https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tastingen-USTelligent Community 13https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tastingTue, 06 Jan 2026 22:51:46 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27Stacy Ladenburgerhttps://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting#commentsCurrent Revision posted to Expert Guides by Stacy Ladenburger on 1/6/2026 10:51:46 PM<br /> <div class="paywall-restricted"><div class="base"><a name="top"></a> <div class="box1_home3" style="text-align:justify;">Written by GuildSomm, Scientific Topics Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Goode, PhD</div> <div class="box1_home4">We observe what we are prepared to observe. <br /><span class="box1_h4_a">&ndash; Louis Pasteur</span></div> <div class="box1_home7">Introduction</div> <div class="box1_home5_a">Tasting skill is integral to the sommelier profession. Buying positions necessitate analysis of value through tasting, and positions on the floor require effective communication of a wine&rsquo;s qualities. Happily, tasting is a learned skill; it is honed and practiced rather than innate. Inexperienced tasters may find every avenue of excuse&mdash;physiological and otherwise&mdash;to deter advancement, and progress may seem frustratingly slow in the beginning. Throughout their course of study, however, sommeliers will taste thousands of wines, and with some work a useful understanding of the language of taste eventually emerges. And when learning the language of taste, tasting blind is an important practice. <br /><br />Why? One notable (and highly visible) importer disregards the practice, diminishing it as &ldquo;irrelevant prowess&hellip;hardly a skill that will be put to use in a wine career,&rdquo; before backpedalling slightly, and admitting that it may be as useful as playing scales&mdash;though hardly the equivalent of real music. Of course, blind tasting is frequently less helpful to those with wine (stories) to sell, but enormously important to those who buy based on innate quality. Blind tasting allows one to interpret quality absent the noise of reputation. Expectation changes the experience. When blind tasting, one learns how to describe a wine as it is, not as it should be. Of course, a good sommelier understands the classic wine profiles of the world, and therefore can link what appears in the glass to an appropriate, logical conclusion. Learning to aptly describe wine, in a way that can be meaningfully conveyed to others, is the core value of blind tasting. The conclusions&mdash;grape variety, region, vintage&mdash;are just logical aftermath.<br /><br />This is not to suggest that all tasting exercises should be blind. In the</div></div></div><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.restricted', { contentId: 'f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27' }); }); }); </script><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.displayPopup', { }); }); }); </script><div style="clear:both;"></div> <div style="font-size: 90%;">Tags: Preview</div> https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting/revision/3Tue, 18 Jun 2024 15:26:11 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27GuildSomm Adminhttps://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting#commentsRevision 3 posted to Expert Guides by GuildSomm Admin on 6/18/2024 3:26:11 PM<br /> <div class="paywall-restricted"><div class="base"><a name="top"></a> <div class="box1_home3" style="text-align:justify;">Written by GuildSomm, Scientific Topics Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Goode, PhD</div> <div class="box1_home4">We observe what we are prepared to observe. <br /><span class="box1_h4_a">&ndash; Louis Pasteur</span></div> <div class="box1_home7">Introduction</div> <div class="box1_home5_a">Tasting skill is integral to the sommelier profession. Buying positions necessitate analysis of value through tasting, and positions on the floor require effective communication of a wine&rsquo;s qualities. Happily, tasting is a learned skill; it is honed and practiced rather than innate. Inexperienced tasters may find every avenue of excuse&mdash;physiological and otherwise&mdash;to deter advancement, and progress may seem frustratingly slow in the beginning. Throughout their course of study, however, sommeliers will taste thousands of wines, and with some work a useful understanding of the language of taste eventually emerges. And when learning the language of taste, tasting blind is an important practice. <br /><br />Why? One notable (and highly visible) importer disregards the practice, diminishing it as &ldquo;irrelevant prowess&hellip;hardly a skill that will be put to use in a wine career,&rdquo; before backpedalling slightly, and admitting that it may be as useful as playing scales&mdash;though hardly the equivalent of real music. Of course, blind tasting is frequently less helpful to those with wine (stories) to sell, but enormously important to those who buy based on innate quality. Blind tasting allows one to interpret quality absent the noise of reputation. Expectation changes the experience. When blind tasting, one learns how to describe a wine as it is, not as it should be. Of course, a good sommelier understands the classic wine profiles of the world, and therefore can link what appears in the glass to an appropriate, logical conclusion. Learning to aptly describe wine, in a way that can be meaningfully conveyed to others, is the core value of blind tasting. The conclusions&mdash;grape variety, region, vintage&mdash;are just logical aftermath.<br /><br />This is not to suggest that all tasting exercises should be blind. In the</div></div></div><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.restricted', { contentId: 'f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27' }); }); }); </script><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.displayPopup', { }); }); }); </script><div style="clear:both;"></div> https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting/revision/2Mon, 03 May 2021 16:26:19 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27GuildSomm Adminhttps://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting#commentsRevision 2 posted to Expert Guides by GuildSomm Admin on 5/3/2021 4:26:19 PM<br /> <div class="paywall-restricted"><div class="base"><a name="top"></a> <div class="box1_home3" style="text-align:justify;">Written by GuildSomm, Scientific Topics Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Goode, PhD</div> <div class="box1_home4">We observe what we are prepared to observe. <br /><span class="box1_h4_a">&ndash; Louis Pasteur</span></div> <div class="box1_home7">Introduction</div> <div class="box1_home5_a">Tasting skill is integral to the sommelier profession. Buying positions necessitate analysis of value through tasting, and positions on the floor require effective communication of a wine&rsquo;s qualities. Happily, tasting is a learned skill; it is honed and practiced rather than innate. Inexperienced tasters may find every avenue of excuse&mdash;physiological and otherwise&mdash;to deter advancement, and progress may seem frustratingly slow in the beginning. Throughout their course of study, however, sommeliers will taste thousands of wines, and with some work a useful understanding of the language of taste eventually emerges. And when learning the language of taste, tasting blind is an important practice. <br /><br />Why? One notable (and highly visible) importer disregards the practice, diminishing it as &ldquo;irrelevant prowess&hellip;hardly a skill that will be put to use in a wine career,&rdquo; before backpedalling slightly, and admitting that it may be as useful as playing scales&mdash;though hardly the equivalent of real music. Of course, blind tasting is frequently less helpful to those with wine (stories) to sell, but enormously important to those who buy based on innate quality. Blind tasting allows one to interpret quality absent the noise of reputation. Expectation changes the experience. When blind tasting, one learns how to describe a wine as it is, not as it should be. Of course, a good sommelier understands the classic wine profiles of the world, and therefore can link what appears in the glass to an appropriate, logical conclusion. Learning to aptly describe wine, in a way that can be meaningfully conveyed to others, is the core value of blind tasting. The conclusions&mdash;grape variety, region, vintage&mdash;are just logical aftermath.<br /><br />This is not to suggest that all tasting exercises should be blind. In the</div></div></div><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.restricted', { contentId: 'f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27' }); }); }); </script><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.displayPopup', { }); }); }); </script><div style="clear:both;"></div> https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting/revision/1Tue, 29 Sep 2020 12:55:45 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27GuildSomm Adminhttps://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2441/the-science-of-tasting#commentsRevision 1 posted to Expert Guides by GuildSomm Admin on 9/29/2020 12:55:45 PM<br /> <div class="paywall-restricted"><div class="base"><a name="top"></a> <div class="box1_home3" style="text-align:justify;">Written by GuildSomm, Scientific Topics Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Goode, PhD</div> <div class="box1_home4">We observe what we are prepared to observe. <br /><span class="box1_h4_a">&ndash; Louis Pasteur</span></div> <div class="box1_home7">Introduction</div> <div class="box1_home5_a">Tasting skill is integral to the sommelier profession. Buying positions necessitate analysis of value through tasting, and positions on the floor require effective communication of a wine&rsquo;s qualities. Happily, tasting is a learned skill; it is honed and practiced rather than innate. Inexperienced tasters may find every avenue of excuse&mdash;physiological and otherwise&mdash;to deter advancement, and progress may seem frustratingly slow in the beginning. Throughout their course of study, however, sommeliers will taste thousands of wines, and with some work a useful understanding of the language of taste eventually emerges. And when learning the language of taste, tasting blind is an important practice. <br /><br />Why? One notable (and highly visible) importer disregards the practice, diminishing it as &ldquo;irrelevant prowess&hellip;hardly a skill that will be put to use in a wine career,&rdquo; before backpedalling slightly, and admitting that it may be as useful as playing scales&mdash;though hardly the equivalent of real music. Of course, blind tasting is frequently less helpful to those with wine (stories) to sell, but enormously important to those who buy based on innate quality. Blind tasting allows one to interpret quality absent the noise of reputation. Expectation changes the experience. When blind tasting, one learns how to describe a wine as it is, not as it should be. Of course, a good sommelier understands the classic wine profiles of the world, and therefore can link what appears in the glass to an appropriate, logical conclusion. Learning to aptly describe wine, in a way that can be meaningfully conveyed to others, is the core value of blind tasting. The conclusions&mdash;grape variety, region, vintage&mdash;are just logical aftermath.<br /><br />This is not to suggest that all tasting exercises should be blind. In the</div></div></div><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.restricted', { contentId: 'f66b6ea1-9174-4926-a8d7-517d07c65e27' }); }); }); </script><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(function(){ jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.subscribe('paywall.ready', function (data) { jQuery.telligent.evolution.messaging.publish('paywall.displayPopup', { }); }); }); </script><div style="clear:both;"></div>