Whenever I sniff the wine in my glass harder or swish it over my palate longer, all I smell and taste is more and more alcohol. This usually always happens even on wines that I've decanted (meaning the alcohol has had time to blow off). Is this just a result of my nose and palate? Or do the rest of you guys experience this as well? I watch Gary Vaynerchuck and he swishes the wine in his mouth like it's mouthwash. So your telling me his palate isn't getting coated and filled with alcohol the longer he keeps the wine in his mouth?

This is frustrating as I don't feeling like I'm gaining experience with my nose and palate.

A. God bless Gary V but you don't need to emulate him. You might end up like that! I don't know about all the swishing and gargling that Gary does - you don't do that with other food and drinks that are also delicious - e.g. chocolate, cheese, lemonade. Tasting is tasting. He likes to perform.

B. The alcohol doesn't blow off - even when you cook with the wine, it takes quite a while for the alcohol to be reduced significantly. However, alcohol is more volatile than most of the other compounds and as they are released they may tend to cover the alcohol somewhat, which might make it seem like it blew off.

C. I think a lot of what you're experiencing may have to do with the wines. For example, an older wine from somewhere like Rioja or Piedmont might seem more acidic than alcoholic.

Greg is correct.

Another test for your palate. Taste two reds side by side, preferably of the same varietal, with different alcohol levels. Say two cabs, one at 13-13.5 % alcohol and the other at 14.5-15%. Taste them blind. (1) Can you pick out the one with the most alcohol (2) You will start to get the taste of the difference in alcohol levels side by side and what the taste difference is.

This may help in future tastings.

Thanks for the suggestions. Sandy, I guess what I'm saying is that the alcohol is really dominating my mouth and nose thus making the experience not very enjoyable. Again, this is specifically when I sniff the wine more vigourously and swish the wine in my mouth for a longer period of time.

quote:

Originally posted by Miles of Lief:
Thanks for the suggestions. Sandy, I guess what I'm saying is that the alcohol is really dominating my mouth and nose thus making the experience not very enjoyable. Again, this is specifically when I sniff the wine more vigourously and swish the wine in my mouth for a longer period of time.

I would imagine because saliva has a few enzymes that can break down the various compounds in red wines, the longer you keep it in your mouth, the more disjointed the wine might taste, leaving you more of that alcohol feeling.

Unless you're drinking cognac, or whiskey, or any of those distilled spirits, in which case... Yes, there's alcohol =)

I have a friend that has the same reaction to wine. All he gets is alcohol. Might be a taste bud thing.

Gary V is evaluating wine, as opposed to sitting down and enjoying. Those techniques help him pick up stuff that would otherwise take hours in the decanter or years in the cellar to show. Doing that with a wine you perceive as "hot" will only make it worse.

I suspect you've been drinking the popular style of higher alcohol, ultra-ripe wines. Watch the labels and try some lower alc. stuff. But remember, some higher alc. wines hide it well, and some lower ones can show it, so there will be some exceptions.