68 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
MARCH 2016
WINE
AMAZING WHAT YOU can learn from watching a dog show.
I tuned into one of these on television earlier this year. ey were
transmitting the New York finals, during which a lone judge was
tasked with choosing "e Best of Show."
All the dogs competing at the show were magnificent. e seven
finalists included a puli, a whippet, a ridiculous white toy poodle
that looked like a four-legged powder puff, a French bulldog, a Brit-
tany, a Doberman pinscher and the ultimate winner, a black Scot-
tish terrier named Sadie.
I was curious as to how the earlier judges had whittled down the
2,500 entries representing 173 breeds to these seven canines and
why Sadie came out as top dog. All the dogs in the show looked
great to me but the judge was searching for attributes that I had no
expertise in assessing — how the dogs stood, how they moved, as
well as noting their physique and their personality.
Watching the program, it occurred to me that the same process is
involved in judging wines. Wine writers, like dog show judges, are
looking for characteristics that conform to a mental model for what
the wine should look, smell and taste like.
In Ulysses, James Joyce wrote, "Horseness is the whatness of all-
horse." is Aristotelian concept of the quintessential nature of a
horse is what the serious student of wine brings to bear when judg-
ing a given wine, simply by asking the question: Is the wine vari-
etally correct and does it conform to my expectations of how that
particular variety performs in a specific terroir?
One's personal taste is, of course, subjective. You may not enjoy
the flavour of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinotage, for example, so you just
avoid them. But within the category of Sauvignons and Pinotages
there are the good, the bad and the ugly. And the wine professional
has to put aside his or her personal preferences when it comes to
assessing a product.
For my part (and to the chagrin of most of my Aussie friends),
I would rather drink the glue they use to stick on wine labels than
have to swallow as glass of sparkling Shiraz — but then, that's me.
| DETOURS |
Best in Show
Is this a good-looking poodle? Now you know what it feels like to be a wine writer
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
