To start the conversation I would like you to come along with me to my great friend and wine teacher, Joe Gallo’s house. As you cross the threshold into Joe’s house you are swept away to another land. Perhaps it could be Rome, Montalcino or even Barolo. Wait a second, turn on that Josh Groban song….ok, now you can continue…. The reality is far more jarring, you are in Buffalo, NY, but you would never know it in this vinous and culinary refuge. Joe’s house is one of the FEW places in the world that can totally encompass me, sweep me off of my feet and remove thoughts of EVERYTHING else in the world.
As you walk in towards the tasting room, brick walls line a small bistro with shelves full of wine glasses sparkling like diamonds on a beautiful woman’s neck. The scent of espresso lightly fills the air, and the soft light caresses you as Joe gets one of the first bottles of the night. Joe returns with a beautiful decanter full of wine having hidden its bottle hidden in the other room. We start with blind tasting in the bistro. A neutral look at a wine that serves as a palate calibration as well as test of wine chops for those involved. As I warm up with the wine, I go through the steps of blind tasting and eventually pin down the wine. “Rioja”, I answer. ”Joe, you’re not going to trick me into thinking this is Bordeaux again, the alcohol and acid are a touch too high.” You can see a joy in Joe as his passion has not only been put into his house, but into sharing his knowledge and domain with others. The successes of his students are his successes as a teacher. As we pass through black drapes into the dark tasting room, a long table set with 6 Riedel stems awaits each position. 6 bottles of wine stand next to one another on the table behind Joe, each hoping to be the wine of the night. Soft orange salt rock candles cast dancing beams of orange light that refract off the crystal in every direction, seemingly daccing with the rich mahogany and tuscan beiges that adorn the room. Plates of cured meats, bread and hard cheese sit paired with the best olive oil and balsamics to be found. Sculptures and small fountains adorn the upper levels of the wall around the room. Every detail has been accounted for. At the far end of the room is a beautiful glowing wine cellar set behind double doors, above which glass sculptures of vines set between the panels stand as ambassadors to the treasures that lie within. The cellar, built just large enough to hold about as much wine as a man could drink in a 5-6 years at a pace of a bottle a day is not the focus. Although the cellar is stunning, the focus of the design lies on the room where the wine will be consumed.
Objectivity and Subjectivity
Now lets take a detour from our romantic walk through Joe’s cellar and talk about objectivity in regard to the enjoyment of wine. Wine is, for the most, part an objective experience. The objective parts of wine include, texture, length, aromatic intensity, aromatic complexity, flavor intensity, flavor complexity, acid, alcohol, tannin, color, concentration and balance. These are real physical attributes of a wine, which are all quantifiable. Perhaps you will find people arguing over relative differences in one of these things, but the reality is that they are drinking the same wine. There is a right and a wrong. What’s going on in situations like these is a difference in perception, and yes that means someone is wrong (oftentimes its me when tasting with Joe!). Another way to validate objectivity in wine is through the process of blind tasting, which would not be possible if there were not concrete elements of a wine that tell of their place and method of production.
I know you want to get back to Joe’s cellar but before we do we need to move on to the counter point of objectivity, subjectivity. What is subjective in wine? Certainly the way in which we describe what we smell and taste is subjective. When you inhale, the aromatic compounds travel to your brain and from here your brain plays a game of association. For example if you have never smelled a black currant, but have had a black cherry you are very likely to describe a wine that smells of black currant as black cherry. There is no wrong here. It is simply our way of relating a wine to something we associate it with. Im not done with subjectivity yet but lets get back to wine cellar.
A pinot bowl lies in front of you, filled with garnet colored 2001 Sandrone Le Vigne Barolo. You swirl the wine, aromas of tar, roses, cherry, truffle and cinnamon demand your attention. The subjective aromas and their emotional impact on you are the focus of your attention in this room. The low light brings comfort as you sit in your warm sweater in the cool cellar. The wine is speaking to you, set amidst an atmosphere where IT is the focus. Bocelli hits a note and all is right in the world. STOP!
So far we have described a wine experience as it should be, now lets take the same wine, same glass, now were in your kitchen, competing aromas of food being cooked, Bocelli took a break, and your kids are screaming. Does the wine taste the same, Does it smell the same? Maybe, but probably not, it is still the same wine though, you’re just not able to listen to it. What changed? The environment. The wine is no longer the focus.
I believe that we are prone to environmental responses when it comes to the enjoyment of wine. There is never complete objectivity or control over our perception of a wine. Perhaps you had a bad day, or have a cold you can barely notice. All of these things affect our enjoyment of a wine on an subconscious level. They are the surprises and fluctuations of life and are for the most part uncontrollable.
So what can we consistently control to maximize the enjoyment of a wine through increasing our perception of the objective and subjective elements of a wine? The answer as you have guessed is the environment in which it is drank in. People spend thousands of dollars on wine and wine cellars, and far too few spend the money creating the optimal environment to drink the wine. By creating proper environments to enjoy wine, we need to increase our ability to be receptive to the wine. After all you just spent $50,000 on wine. As Joe famously said, “listen to the wine for it is the only one who knows what it is saying.” And what better way to do that than to hand it a megaphone.
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