The Gift Exchange

Every serious wine lover has at some point contemplated the difference between a very good wine and a wine that is truly exceptional. Of course there are wine ratings and monetary values which we can assume help the average wine consumer or purchaser of wine gifts to determine a wine’s greatness, but there are also certain qualities that every wine taster can look for when assessing a wine’s superiority.

First and foremost, the wine should make your palate sing while also enlivening your other senses, such as smell. Tasting a great wine should provide a notably different experience than tasting your favorite grocery store Cabernet. For instance, a great wine’s flavors and aromas will be significantly more complex and deeper than its peers. The wine’s texture should be more luxurious and the finish should not only be longer in duration, but also with a balanced mouthfeel that possesses finesse.  Another important criteria is that the wine exemplifies the true varietal character of its grapes, as well as the qualities that link it to the specific place it was made. Many wine professionals also believe that adhering to old world winemaking procedures, such as fining with egg whites as opposed to chemical agents, contribute to a wine’s worth and true greatness.

Lest not we forget that central to experiencing an exceptional wine is when you experience it. There can be times when even the greatest of wines are too young or past their prime. Or the wine may have been opened for too long or not properly aerated. Erring on the timing of tasting can cause detrimental effects on your overall judgment of its qualities.

While the statement that prestige is not always a guarantee for greatness, the assumption that all great wines are expensive is sadly, but simply true in most cases. Terroir (or the land on which the grapes are grown), the age and quality of the grapes, winemaking procedures, limited production, and other additional characteristics will almost always raise the prices of great wines, such as the famous Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon.

Despite this, great yet affordable wines can be found by those willing to look in lesser-known, emerging, or unfashionable regions. And discovering one of these secret gems at an affordable price and enjoying it at its peak is one of the sweetest experiences a wine lover can have.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.