Will I eventually learn? Should I practice more?

Isabelle Lesschaeve Author

Many wine lovers find challenges in their tasting abilities. They often doubt about their potential.

Published May 21, 2021

A few weeks back, I asked you and all my subscribers this question:

If I could wave a magic wand and get you the results you're after, what would those results look like?   What would make you incredibly happy?

Warren asked me for recommendations on how he could learn to be a more discerning taster. 

Isabelle
I have your wine aroma wheel. But, I have trouble identifying the aromas you describe. Should I be buying better, more expensive wines? [..] My preferred wine is pinot noir. I can taste differences but have trouble with aromas. My wife recently tasted some chips and said they were like dirty sox. I thought they were fine – lime taste / odor.
Will I eventually learn? Should I practice more?

I want to share my response in this article because I know Warren is not alone, having doubts about their ability to be a discerning wine taster. So let me answer these questions:

• Should I be buying better, more expensive wines?
• Will I eventually learn? Should I just practice more?

1- Should you buy expensive wines to develop your tasting abilities?

The quality of the wine has nothing to do with your ability to discern tastes and aromas. 

These abilities are conditioned by:

• your sensitivities to the aroma and taste compounds present in wine 
• and whether you have experienced these aromas and tastes before.

Our genetics determine how sensitive we can be to specific aroma and taste compounds. And that's why we don't always smell the same things as other people.  Some people can't perceive bitterness at "normal concentrations." Others would grimace immediately. 

In the same vein, Warren's wife might be pretty sensitive to the compounds evoking "dirty socks", whereas he is not.

This smells is often linked to oil rancidity.  You may improve your sensitivity, i.e., decrease your detection thresholds, through a sensory training. It's dependent on your genetics, but improvement is possible.

2-Will I eventually learn? Should I just practice more?

Suppose you haven't tasted a gooseberry or a black currant before. In that case, you will not be able to identify these aromas in wine. 

You don't know what you don't know. 

Our ability to describe smells and tastes develops through learning during our upbringing. 

Once an adult, it requires repeated exposure to a new aroma, say gooseberry, to identify it in a blind test.

So yes, we can all learn to become more discerning wine tasters. It requires a training plan plus regular practice. Like you would practice the piano to continue to play with confidence in front of an audience.

That's why I created Wine Aroma Description Made Easy 

It is the only online program that

• teaches you the fundamentals of wine tasting,
• gives you a step-by-step process to learn wine aroma at home, and 
• prepares you to deepen your practice.

So if you're committed to developing your tasting skills,  I'd like to invite you to check out more details here.

I couldn't be more excited to guide you on this path and help you become more confident when writing your tasting notes.

Categories: Tasting education