Our theme for the Weekly Photo Challenge this week is: Structure.
Our instructions: This week, share with us the structure of something typically overlooked.
A couple of years ago (when I first started my professional wine education adventure), a Master Sommelier offered me some excellent advice that I continue to carry with me whenever I evaluate a wine:
Taste once for flavor and once for structure.
The flavor part of a wine is self-explanatory. But, in addition to flavor, professional tasters also evaluate a wine’s structure — its sweetness, acidity, tannins, alcohol, and body. Structure in a wine isn’t something you can see — it’s something you feel and taste. It’s also not something that’s inherently intuitive, but it is something you get better at with practice. Lots of practice.
On Monday, I will begin the next unit of my WSET Diploma — Sparkling Wines of the World. We’ll be talking about structure a lot in the coming weeks. And sparkling wine provides a unique opportunity for us to see the structure of a wine.
That, and bubbles are just really pretty.
Salud!
