c/wine-tasting-notes

Our corner spot's wine notes went from napkin scribbles to app screens

Back in the day, the wine shop by my place had Friday tastings that were super casual. The owner would just jot down thoughts on napkins, like 'fruity' or 'smooth', and we'd all chat. Now, they use this fancy app where you scan a code and get a whole paragraph of notes. I tried a white last month and the app said it had 'notes of citrus and minerality', but honestly, it just tasted crisp to me. It feels less personal now, like we're in a lab instead of a cozy shop. I get they wanna keep up, but I kinda miss the simple napkin days. Makes me wonder if wine notes need to be so high-tech.

Pro tip: Moldova's wine country changed my mind on reds

I toured Moldova's vineyards and their reds were deep and fruity, not tart like everyone claims. People often skip this area, but the wines here have a nice balance that bucks the trend. Have you ever had a wine surprise you while traveling?

DAE have a breakthrough moment with a relative over wine notes?

Last night, my usually quiet uncle visited and we shared a bottle of Zinfandel. He never talks much about wine, just drinks it. I mentioned getting a hint of raspberry and vanilla from it. To my surprise, he paused, took another sip, and said he caught the vanilla too, plus something like warm baking spices. We ended up chatting for an hour about the flavors and memories they brought up for him. It was the first real conversation we've had in years that wasn't just small talk. That little moment of connection over tasting notes meant a lot to me. It reminded me how sharing simple things can bring people closer. Now I'm thinking of doing a family wine night to keep the ball rolling.

Update: Had a moral wobble over whether to note a wine's obvious fault when the maker is a small, struggling vineyard.

Went with full disclosure in my review, and the owner thanked me for the honest critique that'll help them improve, which was a relief lmao.

Had to explain 'petrichor' in a wine note to a stranger at the vineyard... now we're planning a tasting trip together.