Smoking and Wine Tasting

[gregolson]

Zach-

I quit 7 years ago after smoking for 20+ years. I’m a bit of a foodie and I do love my wine, so in addition to the health benefits, quitting has been a great tasting experience too. It’s not that everything tastes better. It’s that I can taste food and wine better. What I’ve found is that if something tastes sweet, sour, etc., it’s gonna taste the same, just a bit more pronounced. Caveat: If a particular wine tastes like sht, it’s still gonna taste like sht. In fact, it will be more pronounced sh*t!

[zachary_l_a_n_g]

I love me some good Sh*t! hahaha, looking forward to it!

[Mo_K_a_n_g]

@Ian Dorin

3 and a half years now, after 9 years of regularly smoking. It’s very different. What’s interesting is that you get used to tasting wine when you smoke, and it’s almost as if you have to re-train your palate. It takes time, but I do find that over extracted fruit, oak and alcohol are offensive, and never did before.

Are you saying that Jay Miller is a smoker?

Sorry, couldn’t resist the cheap shot!

[Leah_Amir]

@Cris Whetstone

@Leah Amir

I quit cold turkey 4 months ago. My sense of smell and taste changed instantly for the better, it was weird at first but now I’m used to it…I feel so much better.

I didn’t know this Leah. Congrats!

Thanks!

[Linda_Baehr]

Good luck, Zach. Smoking is just about the worst thing you can do to mute your palate. Not to mention also being one of the worst things you can do for your immune system.

[LMD_Ermitano]

I smoke - both cigarettes and cigars. I’m sure chances are great that I could taste/smell better if I quit.

That said, when it comes to the wines I know pretty well (mainly certain Médoc, Pessac Léognan, Pomerol, St-Emilion), I don’t do too badly at blind tastings despite my nasty habit. Historically, almost invariably, I will be able to pick out the first growths and am not too shabby at identifying appellations and vintages (those I am familiar with anyway).

[Brad_S_w_a_l_l_o_w]

@gregolson

Zach-

I quit 7 years ago after smoking for 20+ years. I’m a bit of a foodie and I do love my wine, so in addition to the health benefits, quitting has been a great tasting experience too. It’s not that everything tastes better. It’s that I can taste food and wine better. What I’ve found is that if something tastes sweet, sour, etc., it’s gonna taste the same, just a bit more pronounced. Caveat: If a particular wine tastes like sht, it’s still gonna taste like sht. In fact, it will be more pronounced sh*t!

Zach, what Greg said is true. I smoked for 16 years but quit cold turkey in 1998. No patch, just kept the office door closed and tried not to talk to anyone during that time. To add to what Greg said, another thing I do that I didn’t do before is run 6 or 7 miles several times a week without wheezing. That has built up my endurance for longer and more rewarding eating and drinking sessions. The cold turkey part sucked for about three weeks, but then it was all good. I hope you stick with it and find out for yourself. Good luck!

[alan_weinberg]

it’ll be 25 years without a cigarette for me on October 31. I think about it every day, but I will never again smoke (cigar or cigarette). Everything tastes better. Other notable smoker/wine critics include Clive Coates–who developed bladder cancer, a common smoking related ailment that I treat–and Pierre Rovani, former WA Burg taster.

alan