.com
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Tue, 07 Oct 2003
I can tell red wine from white wine!
About a year ago, Calvin Trillin wrote a nice article in the New Yorker about wine tasting. Here's what the UC Davis Magazine had to say about it:
[The August 19, 2002] New Yorker food issue contains an article by humorist Calvin Trillin, who set out to investigate the so-called “Davis Test”—a purported blind tasting of red and white wines that supposedly proved even experts can’t always tell the difference between the two. Trillin came to the source: UC Davis’ Ann Noble, professor of viticulture and enology and expert on sensory science, whose wine aroma wheel has helped scores of novices differentiate between a Pinot Noir and a Zinfandel. Noble’s verdict: The “Davis Test” is an urban myth. The test she gives her students asks them to identify the varietal by use of smell alone. “The minute you put it in your mouth,” she told Trillin, “it’s game over.” To prove her point, Noble offered Trillin two black glasses, one filled with red wine, the other with white, for him to taste. He got it wrong.
I discussed this article last year with my friend Scott, who is in his second year in the UC Davis oenology program, and he said "hey, that's great, we'll have a party and give it a try." Last weekend he and his girlfriend, Jo, hosted a party at Jo's place in San Francisco where we tried this test and more. It turned out great, and if you want to host a party this is a great way to do it.
Upon arrival, guests were led to a darkened corner by the kitchen, where six black wine glasses (a special item) were waiting, arranged in three pairs. In each pair, one glass contained white wine and the other had red wine, both at room temperature. Goal number 1: Identify the red wine in each pair through smell alone. Goal number 2: Use taste if necessary. Goal 3: Identify the variety of wine.
I smelled all of the wines. In two of the pairs, it was very easy to tell which was white and which was red, but in the other I had a hunch but wasn't positive. I took a guess, but decided I had better taste them all to make sure. And on tasting them...well, I still wasn't sure about that one pair! Amazing! It really can be hard to tell red from white. I was fairly sure that my answer from bouquet alone was correct, but not positive. (I was, indeed correct). Turns out the red was a very low-tannin Beaujolais; I forget what the white was. Anyway, it was harder than I thought. I think most of the guests got it right, but a few did miss on that pair of wines. I no longer ridicule the idea, though I do think it takes a special wine to cause problems.
Also at the party was one of Scott's two collections of scent essences: little vials filled with alcohol and essential oils (or whatever the term is) of distinctive smells. People sat around the living room passing these around, trying to identify them. It was very frustrating. Typically, you would hold one under your nose, take a whiff, and immediately "recognize" the scent, completely unmistakable...but also impossible to identify! "It's floral, oh, I know, it's wisteria...no, wait, it's honeysuckle...no, rose...." Maddening.
And finally, more wine tasting. This time, a list of twelve varieties was posted, and six wines were poured. The goal: by smell alone, select the variety for each of the six wines. One wine was easy: an oaky chardonnay. Two others, I had a fair idea: one of them I thought was either a gewurtztraminer or a riesling (it was a gewurtz), and the other I thought was a gewurtz but it was a riesling (very similar). Scott said I should give myself half credit for those. So, 1 + 1/2 + 1/2. I didn't have as much luck with the reds, getting none of them right...but at least I correctly identified which three were reds and which were white. Some other guests did even better---at least one person got four of them right!
Scott says people in his class would expect to get about four or five out of the six, although you can make it harder (or easier) by using particular wines.
So...I'm not sure what the conclusion is. I guess one thing is, I may not be able to tell great wines from good wines from decent wines, but at least I can tell red wines from white wines! Hey, it wasn't a given.
It was also a great party. Plenty of stuff for people to do and to talk about, and of course the free-flowing wine kept people in a good mood. Thanks, Jo and Scott, for a great evening!