As Tim Smith Wine Awards emerges into the scrutiny of the internet, it seems apposite to share our tasting philosophy. Tasting wine is far from being routine or mechanical, and heaven forbid that it should become so. So many variable elements are important – mood, time of day, temperature, the glasses used…..
Above all, wine is an experience that one lives personally – in producing countries like France, Italy and Spain, where wine tends to be cheap and consumed on a daily basis, we perhaps risk losing sight of the fact that in many markets (the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, UK etc), wine is expensive and a luxury product.
Professional wine buyers, journalists and sommeliers may be able to taste their way through dozens of wines per day and identify the cream of the crop, but in order to justify a score and to produce a tasting note that will have meaning to consumers, here at Tim Smith Wine Awards a more considered approach is taken – wines are tasted against their peer groups (in terms of terroir, cépage and price level), and tasted again and again until the tasters have a feel for the wine and its origins….only then can a meaningful tasting note start to take shape.
So, the first tasting is now under our belts, and the team behind the scenes is working to publish our website, complete with the first tasting notes and score. Exciting times!
Cheers !
Tim
