Just had a question from 'anonymous' in a comment to an earlier post:
"How can you describe a fluid as honest and thrilling?"
I'll throw this one back at my readers. Do you think it is appropriate to describe a wine as 'honest' or 'thrilling', or both? If so, why?
posted by Jamie @ 2:05 PM
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12 Comments:
I probably would have opted for pure and enthralling!
Certainly. Honest as you say shows that it is what one would expect and that it delivers. Thrilling - well why not as a way of showing what emotions it evokes when you drink it.
Or perhaps the fluid in question provokes "shock and awe"?
Sorry - did not mean to bring politics into the debate.
Honest - the taste is a follow through from the nose
Thrilling - it explodes in your mouth, dilates your pupils and so forth.
I believe that in these modern times where some wines are released before they should for media purposes and producers are mass producing their wines for profit instead of passion it is absolutely appropriate to call a wine thrilling and honest. Honest meaning the wine is true to what it is. Is it a true primitivo? and if it is a little bit different do those differences amplify the quality of the wine? And thrilling....as a lover of wine there is nothing more thrilling than when a certain bottle physically effects me. When you eat an amazing piece of chocolate you close you eyes, sigh and say damn!. This is the same for a thrilling wine. I have been with my tasting group when there have been moments of shouting about how good a wine is.
East Village Wine Geek
www.evwg.blogspot.com
If you are a fluid drinker, you can´t. If you are a wine lover, you must.
I can't see why you can't call a wine honest if it is true to the grape varietal and has a discernible sense of place. That in itself can be thrilling in the world of modern wine.
reposting my comment to the original post
Hmmm, lets think now:
1. 'honest': truthful not deceptive. Maybe Jamie is describing the wine-maker who avoids using artificial methods to give the impression the wine is something it is not. He'd hardly be the first to transfer human qualities this way. eg, 'Dad's just written an angry letter'.
2. 'thrilling': thats easier. We all get our thrills where we can. Thrills are in the skin and nerves of the beholder. Wine is thrilling when the flavours are unexpected or combined in a new way, in my humble opinion. (how can an opinion be humble, Anon asks? See 1. above.)
Anon here.
Ok, i agree, BUT
given most of the postings:
Honest meaning the wine is true to what it is.
thrilling when the flavours are unexpected or combined in a new way.
So can they both be used to describe a wine?
Anon - yes. I don't think thrilling implies unexpected. It can, of course, mean this - but I could find a wine thrilling even if I'd had it before.
Ojudeu is on the right lines. To a wine-lover, wine is not a mere "fluid". That's true for both those producers and those consumers who class themselves as wine-lovers, rather than as mere drinkers. To wine-lovers, wine is a fluid that's intended to excite the senses. Descriptions such as honest and thrilling, among very many other such non-physical concepts, are entirely appropriate in that context.
Anon, I'd say yes. When a wine's true to the varietal or regional character, and yet surpasses all expectation in the mouth, it's definitely worth calling it both.
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