Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Art of Tasting Wine

Today we had a dessert wine lecture and tasting given by a French guy that works at a French wine shop near our school.  We learned some basics about wine and the "Art of Tasting."  We tasted only sweet white wines today, all from France of course.  We will taste sweet red wines in Intermediate and champagne and sparkling wine in Superior.  We tasted a couple that I have had before (Gewurztraminer and Muscat) and a few blends that were new to me.  I prefer drier wine over sweet wine, but the wines today were pretty good.  The Gewurztraminer was my favorite of the five we tasted.  The class started out very quiet and by the end the instructor had to keep telling us to quiet down.  He says it happens every time. 


To answer the questions from my previous post: 
1. I'm not sure if (or how much) my piping will affect my grade.  Unfortunately we don't get a lot of details on our grades.  A few of us actually had a meeting today with the principal and that was one of our requests.  We have "representative" meetings periodically with the principal to go over students' issues/concerns.  I am the representative for our group.
2. There are quite a few French words thrown around during the demonstrations and practicals that many of us don't understand.  I know I cannot repeat a lot of them correctly.  Although I did take French in high school and we did do a little cooking (frog's legs), that was about 15 years ago.  The chefs recommended we get a French cooking verbs pocket book that is only available in France.  I am definitely planning to pick one up when I go to France.
3. So far my "recipe book" consists of all my scribbled notes.  At the beginning of the term we are given a binder with the ingredients for each dish.  Then we are responsible for writing out all the instructions for each one during the demonstrations.  We bring these into the practicals to refer to.  I'm trying to type up the recipes and instructions to make it easier for the future and also as another way to review it before going into the practicals.
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3 comments:

  1. Joe LaGrecaFebruary 18, 2010 at 7:16 PM

    Are you allowed to record audio or video the lectures/class?

    I'm sure there is an iphone app to lookup french words :)

    Was that picture after your wine tasting class?

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2010 at 11:08 PM

    Now I'm really jealous. Wine tasting and making chocolate on chocolate cake, doesn't get any better then that! Now on a serious note, I know it's easier said then done, but you'll do great on your finals. With your work ethics and brains, you can tackle anything you put your mind to. As much as we give you a bad time, we truely are proud of you. And more importantly God is with you, and as you know, through Him anything is possible. Okay enough mushy stuff. Take care and you're in our prayers. Be safe and God Bless,
    Uncle Gary

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  3. Eliza Ross and FamilyFebruary 20, 2010 at 6:10 PM

    More classes like these and you won't have to hunt down vodka for your "recipes" anymore. :-) I am thoroughly enjoying your London escapades via blogspot. It looks like you're having a wonderful time. We're holding down the beachfront for you. You missed an absolutely gorgeous week...mid 70's, hardly a breeze, deliciously warm sunshine. We even sat on the beach for a few hours. Could have played some volleyball if someone hadn't flitted off to London. :-) We miss you.

    Have you found a church there yet? Do you have someone to attend with?

    From the girl who knows your deep, dark burnt S'mores secret, Eliza

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