French tasting etiquette

[Jorge_Henriquez]

Well said Todd. No need for us to pigeonhole ourselves Mike. The wine world is vast and varied…and as the say “variety is the spice of life”.

[M_Dildine]

@Todd F r e n c h

@M. Dildine

Michel (you’re one of those one name people like Cher?),

You’re probably right, that was ridiculous and presumptious of me. My apology.

It does bring up an interesting question, however. What is this Board’s niche? It has the same basic features as the Squires Board - Wine Talk, Food, Social Hall, Commerce, etc. Is this Board simply a replica of the full featured Squires Board (minus Parker, Squires and Leve), or do we serve a slightly different niche?

I think the Squires Board has many more experts on French etiquette than Berserkers, hence it is a better resource for that particular topic. Just my opiinion.

Without totally derailing the topic at hand, which is a good one and worthy of input by those who know…this forum doesn’t yet have a niche. It has great activity, welcoming freedom of speech, and a fun personality of its own. Together we carve our own identity, as already witnessed by some additional ‘private’ forums like the NSFW forum, and the Cellar Rats forum.

As we move along, we will see where the demand lies, where the membership wants this board to be, and we’ll adjust accordingly. Since most will have come from the Squires Board, a similar layout is a comfortable place to be in the interim, until our collective direction changes, and the Board with it.

Good answer Todd and I agree with Jorge.

[ToddFrench]

Now, as far as ‘French tasting etiquette’, I must say I’m honored that an entire thread is dedicated to how I choose to drink wine in the company of others.

Typically, I find a large glass, fill it to the brim, smell it deeply, heap praise onto it, call out some sort of river stone and petrol notes, take a sip, swirl in my mouth, spit it out, then dump it down the sink in disgust.

But that’s just Todd French tasting etiquette.

[M_Dildine]

@Todd F r e n c h

Now, as far as ‘French tasting etiquette’, I must say I’m honored that an entire thread is dedicated to how I choose to drink wine in the company of others.

Typically, I find a large glass, fill it to the brim, smell it deeply, heap praise onto it, call out some sort of river stone and petrol notes, take a sip, swirl in my mouth, spit it out, then dump it down the sink in disgust.

But that’s just Todd French tasting etiquette.

Again, sorry for the interruption. The questions and responses have been worthwhile. If anyone needs a lesson in French etiquette, it is me.

[William_Segui]

@Bob Wood

@LMD Ermitaño

Steve, by the way. Do not be surprised if some wineries pour unfinished glasses of wine back into the barrels if you are barrel tasting. Some of them really do that with their grand crus.

N

Every winemaker I know in Oregon does that. I took a date barrel tasting one day. She was grossed out when I spit into the floor drain but almost fainted when we started pouring wine back into the barrels. Didn’t have a second date.

This happens here in Napa more and more. I first noticed it with French winemakers, but have seen the practice more wide spread of late.

[Steve_M_c_C_a_l_l]

@Todd F r e n c h

Now, as far as ‘French tasting etiquette’, I must say I’m honored that an entire thread is dedicated to how I choose to drink wine in the company of others.

Typically, I find a large glass, fill it to the brim, smell it deeply, heap praise onto it, call out some sort of river stone and petrol notes, take a sip, swirl in my mouth, spit it out, then dump it down the sink in disgust.

But that’s just Todd French tasting etiquette.

Finally I get my question answered.

[ToddFrench]

@Steve Mc Call

@Todd F r e n c h

Now, as far as ‘French tasting etiquette’, I must say I’m honored that an entire thread is dedicated to how I choose to drink wine in the company of others.

Typically, I find a large glass, fill it to the brim, smell it deeply, heap praise onto it, call out some sort of river stone and petrol notes, take a sip, swirl in my mouth, spit it out, then dump it down the sink in disgust.

But that’s just Todd French tasting etiquette.

Finally I get my question answered.

Go to the source, and get 'er done.

Done.

[LMD_Ermitano]

@William Segui

@Bob Wood

@LMD Ermitaño

Steve, by the way. Do not be surprised if some wineries pour unfinished glasses of wine back into the barrels if you are barrel tasting. Some of them really do that with their grand crus.

N

Every winemaker I know in Oregon does that. I took a date barrel tasting one day. She was grossed out when I spit into the floor drain but almost fainted when we started pouring wine back into the barrels. Didn’t have a second date.

This happens here in Napa more and more. I first noticed it with French winemakers, but have seen the practice more wide spread of late.

That’s surprising. I’ve never seen that done in Napa - as well as Bordeaux and Alsace, for that matter. I know the relatively small production (in terms of volume) domaines do that in Burgundy, but not the big producers like Patriarche’s Château de Meursault or Chablis’ JM Brocard, for example. Not that I’ve seen, anyway.

I’m curious, in Napa, are the ones who do this small production wineries?

N

[Poppy_Davis]

@LMD Ermitaño

I’m curious, in Napa, are the ones who do this small production wineries?

Not just Napa and France. It is very, very common and I’ve seen it more times than not wherever I taste.

[Michael_Bowden]

Common Sense is your best friend. Beautiful women never hurt either…if Melissa wants to walk in without the wedding band that might help also (Sometimes it doesn’t matter if its on or off).

[john_holdredge]

@P. Davis

@LMD Ermitaño

I’m curious, in Napa, are the ones who do this small production wineries?

Not just Napa and France. It is very, very common and I’ve seen it more times than not wherever I taste.

Not me.

While my disdain for the practice may not have any basis in science- the notion of a partially drank glass being used to re-fill a barrel sounds vile. If someone had an obvious cold sore on their lip- would you want (antiseptic properties of alcohol nothwithstanding) their partially drank wine back in the barrel?

That’s why god invented floor drains and pressurized topping kegs.

[Guillaume_Deschamps]

Ok I’ll give this a go:

• Be on time (you might have to wait for up to 15 minutes and this is not considered impolite in France).
• Clarify who you are talking to (the winemaker, a member of his family, an employee… - it saves a lot of misunderstandings).
• Introduce yourself over the course of the conversation, stress why you chose to visit this domaine in particular, tell them explicitly which wines you tried from them and why you liked them, drop some names if applicable (not as in “we know Tom Cruise” but as in “we often drink your wines with Mr XXX, he’s a big fan of yours and introduced us to your wines, he paid you a visit 2 years ago and told us we should visit you if we ever come to France”)
• Do your research (“oh… so you don’t grow Cabernet here” when visiting a top domaine in Burgundy is not a good idea, regardless of how charming the person might still be after you drop this kind of gem).
• Focus on wine (one mistake I often see is people talking about the great, expensive hotel where they stay and all the great stuff they’ve done and how great they are - trust me, the producers don’t care)
• Talk about food and restaurants if you know what you are talking about (most of the ppl in the wine business are also foodies, in Europe at least), keep negative experiences to yourself until you know better (most wine regions are small and everybody is a friend of a friend of a family member, with a few enemies thrown into the mix).
• Be honest and discuss the wines, but keep negative feedback to yourself on first visit.
• Take your time to taste, show that you appreciate the chance to try some wines out of barrel. Most producers I know will let you speak about the wines, I often feel they are appraising me (especially on first visit, obviously), this is some kind of “rite of passage”.
• Spit. If they pour something really good for you then say “wow! there’s no way I’m spitting this” and smile/giggle, otherwise spit. This is the one way rookie mistake not to do. I assume you know how to handle a tasting glass, that’s the #2 rookie mistake.
• Ask where the spittoon here before your mouth is full of wine. In most cases spitting on the floor between the casks (gravel) is ok, but check first.
• If there’s something left in your glass, offer to put it back in the barrel. Usually the person in charge will do it.
• re: gifts, I usually bring one for my first visit if the winemaker was nice enough to grant me an appointment (for example the first time I visited Raveneau or Mugnier), or from time to time if I’m a regular. I usually bring a bottle of wine from where I live (used to be German Rieslings, usually received very favourably). I find other gifts too personal and risky for the first visit.
• re: wine to sell as I said before in most cases if you make your selection right the winemaker will not have any wine for sale. Always ask, at the end.

Overall it might sound a bit impressive said like that, but remember the atmosphere is usually very relaxed, right in the middle in the cellar with few people around, so that helps a lot.

[Steve_M_c_C_a_l_l]

Guliiaume & others,

Thanks very much for all the helpful advice. Obviously, every tasting experience represents a unique interaction between individuals, but it’s useful to have a general sense of the ground rules - to avoid needless and unintentional misunderstanding.

While most of this seems like common sense, I’m guessing that every suggestion above has been egregiously violated by some otherwise well-meaning bumpkin. Since our French language skills will be regrettably limited, I’d prefer to be as gracious as possible in other ways to acknowledge the courtesy extended to us by our host.