It's called a wine taster. What is the name of a person who tastes wine? Characteristic aromas of wines

I didn’t ask it because the answer seemed intuitive to me. But let's try to bring some clarity to this issue.

People of all the listed professions work with wine and are to a certain extent similar, but at a high level they are generally little distinguishable from each other. Nevertheless, the significant differences between them are: the main professional activity, the most important area of ​​​​knowledge and the employer.

Let's start with sommelier, as with the most popular and well-known term. Usually they refer to a restaurant employee with a wine list, responsible for selecting an assortment of wines, recommending them to the client and serving them according to etiquette. In fact, a sommelier is a specialized wine waiter who may also be assigned some additional functions. There are no such thing as “freelance” sommeliers. Sommelier is restaurant worker and this is important, as we will understand later. The main area of ​​knowledge that a sommelier must master impeccably is not so much the wine itself, but wine etiquette, rules for presenting wine to the client, uncorking the bottle, decanting and pouring wine into glasses. Wine tasting skills are necessary for the sommelier, first of all, to identify defects and diseases of the wine, and to check the safety of the bottle served to the client. Of course, a high-class sommelier does not stop there, often accumulating quite significant experience in wine tasting and quite extensive general knowledge about wine. However, a beginner in this profession may well have only the most basic skills.

Unlike a sommelier, cavist You don’t have to know how to properly uncork a bottle or remove the sediment from wine. Having appeared in the vocabulary of wine lovers relatively recently, the name of this profession is still not very familiar to the general public. This word is usually used to describe specialists working in wine boutiques and large wine departments of large stores, sales consultants with a narrow specialization, knowledgeable in wine and other elite alcohol. The unit with which the cavist operates is the bottle, not the glass. Cavist is focused on sales, on creating a sustainable interest among the buyer in visiting a given boutique, the so-called buyer loyalty. The tasting experience of a cavist is much less important than that of a sommelier; it is much more important to have in-depth knowledge of types of wines sold, countries and regions of production, best years, various ratings and other wine awards. Typically, a much more sophisticated buyer comes to boutiques than to a convenience store, and when choosing wine and asking a store employee for advice, the client expects to hear a professional justification for the recommendation. Just as in the case of a sommelier, a cavist is a person intent on communicating with the client; it is very important for him to be able to smoothly, clearly and interestingly present his knowledge, evaluate and adapt to the client’s level. Just like a sommelier, a cavist is not a “free shooter”, he is an employee of the store. Often it also determines or significantly influences the range of wines presented on the shelves.

Does something completely different taster. His working tool is a glass. Its task is to assess the current level of quality, the state of the wine or wine material at the moment, analyze and compare the taste and aroma with the reference ones stored in the taster’s memory. It is the memory of smells and tastes that is its distinguishing feature. The taster should not and in most cases does not know the ritual of serving wine in a restaurant and may be completely ignorant of the prices of certain wines at a certain point in time. His memory is not required to contain data on the type of soil on the right bank of the Garonne or the value of the Juglin temperature index for Frenchhook. But ability to identify as many wine problems as possible on the contrary, it is absolutely necessary at the earliest possible stage. The taster's place of work is either winery(for example, the Campo Viejo winery has a whole staff of its own tasters who constantly monitor and adjust the entire production process), or certification body wine industry. A high-class specialist in this profession also perfectly knows the patterns of changes in the organoleptic properties of wine during various technological operations, and is also able to give forecasts and recommendations on the possible aging of wine in various types of containers. Unlike the two previous professions, a taster can be a freelancer: he came, tasted, issued a conclusion, and moved to another production.

The difference between a taster and wine critic noticeably thinner. It lies mainly in the plane of publicity. A wine critic is essentially an independent taster whose main task is to evaluate the finished result, the wine that goes on sale. A wine critic, unlike a taster, is oriented not inside the process, not towards the winemaker, but towards the buyer. In addition to the glass, his working tool is a pen, fountain pen or keyboard. Critic as taster evaluates wines, but at the end it gives not a formal conclusion about the current state of the sample, but an assessment of the level, often a verbal portrait of the taste and aromatic bouquet, the comparative position of this particular wine relative to other wines, both from the same region and in general. The critic lives by publishing books, writing articles about wine, publishing wine ratings, by holding master classes and open tastings. Wine critic always self employed or an employee of a company not directly related to wine production, simply because a significant part of the public immediately suspects a “pocket” critic of any specific winery of bias and bias, and therefore ceases to take his opinion into account. A wine critic's assessment is subjective. Even a perfectly healthy wine, made with perfect quality, may not receive the highest rating from a critic, simply because the wine is not rich enough or is atypical for the declared grape variety, uncharacteristic of its region and does not demonstrate a high level. No matter how much one would like it, the work and assessment of a critic always bears some personal character, some style. Therefore, it is very important for the end consumer of wine to determine for himself to what extent he personally coincides in his tastes and preferences with this or that critic and make appropriate adjustments when using his recommendations. For their part, critics, in order to reduce the influence of this factor, taste many wines “blindly,” that is, they evaluate them among others, without knowing either names or prices.

The quality of wine is assessed by specialist tasters, guided by a certain set of rules developed over more than one century - during the time that winemaking has existed on earth. The taster determines not only the taste of the wine, but also its color, texture, and aroma. Before tasting wine, you should not eat chocolate, drink coffee, or smoke. All this can affect the perception of the taste characteristics of the wine, and then the assessment of the quality of grape wines (as well as all others) will be incorrect.

According to professional terminology, wine tasting is a sensory and emotional assessment of the qualities of the product under study through contemplation, smell and taste.

Many of you have probably attended various events that included wine tasting. Well, for those who have not yet had a chance to attend this amazing event, just a few words about what wines the tasting begins with and what they end with.

This knowledge will be useful to you if, even for a small number of guests invited to your house, you prepare different types of wine.

How to properly conduct a wine tasting

Before tasting wine correctly, one cannot help but remember the well-known saying: “There are no comrades for taste and color.” In relation to wine tasting, it can be rephrased in more professional language - tasting, perception and evaluation of the taste qualities of wines is a purely individual area, all people feel and interpret their sensations differently.

Therefore, the final choice of priority wines will always be solely your personal choice, since we are now talking not about professional, but about home tasting.

According to the rules of wine tasting, we start with simple drinks, gradually moving on to more complex ones. First they try white wines, then red ones. From tasting dry wines they move on to fortified sweet ones. First they try young wines, then more mature ones. And, accordingly, they move from less strong wines to stronger wines. It’s not for nothing that people have the expression: “Drink with increasing degrees.”

This is a simple sequence of wine tasting.

Even before you have a wine tasting, take care of the right wine glasses. Their shape, the glass from which it is made, the height of the leg, etc. play an important role in revealing the bouquet and taste of wines.

The “king” of wine glasses is a tulip-shaped glass, the bowl of which is made of thin crystal of good quality and a high degree of transparency. The stem of a wine glass should be long, thin and graceful, corresponding in height to approximately the average length of the hand.

Such criteria for the shape of a wine glass will allow you to fully not only enjoy the taste of the drink, but also admire the thick wine seductively flowing down the walls of the crystal glass, get maximum information about it, remember this miracle in the glass and the impression received from the tasting .

Rules and photos of wine tasting

There are a number of rules for wine tasting, without which it is impossible to determine the quality of the drink. First, it is important to remember that you should only hold a wine glass by the stem, not by the bowl. There are a number of reasons for this.

1. The wine will slowly warm up to the temperature of your hand. This is the difference between tasting wine and cognac, the glass of which, on the contrary, must be held in your hand by the bowl, warming this drink as much as possible.

2. Due to the difference in body temperature and the glass of wine you are holding in your hands, fingerprints remain on the glass - this is an unpleasant sight that reduces the impression of tasting drinks.

3. During tasting, you need to look at the wine with love, carefully rotating the glass by the stem. And if you twist the glass by the bowl, there is a high probability of spilling wine on yourself, ruining your clothes and mood.

It would not be superfluous to remind you that wine glasses must be perfectly clean, well washed from stains and odors and, which is extremely important, thoroughly rinsed under running water, since the remnants of a detergent or simply its smell can completely distort the taste of the wine, or even simply ruin it. his.

The next important requirement for a wine glass is that it must be wiped dry and thoroughly polished with a fresh cotton kitchen towel without any fibers in the fabric.

As you can see in the wine tasting photo, the glass simply must be perfectly shiny and transparent.

To feel the bouquet of wine and enjoy its aroma, you should slightly rotate the glass to the sides, holding it by the stem, so you need to pour the drink no more than one third of the volume of the glass.

Remember a few more useful rules that will help you identify defects in wine.

1. Wine that has a musty smell, which means it was prepared in violation of technology or spoiled during storage, as a rule, has a very unpleasant taste.

2. The same can be said if you choose a low-quality cork for sealing wine - if, when you bring the glass to your nose, you clearly feel the characteristic taste of the cork, then the taste of the wine will also be unpleasant.

3. Excess sulfur, which also happens when wine preparation technology is violated, gives the drink a rotten hue and a characteristic smell of garlic.

4. White wine, oversaturated with oxygen, will have an acetic-sour taste, reminiscent of ascorbic acid, and red wine with the same problem will acquire the taste of spoiled fruit preserved in alcohol.

5. Excess alcohol in wine will give a burning sensation in the mouth, which is incompatible with the taste of wine.

6. Excessive sugar content will create an imbalance in the drink and give the wine an intrusive and heavy cloying taste, making it look like a hastily prepared liqueur.

7. If the wine preparation technology was violated because the tannins in it were not matured enough, then the young wine will have an overtly bitter taste, and older wines will acquire a dryish taste, which will deprive the drink of all its charm.

It is curious that the same type of wine can be perceived differently depending on many external factors: the natural season, time of day, color of the walls, lighting and temperature in the room where the tasting takes place. Also, a purely human factor plays an important role - the mood and well-being of the taster, as well as the food that he took shortly before tasting the wine.

In order to fully reveal the bouquet and aroma of the drink, it is not recommended to smoke during tasting, and to use perfume before starting.

Wine tasting is carried out in several stages, at each of which the appearance, aroma, texture and taste are successively assessed.

Determining color is an assessment of the appearance and first impression of a wine.

The wine should be viewed against a light background. The ideal option for a white background would be a white tablecloth or a regular white sheet of paper.

The wine glass should be held vertically by the stem, after which you should tilt the glass away from you and carefully examine the shades.

Young red wine usually has a bright color with a slight purple or crimson tint, which may change later.

Young white wines can range from completely colorless to light yellow or light greenish. More mature wines take on an amber hue.

The intensity of the color shade of a wine depends on many reasons, but mostly on the grape variety.

Transparency- another important indicator for wine. The wine should not have sediment or bubbles. A cloudy shade with a suspension of small particles of grapes is considered a wine defect.

Fluidity- this is an indicator by which the structure and viscosity of wine is judged. Fluidity can be easily determined by rotating the wine glass in a circular motion. The wine will flow down the walls of the glass to its original level, leaving so-called “legs” behind it.

Experts believe that the more there are and the longer they slide, the thicker the wine. But it is better to determine the structure of a wine not just visually, but in the mouth, during direct tasting.

Effervescence- another characteristic of sparkling wines. In other words, this is the size and activity of the movement of bubbles that rise from the bottom of the glass. The higher the quality of the wine, the smaller in size and more intense the movement of carbon dioxide bubbles.

Characteristic aromas of wines

The olfactory assessment of wine is the most crucial moment of tasting, since it is the notes of aroma that contribute to the formation of taste sensations.
Also at this stage, the persistence of the aroma is determined, which comes to life and reveals itself even more when the glass is rotated in the hand.

Wine aromas are divided into three main groups.

Primary aromas- they are distinguished by a feature inherent in the grape variety from which the wine is made.

Secondary flavors arise from alcoholic fermentation as a result of fermentation of wort. They are more noticeable in young wines.

Tertiary- these are the characteristic aromas of wines that the drink acquires during aging and after fermentation is complete (in a barrel or bottle).

Taste assessment of wine involves not only determining the taste, but also perceiving the structure and consistency of the wine.

Receptors on the tongue, located in different parts of the tongue, are able to distinguish four basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour and salty.

Astringency- this is a determination of the astringent properties of wine. This indicator mainly applies to red wines, which contain tannins.

Aftertaste- the final chord of the tasting. This is the totality of aromatic sensations and residual taste. It is believed that the longer the aftertaste is felt, the better the quality of the wine.

Tasting a particular product is a delicate and specific process. The term itself means evaluating the taste of a particular dish or drink. For example, when a specialist tastes wine, comparing different varieties and types, he must take a sip, hold it in his mouth until the liquid mixes with saliva, and the examiner recognizes all the subtleties of the flavor bouquet, and then spits it out. It should be clarified that a professional tasting is akin to a theatrical performance and is associated with various kinds of accessories.

Some terminology

As mentioned above, a wine taster is a specialist who evaluates a given type of drink according to various indicators: taste and aromatic bouquet, strength, color parameters. Therefore, he should not be confused with professionals in related industries: oenologists and sommeliers. An oenologist is a specialist in the field of technological processes of winemaking, an expert in wine production. And the sommelier draws up a wine list and selects wines to pair with certain dishes.

Necessary little things

A wine taster, when starting the process, must know some of the subtleties that distinguish a pro from an amateur.

• For example, if you need to evaluate several drinks at once, this should be done according to this principle: first try white, light wines, then dark, red ones. Between sweet and dry, the latter are skipped forward. By age, priority in samples is given to the young, followed by the more seasoned ones. And, naturally, the tasting by strength also increases.
• The taster must also pay attention to the shape of the glass. By the way, the wine is not tasted from an ordinary glass. The leg should be high, equal in length to the hand. The glass is thin. In general, ideally, each type of drink should have its own glass. You need to hold it by the leg so that the liquid does not get warm from the heat of your hand. And the glass itself must be perfectly clean.
• A competent wine taster will pour the liquid exactly one-third so that it is convenient to rotate the glass to evaluate the aromatic bouquet.
• There are only three stages of testing. They go through 4 stages, which can be defined as follows: analyze the sensations received, describe them, compare them with those samples that have already been evaluated, and make your own “sentence” on the product.

Features of the profession

Wine taster is a profession that combines not only acquired skill, but also innate talent. According to statistics, only about 15% of people have such abilities. The profession requires special development of the senses, taste, visual and olfactory memory. And, of course, understanding and knowledge, fluency in specific terminology. A wine taster must know the name of each stage of the production process. What exactly happens to the drink, and how it will affect the final result. For example, a professional taster can tell quite correctly by smell, taste and color where the wine was produced, in what year and from what varieties of berries.

Do we teach tasting specifically? Unfortunately no. Courses can be organized at restaurants, bars, wine companies. must also specialize in this profession. A good specialist is highly valued and will always be in demand in his field.

Working with wine is exciting and unpredictable, new sensations, discoveries, the opportunity to taste interesting samples or create your own unique specimen, travel and talk about wines, or carefully pick ripe grapes and decide how many months the wine will spend in barrels.
For those who have decided to plunge professionally into the wine industry, The Drinks Business has compiled a TOP 10, which includes the best wine-related specialties.

10. Sommelier

A sommelier is well versed in the world of wine, understands the typology, regions and varieties of grapes, and also knows how to select wines for dishes. Typically, a sommelier works in a high-level restaurant, compiles a wine list, and is responsible for purchasing and storing wines.
The most famous and respected Master Sommelier (MS) qualification, but since similar courses are not offered in Russia, you can choose one of the prestigious sommelier schools.

9. Taster on board the plane

Ken Chase is a man of a unique profession; he works as a consultant for American Airlines. Ken tastes wines and selects those that are suitable for the “high-rise” menu.
Having an aviation education, he studied wine for a long time in Bordeaux, Germany and Italy, in this profession he combined his two hobbies.
Great work! Perhaps the vacancy of an “on-board taster” at Aeroflot is still available.

8. Owner of a wine brand

One of the most profitable and profitable professions, which is the top of the wine trade.

7. Work in the tasting room

Typically, a tasting room is located at a winery or near the vineyards, and the employee’s responsibilities include conducting tastings and assisting in choosing wine. And although the work is similar to that performed by a sommelier, it does not require such high qualifications and deep knowledge.
Russia cannot boast of the number of tasting rooms, but there are quite a lot of wine boutiques, especially in the capital, the work of a good wine specialist is comparable to working in a tasting room.

Usually the vineyard workers remain in the shadows, and we know nothing about them, but we remember the hard, manual labor, tanned brown hands and a motley line of workers among the vines.
During the harvest, many farms attract additional labor, giving everyone a chance to get involved in the creation of wine.

5. Liquor Store Owner

The life of a wine store owner is full of unpredictable changes: laws and rules of the game change, the market and tastes change. We need to take everything into account, predict and maneuver in order to stay afloat.

4. Wine Writer/Blogger/Journalist

Many wine lovers can write intelligently and competently about wines, but when they start getting paid for it, then we can talk about the profession of a wine writer or journalist. It happens that a wine blog becomes popular and brings not only satisfaction, but also profit.
In addition, writing provides the opportunity to travel the world, visiting and reporting on wine-producing countries.

The cellar master works side by side with the winemaker, overseeing the production of wine from the grapes arriving at the winery to the bottles being shipped to the customer or being stored. The cellar master can be called an assistant winemaker.

2. Vineyard owner

Being a vineyard owner means enjoying the fruits of your labor without delving into technical details.
For example, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased 500 hectares of vineyards in Provence in 2008 and, in partnership with Mark Perrin, released their first rosé wine in 2012. But it is unlikely that they have heard about radical tremors, the “bloodletting” method or carbon maceration.

1. Winemaker

Being a winemaker means being the center of the entire winemaking process, its heart and soul. The winemaker is the creator who decides all the issues: the time of harvest, how and where the fermentation process will take place, how long the aging in barrels lasts and their capacity, assemblage and much more. All in order to get the perfect wine.

A taster is a guarantor of the good quality of the products produced by the enterprise.
Each taster works in his own “genre”: someone evaluates perfume aromas, someone specializes in tea, someone in tobacco... He can evaluate both the raw materials and the finished product.

In winemaking, in the perfume industry, in enterprises selling blended tea or coffee, the help of a taster is needed both when purchasing raw materials, and when developing a new blend, and already during the production process.

A taster is a person who by nature has the ability to distinguish the subtlest nuances of taste and smell. According to statistics, no more than 15% of people have a natural ability for professional tasting.
Sensitivity cannot be taught, but if the abilities are there, they can be developed.
Tasters purposefully work on this, practicing the distinction between smells and tastes.

Shades of taste and smell need not only to be distinguished, but also to be remembered. Most of us distinguish the aroma of bird cherry from the smell of a leather briefcase. But not everyone can distinguish between bird cherry and lily of the valley. For a professional perfume taster this problem does not exist. He can easily distinguish flowers after rain from them on a hot day by smell.
The more tastes and aromas a taster has in his memory card, the more valuable he is as a specialist.
Moreover, he remembers many smells that he has to sort through during one tasting, compares them and can offer combination options.

The taster's qualifications, sensory memory and sensitivity develop over the years.
This applies to all tasters, including those who evaluate wine, coffee, tea, etc.
For example, an experienced wine taster can taste where and in what year it was made. This skill is not acquired in one year.

Tasting requires high concentration. Nothing should distract - neither unnecessary objects, nor conversations, nor too bright light, nor foreign smells. Moreover, the taster begins to prepare his receptors for tasting ahead of time: he avoids strong odors and dishes with a strong taste. Real tasters do not smoke, do not drink strong alcohol, which can reduce the sensitivity of receptors, and do not use perfume.

However, the task of the taster is not only to choose the best. He must analyze each taste and aroma, describe it and classify it, i.e. express feelings through a system of professional concepts. Without this, it is impossible to formulate what the disadvantages or advantages are and why these types of tea, wine or coffee should be combined when blending, and not others.

The taster also relies on sight, hearing, and sometimes touch. For example, when assessing tea leaves, he sniffs them, evaluates them by touch, and listens to their rustle. Then he looks closely at the color of the infusion, and only after that tastes it.

What are tasters afraid of?
The taster is a living person, like any mortal, he can get sick or for some other reason lose his sensitivity. Therefore, some specialists insure their abilities in case of loss.

For example, Gennaro Pellizzia, chief taster of the British coffee chain Costa Coffee, tasting raw coffee beans in the workshop before roasting and sending to retail outlets. In 2009, Gennaro insured his sensitive tongue for £10 million. He explained it this way: “Eighteen years of tasting experience allows me to distinguish thousands of aromas of coffee beans. In my work, taste buds and their sensitivity are decisive, allowing us to highlight defects in coffee beans.”
The insurance company found this approach very reasonable, because... “The taste buds of a coffee master are as important as the vocal cords of a tenor or the legs of a top model.”

But Dave Roberts is the company's chief coffee taster Nestle— in 2011, he insured his nose for £2 million. The fact is that he determines the quality of coffee beans and their place of origin by their aroma.

Workplace

Tasters work at enterprises producing food, tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and perfumes. Restaurants also employ tasters who determine the quality of purchased products.

Salary as of 10/14/2019

Moscow 25000—50000 ₽

Important qualities

The profession of a taster requires high sensitivity of receptors, primarily gustatory and olfactory, and a good memory for aromas and tastes.
The ability to concentrate and distribute attention and emotional stability are also important.

Knowledge and skills

The taster needs to know as much as possible about the products with which he works. For example, in order to be able to notice the slightest flaws in wine, a wine taster must understand grape varieties, know where they grow, and winemaking technology. He needs to understand how technological operations affect the taste of wine.
In this case, you need to be able to present the results of the study in a clear form of tasting (organoleptic) definitions.

Where to study to become a taster

Some manufacturers of food, beverages, tobacco, perfumes, etc. organize taster courses themselves.
As a rule, out of many students, only a few successfully complete all stages of training, receive an appropriate diploma and an invitation to work in a company.

Another way to master a profession is to graduate from a university with a degree in food, tobacco or perfume technologist. In this case, if you have tasting abilities, they can be successfully combined with technological knowledge.

In some countries, the taster must confirm his level of qualifications by passing a special certification commission.