Tasting wine
Whether it’s about recalling the shape of the bottle, the interesting label, the name and producer of the wine, the region, country and vintage — a good wine taster would know it all. In time, a good taster will build an extensive memory bank of information with a growing store of wine details.
Men are often fantastic at memorising all the great vintages for regions such as Bordeaux and more.
Apart from building a wine memory, one must be able to articulate how these wines taste. This is where women are generally superior. Most women are precise tasters and possess a wide range of vocabulary to describe flavours. Their descriptions are spontaneous, rich and varied, arising from their love for food, ingredients and smells from the kitchen.
The general perception about men would be that they know more about alcohol due to the frequent exposure to it during social and work obligations. Men tend to divert all their focus on peripheral, technical details like recalling brand names and various facts attached to it without stressing more on what the wine actually tastes like. Women, on the other hand, will talk about a wine they had nights ago with a lot of interest and excitement, would describe the experience with impeccable clarity but may sometimes leave out details of the wine, including its name.
However, being a good taster at a professional level is something completely different. It is about knowing one’s own palate, biases and weaknesses and being able to keep them aside while tasting.
It is about coping with the fatigue in large tastings and knowing when and how to refresh one’s palate. It is also about having an open mindedness with the ability to understand, evaluate the quality of the wine, regardless of style.
Why then is the male-female ratio so skewed in the wine industry? Here are a few answers to that:
Men have traditionally been the dominant force in the industry
Same reason as in every other industry — we’re still getting over decades of gender discrimination
Men are more willing to voice their opinions, and less afraid that they will be wrong
The writer is managing director, Myra Vineyards
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