Those seeking to give wine as gifts during the holiday season often are influenced in their selections by comments on the subject from writers whose taste buds seem to be in a world of their own, judging from some of their descriptions of fermented grape juices that pass through their palates, finds Grumpy Editor.
Most of the descriptions by wine writers sound like they should appear in recipes found in newspaper or magazine food sections. Other reviews, with references to minerals, seem like they should get the attention of chemists.
Note one writer’s portrayal of a merlot from the Tuscan Coast of northern Italy:
“The wine seems a bit restrained at first, but then opens up with a barrage of crushed red cherries, black pepper, marinara sauce, loganberry juice, ripe elderberry fruit, spice box, chewing tobacco and rustic earth-driven minerals.”
Black pepper teamed with marinara sauce, chewing tobacco and earth-driven minerals?
That combination triggers thoughts of a quick visit to the emergency room.
But there is more.
“It is a nice mouthful of a wine on the palate with juicy black spicy fruit, peppercorns, tobacco, cherry juice, huckleberry sauce, ripe black plums, toast points and loads of chewy minerals.”
Chewy minerals give visions of a fast trip to the dentist.
A simple description of merlot can be summed up in one line:
A fruitful red wine, blended with other grapes, for a flavor with hints of plums and cherries.
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