Taking up the baton, why chew gum, eat mints or use mouth freshener products at all? I don’t need flavours in my mouth when I’m not eating or drinking, especially not artificial flavours laced with sugar or worse, synthentic sweeteners. And if my oral hygiene needs special attention I’ll go to the dentist, just like if my body stinks I’ll take a bath or a shower over trying to cover it up with scent or deodorant!
On toothpaste, choose a ‘natural’ one that doesn’t include synthetic flavourings or sweeteners. Once you change, the true disgustingness of ordinary toothpaste will be revealed.
I mostly disagree. As part of my traditional grooming I floss, brush and splash on a small amount of Brooks Brothers Classic after shave. The after shave barely remains as I go out the door. Only a douchebag would put on so much that others would notice.
Worse then that though are people who wear unclean clothing or who stink from sweat. Bad breath is totally unacceptable.
If you visit Henri Bonneau in Chateauneuf du Pape, he might even sniff your underarms before you’re allowed into his winery. The guy is adamant that no one visit his tasting room while smelling of soaps, perfumes, or scented deodorant. There was a time when I thought that was ridiculous, but now–no more.
I honestly think the worst offenders simply have no idea how strongly these smells are apparent to others. I don’t think anyone here is advocating poor hygiene–the key point is to realize that, if you are going to be tasting wine with others you may or may not know, one can still be quite clean without the use of scents.
As for the use of toothpaste, you don’t have to completely forego your normal brushing routine to meet the spirit what’s been suggested on this thread. If you’re not going to be drinking wine until the afternoon or evening (usually the case for most people) then toothpaste in the morning during your first brush of the day is probably not going to make too much difference in the pH of your mouth by tasting time. After that, flossing and a water pik during the remainder of the day are probably the way to go if you want to get the most out of your tasting experience.
Sounds like he was a phony trying to impress whoever. Who is a real wine person that brushes his teeth just prior to a tasting?
BTW… I do love Oregon Pinot’s, and my 1994’s from several producers are still going from strength to strength. As with a few other vintages from the 1990’s.
[/quote]I believe he’s silent on this topic now.[/quote]
Holy smokes (no pun intended.) I didn’t know. Wow, just this March. Well, in any case, I definitely learned from his thoughts on the topic. And truly a great winemaker.
Whats also a part of this discussion is that as we evolve and become more tuned in to a wines nuances, we sharpen our sensory perceptions. After a while and in the case of odours and smells, our olfactory sense is so much more heightened, we pick up things we may not have normally done previously. And, it not just with wine. It`s everything that has a fragrance, odour or aroma.
The same holds true for taste, vision and tactile senses with wine.
I agree with much of the poster’s rant and appreciate his polite response to the situation. Educate instead of getting agitated. However, personal hygiene is a tricky subject to tackle. Our culture has made it almost a social duty not to smell of a natural clean human body.
We had to request a new table 2 weeks ago when a foursome that included one 70+ woman sat two tables away from us on the restaurant patio. The overwhelming Chanel #5, or whatever it was, clouded the entire area, and outside wasn’t helping.
If someone had invented a discrete Febreze sprayer, I would have paid big for it that evening, as the patio was otherwise much nicer than inside where we eventually ate.
So this post is about preventing unfortunate outcomes for yourself, but it can easily apply to others.
One of the other three in that party could have hosed her down before appearing in public.