How to Taste

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It takes only 15 milliseconds for the human body to register a taste. According to Dr. Hildegarde Heymann, at the University of California at Davis, taste perception is swift because the tongue and mouth (assisted by the nose) are the body’s primary defenses against poison. For our four main senses: taste takes: 1.5 to 4.0 milliseconds, touch: 2.4 to 8.9 milliseconds, hearing: 13 to 22 milliseconds, and vision: 13 to 45 milliseconds. (Winespeed) I did not know I can taste wine that quickly!And a few words about beer from Winespeed: Ten companies account for 2/3 of the world’s beer supply. According to the publication Meininger’s, the beer industry has consolidated in recent years, with the top ten beer companies producing 32 million gallons of beer annually. The number one producer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, (which own over 600 beer brands including Budweiser, Bud Light, Corona, and Stella Artois) is responsible for a quarter of all global beer production followed by Heineken with 12%!a(MISSING)nd Carlsberg with 6%!&(MISSING)lt;br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />With so many choices regarding what to drink, where to buy and taste, may I suggest a rather simple idea. Ask one of your most knowledgeable friends what they like to drink. You already know mine, but I would be pleased to share it again if there is any interest.I was worried about a new disorder I might have: placomusophilia. Forget the muselet.Like most of you who enjoy wine tasting, you have probably tasted wines at wineries, and had to pour or "spit" wine. But I noticed something interesting. I have NEVER been to a champagne or sparkling wine tasting where the wine is spit into a container. Yet, I recently took a champagne course, and the taster spit his champagne into a bucket!!! On my trip to the Champagne regions, and the cities of Epernay and Reims, I never saw a bucket in the tasting rooms!!Speaking of wine tasting, what do you think of some wineries charging $100 for wine tasting? Obscene!!!My suggestion for you is to join a wine club and try to patronize them when you visit your favorite wine region. For example, I am a member at Domaine Carneros. When I went to France, I arranged a private tasting at their parent company, Taittinger in Reims, through my membership here at Domaine Carneros.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />Whatever you do, just enjoy it to the fullest, and be sure to tell us about it.
Gerry



What is placomusophilia? A collector of metal caps found on the tops of champagne or sparkling wine corks. Sounds like I need some antibiotics?

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