Some talk on the net today about the phenomenon of “supertasters”. Called such for their super tongues which are endowed with more taste buds at the front. I read about it first at vinography but it trails back to an article in the NY Sun. It seams that 20 to 25% of the population are supertasters. The Sun article is more about the fact that with the rise in new, citizen media (blogs, podcasts, etc) some “professional” wine critics are claiming the status of supertasters to discern themselves from us less genetically advanced folk.
Apparently, the extra tastebuds make you more sensitive to bitter tastes. I wouldn’t mind this trait in someone telling not to buy a case on the verge expiration but how does this help with good wines?
You can test yourself with this pdf here. I’ll let you know if i’m a chosen one once i’ve done the test.
Archive for the ‘Krinklewood’ Category
There are Supertasters Among Us
Friday, July 21st, 2006OWS#10: Zinfandel
Thursday, July 6th, 2006OWS#10 is all about Zinfandel – the who, the what, the why. A side note of the show is the reasoning behind wineries putting out two versions of a single varietal wine.
Zinfandel is a big boy amongst grapes grown in the States but it doesn’t get much airplay in Oz. Join Hugo and Mick as they taste two fine Australian offerings. Both are from Kangarilla Road of McLaren Vale in South Australia – 2004 Fleurieu Zinfandel (A$17) and the 2004 McLaren Vale Zinfandel (A$30).
OWS#9: Sydney Royal Wine Show (Part 2)
Thursday, May 18th, 2006OWS#9 brings the final episode in the Sydney Royal Wine Show twin-pack. Probably our biggest show yet! There’s 3 interviews and 2 bottle reviews and I must apologise for the delay. It takes hours and hours to get everything together.
I probably should have split it into three smaller chunks and released them more regularly. What do people think?
1:30 First up is James Halliday, a prolific Australian wine writer and nice chap to boot.
11:20 Secondly was an interview with Matthew Jukes who seems to have a toe in most forms of wine media in the UK. Check out his site at www.matthewjukes.com.
14:30 The last interview is with Lindsay McCall of Paringa Estate Wines situated on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Very nice guy who, along with his wife Margaret, produces some great wines. Check out their website at www.paringaestate.com.au.
22:30 Tastings include the Thorn-Clarke 2004 Shotfire Ridge Shiraz and Houghton’s 2001 Pemberton Chardonnay Pinot Noir.
Cheers
Hugo and Mick
OWS#8: Sydney Royal Wine Show (Part 1) – Jukes, Halliday and a Few Tastings
Saturday, March 25th, 2006Mick and Hugo attended the 2006 Sydney Royal Wine Show last month and recorded a few speeches, interviews and trophy tastings. The event is enormous and very professional and we must thank Anita Solentic for giving us the royal treatment while we were there. Full show results are available by clicking here.
This podcast includes two speeches given on the presentation day by Matthew Jukes and James Halliday about the show’s results and Australian wine in general.
2:45 – Guest international judge Matthew Jukes gives his views on the state of Australian wine in 2006.
9:00 – Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 1994 won the trophy for “best white table wineâ€. A legendary bottle well worth familiarising yourself with as a benchmark Hunter Semillon.
11:30 – McWilliams’ 1998 Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon won “best white table wine (in previous vintages)â€.
13:35 – Head judge of the show, and well respected critic, James Halliday gives a short speech regarding his conclusions on the winners.
16:50 – Leasingham’s Classic Clare Riesling 2005 won “best young white wineâ€. The link only gives notes to the 1995 release for some reason.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
OWS#5: Size & Shape – The Riedel Glass Interview
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006OWS#5 features an interview with Mark Baulderstone who is Vice President of Riedel Glass for Asia Pacific and Middle East. Listen in for an in depth tasting of the same wine from three different glasses. I must say i went in hoping to get scientific answers but was so blown away by the different experience each glass presented that i ended up sitting back and going along for the ride. So sit yourself down, grab some glasses resembling those pictured below, pop a nice bot and taste along to see for yourself.
With over 150 different wine glasses in their range, you might be surprised to hear Mark say that you can cover most variety bases with just 3 or 4 glasses. This was very comforting to me (as well as my bank balance) but it’s still nice to know that you can go the extra mile if so desired.
We used three glasses from Riedel’s Vinum Series which would cover most varietal needs on a day to day basis, they were the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux) and Burgundy glasses.
The wines are both from Kim Crawford Wines of New Zealand;
That’s it for this episode.
All the best
Hugo & Mick
OWS#3: Interview with Matt Gant of St Hallett
Tuesday, November 1st, 2005OWS#3 features an interview with Matt Gant, “Australian Young Wine Maker of the Year†for 2004. Matt is part of the St Hallett team in the Barossa, South Australia and has an interesting story of how he ended up where he is today (a thousand miles from the UK).
We crack a bottle of Matt’s superb 2003 Faith Shiraz and found out some philosophies behind it.
All the best
Hugo & Mick
OWS#2: Hunter Valley Review, How to Taste & New World vs Old World
Saturday, October 22nd, 2005OWS#2 features a review of one of Australia’s largest wine producing regions, an explanation of what to do a look for when tasting wine and a discussion of the “new world versus old world” wine debate.
Intro:
News:
Features:
All the best
Hugo & Mick