Winetaster's Secrets : A Step-By-Step Guide to the Joy of Winetasting

Acknowledgements 9(2) Foreword 11(2) Foreword to First Edition 13(2) Preface 15(4) An Introduction to the Pleasures of Tasting Wine 19(14) What Is Taste? 19(2) What Does ``Tasting'' Wine Mean? 21(1) Why Should I Bother Learning to Taste Wine? 22(2) What Is a Winetaster? 24(2) Is Winetasting an Objective or Subjective Determination? 26(1) How Do You Define Quality in Terms of Wine? 27(4) The Composition of Wine 31(2) Tools of the Trade 33(36) How Our Senses Work 33(2) The Brain 35(4) Sight 39(7) Smell 46(11) Touch 57(3) Taste 60(6) Summary 66(3) A Sight to See 69(22) Appearance 70(6) Color 76(12) Summary 88(3) Nosing Around 91(20) Swirling 92(1) Intensity 93(2) Assessing Potential 95(1) Aroma 96(4) Bouquet 100(3) Wood 103(2) Oxygen, Oxygenation, Oxidative, Oxidation, Oxidized 105(1) Bottle Age---Reductive 106(1) Sulfur Dioxide 107(3) Summary 110(1) A Touching Chapter 111(14) Body 112(2) Temperature 114(2) That Sparkling Feeling 116(4) Astringency 120(5) A Matter of Taste 125(16) Thresholds 125(1) To Swallow or Not to Swallow 126(2) Sweetness 128(4) Acidity 132(5) Bitterness 137(2) Saltiness 139(2) Getting It All Together 141(6) Flavor 141(1) Typicalness 142(2) Balance 144(1) General Quality 144(1) Hedonic---I Like It 145(2) Putting It Into Practice 147(24) The Approach 147(1) The Setting 148(1) Smoking 149(1) Palate Refreshers 150(1) Blind Tastings 151(2) Glasses 153(4) Breathing 157(2) Decanting 159(1) Ullage 160(2) Evaluation Systems 162(6) Wine Competitions---Their Value and Goals 168(3) Tuning Up Your Senses 171(6) Triangle Test 171(1) Sweetness 172(1) Acids 173(1) Tannins 173(1) Visual 174(1) Olfactory 174(1) Further Tests 174(3) A Few Grapes and a Little Wine 177(24) Varietal Freedom 178(1) Vinifera White Varieties 179(10) Vinifera Red Varieties 189(8) European Hybrids 197(2) Early North American Hybrids 199(2) Age: Its Effect on People and Wine 201(8) The Taster and Age 201(1) Ageing Wine 202(4) The ``Dead Zone'' 206(1) ``Bottled Up''---The Reductive Effect 207(2) Special Effects 209(10) The Alcohol Equation 209(2) Carbonic Maceration 211(2) Botrytis Cinerea 213(6) Some Very Special Tastes 219(18) Burnt Wine: Brandy 219(13) Ice Wine---A Chilling Experience 232(5) Wine and Food: A Personal Viewpoint 237(12) APPENDICES Some Tasting Tips 241(2) Sample Scoring Systems 243(2) Handy Wine Measurements 245(4) Glossary 249(20) The International Language of Wine 269(3) Bibliography 272(3) Index 275