Are "Off Wine Days" a Real Thing? If so, why?

[DougS]

it is possible the cyclic pull of the moon could affect our bodies in some way that could affect our taste.

No, it can’t. I’d have to run the numbers, but I think it’s safe to say that a car pulling up and parking in your driveway has a greater gravitational influence than the moon (and, btw, the moon’s gravitational influence has the same 24 hour cycle every day of the year, regardless if it’s full, new, or anywhere in between).

I believe the moon is proven to interact with the menstrual cycle, not sure if that is by gravity or light levels though. Not being female it is not my place to pontificate on how that could affect perceptions though.

That’s a myth, based on poorly conducted studies whose creators obviously want(ed) to find that outcome. The only plausible link that’s been found it light from the moon (as you mention), and anyone claiming to show even that link is making a lot of assumptions to get there. There’s certainly no proof of it from any studies that could be considered rigorous (major flaws like 22 person sample size and vague language like “around the time of the full moon” that obscures statistical facts), and the one large study shows no link at all.

Do periods really sync with the moon?

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

How was the stemware washed beforehand?

My Sister in Law uses some special soap required by her special dishwasher and whatever residue it leaves behind is pretty tenacious and taints all wine it touches.

When I taste at her house, my glass(es) gets a thorough extra rinsing with
hot water else every wine drops fruit and becomes more dour.

Since you described multiple taster’s with this issue, and for all the wines, it made me think ‘equipment’ more that lunar phase.

Not my first rodeo, friend Anton! Super hot water only 90% of the time. I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

[Victor_Hong]

How was the stemware washed beforehand?

My Sister in Law uses some special soap required by her special dishwasher and whatever residue it leaves behind is pretty tenacious and taints all wine it touches.

When I taste at her house, my glass(es) gets a thorough extra rinsing with
hot water else every wine drops fruit and becomes more dour.

Since you described multiple taster’s with this issue, and for all the wines, it made me think ‘equipment’ more that lunar phase.

Not my first rodeo, friend Anton! Super hot water only 90% of the time. I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

I like the choice of words.

[John_Morris]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

[Kevin_Porter]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Kudos (if the pun was intended)

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

[Philip_G]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

20220103_133956.jpg

[John_Morris]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

20220103_133956.jpg

You have enough glasses that I suspect you would never need to wash any.

(Says he who has a similar number.)

[Kevin_Porter]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

20220103_133956.jpg

Your ‘Frog Commissary’ looks exactly like mine (well-loved).

[Anton_D]

Sarah, that’s amazing.

[Chris_Seiber]

I’ve experienced this in the past. One reason I don’t find all the weather related explanations viable is that usually when someone is having this ‘off day’ the people around them are not.

Personally, I think its just one of things where some part of us is having an off day. Like those days when we have a random ringing in the ear or headache, etc and can find no good or consistent explanation for it. It’s probably a day where our sense of smell is just off. Being wine geeks we notice it because we use and focus on that sense in ways most people just rarely ever do. A person not carrying out an activity like trying to engage with a dozen wines in a day might not notice their sense of smell being weaker than normal. We might not even notice if its a day where we jut sip a simple wine we are used to with dinner.

Well said. The human mind + body is a complicated machine and it has some better, worse and different days. A day when you aren’t tasting wines as well and/or wines don’t taste as good or the same to you, I think that just happens here and there.

Just like all the random variation you experience in virtually all other facets of your mental and physical experience.

Being human, we always want explanations for things, so we theorize about root days, barometric pressure, humidity, the moon and so forth. But I think Cris’s explanation is far more likely.

[Stan_Y]

I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

Yes! My 86 year old father stores his glasses in a wood cabinet that was painted 20 or more years ago with an oil-based paint, and anything that comes out of it I can still smell linseed oil. He has semi-decent Riedel stems that I used to hand wash whenever I brought wine over, but I finally gave up and bring glasses with the wine now.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

… I’m so anal about odors on stems that I had a special cabinet built for glassware made all from glass and steel so that no wood or wood treatment odors would taint them.

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

20220103_133956.jpg

Impressive, I have decanter #3 (L to R). It hasn’t ever made it out of the box.
Glasses stored upside down on composite wood shelves are almost as bad as cork taint.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

You have set a new bar for the rest of us, Sarah.

Thank you!

20220103_133956.jpg

You have enough glasses that I suspect you would never need to wash any.

(Says he who has a similar number.)

Not half as impressive as all those decanters.

[Jay_Miller]

I’ve experienced this in the past. One reason I don’t find all the weather related explanations viable is that usually when someone is having this ‘off day’ the people around them are not.

Personally, I think its just one of things where some part of us is having an off day. Like those days when we have a random ringing in the ear or headache, etc and can find no good or consistent explanation for it. It’s probably a day where our sense of smell is just off. Being wine geeks we notice it because we use and focus on that sense in ways most people just rarely ever do. A person not carrying out an activity like trying to engage with a dozen wines in a day might not notice their sense of smell being weaker than normal. We might not even notice if its a day where we jut sip a simple wine we are used to with dinner.

Well said. The human mind + body is a complicated machine and it has some better, worse and different days. A day when you aren’t tasting wines as well and/or wines don’t taste as good or the same to you, I think that just happens here and there.

Just like all the random variation you experience in virtually all other facets of your mental and physical experience.

Being human, we always want explanations for things, so we theorize about root days, barometric pressure, humidity, the moon and so forth. But I think Cris’s explanation is far more likely.

So your theory is that all 4 people happened to have their taste buds off on the same day coincidentally?

[Cris_Whetstone]

I’ve experienced this in the past. One reason I don’t find all the weather related explanations viable is that usually when someone is having this ‘off day’ the people around them are not.

Personally, I think its just one of things where some part of us is having an off day. Like those days when we have a random ringing in the ear or headache, etc and can find no good or consistent explanation for it. It’s probably a day where our sense of smell is just off. Being wine geeks we notice it because we use and focus on that sense in ways most people just rarely ever do. A person not carrying out an activity like trying to engage with a dozen wines in a day might not notice their sense of smell being weaker than normal. We might not even notice if its a day where we jut sip a simple wine we are used to with dinner.

Well said. The human mind + body is a complicated machine and it has some better, worse and different days. A day when you aren’t tasting wines as well and/or wines don’t taste as good or the same to you, I think that just happens here and there.

Just like all the random variation you experience in virtually all other facets of your mental and physical experience.

Being human, we always want explanations for things, so we theorize about root days, barometric pressure, humidity, the moon and so forth. But I think Cris’s explanation is far more likely.

So your theory is that all 4 people happened to have their taste buds off on the same day coincidentally?

It wasn’t clear to me from her top post that it was all four people. Given that I would chalk it up to some combination of a majority of poor performing bottles combined with some group think.

The weather and phases of the moon types of ideas don’t even pass common sense. Unless all of New England had a bad wine day ideas such as those are bonkers.

[Victor_Hong]

Why New England?

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Why New England?

Reverse of the New Yorker cover. Seems obvious it was all 4 people.

[Cris_Whetstone]

Why New England?

OK pedantic pants. How about any greater region that could be defined by the predominant weather that would encompass New York.

Did you also have a bad wine day that day, Victor?

[Victor_Hong]

New England - Wikipedia.

Noo Yawk is generally not considered part of New England.