Wine Notebook
Wine notes. Anyone keep them ?
I’m writing today to make a case for EVERYONE to keep a wine journal. Now it does not matter what form that takes. It can be loose sheets of paper that you keep in a shoebox, your iPhone app, your custom made leather bound notebook. Whatever. Just so long as its something that you will use on a regular basis and is easily found.
Why would you bother ? Well, its a great way of learning because it makes you think about the wine you are drinking. You can go back to your notes and see how an older vintage tasted if you are trying a newer vintage. Best of all it can remind you of a lovely bottle of wine and maybe even the food you had with it and the people you shared it with.
As a wine buyer, wine notes are essential for me. I attended the London Wine Fair a few months ago. In two days I tasted over 250 wines. Now, my memory needs a bit of help at the best of times but there is no way I am going to remember every wine from every producer along with the price and some of the story behind the wine. However, I can open my notebook and read my brief notes and its almost like being there all over again.
But what do I write I hear you say ? The answer is simple. Write whatever will trigger your memory. Some people like to write pages of notes while others keep it to a line or two. My notes vary depending on where I am and how many wines I am tasting. At a wine trade fair, my notes will be brief. If I’m tasting a wine at home I may write longer notes. If it is a truely excellent wine, I will go on for a while.
Use your own vocabulary to describe the wine. You dont have to stick to the traditional script. I mix it up a bit. My longer wine notes have a system to them (thanks to the WSET) but I also throw in some other non traditional stuff too.
Soon you will find yourself with a collection of notebooks and its always fun to pick one up and flick through some of the notes. Lots of good memories and very often it inspires another wine purchase. I read one the other night and as a result the following day I bought a nice Chianti Classico as it reminded me I had not had one in ages. And it was delicious with my Italian pasta dish I cooked at home.
So go on, give it a go. You’ll enjoy your wine all the more.
Definitely, unless you’re taking notes of some sort, the danger is that you just end up “drinking” as opposed to “tasting”. Obviously that’s fine too and has its place, but if you want to develop as a taster – and a human being – regular, conscientious tasting notes are essential!
WEll said Paul. Agree fully. Thanks for the comment. When are you publishing your tasting notes in book form ?
Well, I spoke to my agent and he said we’d be better off proceeding directly to the film. Don Cheedle is lined up to play me, apparently.