As a winemaker, I can assess a lot of wines in a day. Quality checks, blending trials, tasting groups, judging wine competitions, or cellar visits, the numbers can add up. There are more days than not when I do not need to assess a drop. I think that it is misunderstood that when I do assess wines, I am drinking the wines when, in fact, I am smelling and tasting the wine, not swallowing the wine. Why? Well, because if I didn’t, I could be blotto by mid-morning, and how responsible is that?
So what does it mean to taste as opposed to consume? The allure of wine in the glass is the time you spend enjoying its aroma and tastes. There are also the intoxicating effects of the alcohol, but I do not need to feel that when I am working. There is a time and a place, and I reserve that for the appropriate times.
So how do you do it, taste and not consume? I spit. That’s right, I spit the wine instead of swallowing it. It’s not hard in practice, but rather, I find it is very hard for the uninitiated. Spitting is something we all have done and will continue to do; you know how to. When I judge at wine competitions, I can assess up to 100 wines in a day. I will judge the wines based on their aromas and then sip the wine to assess the flavor, structure, and body of the wine. Then I spit that sip into a spit cup, and when that spit cup needs it, I dump it into the dump bucket. It is the only way I can maintain my focus and sobriety to do my job as a judge, as a winemaker, and as a guest in a tasting room.
I am in no way telling you that you should not drink wine- quite the opposite. What I would suggest is that the next time you head out on the wine trail, you start to implement the technique that the pros use. You will still get the pleasure of the wine, the smells, tastes, and textures, but you will be fresher and more lucid for the next visit and the one after that. You will be safer on the road when you drive to the next winery. You will begin to remember more about the wines you tasted and how they made your senses feel.
Do not feel that you will offend us if you ask us for a spit cup or dump bucket. We have them, and we understand why you would need them. In fact, we might mistake you for an industry insider.
