In most cultures, wine and food are inseparable. The thing about these two is not drinking alcohol, it’s a taste habit. For this reason, the harmony between food and wine is extremely important. Of course, everyone has their own habits in this regard, but when the subject is a technical examination, a method called degustation should be applied. Degustation is done by specialists called degustators.
Degustation basically measures the quality of a wine and its compatibility with different dishes. Wine is looked at, smelled, tasted and thought about. It is this stage of thinking that makes an expert an expert. This method can be applied to all carefully produced drinks and special dishes such as wine, but the most common drink is wine. Let’s take a closer look at what is degustation, which is an unknown control method, and see how you can learn it.
What is degustation?
Degustation, which means tasting in French, is the method of analyzing a food or drink with different sense organs in its broadest definition. In this method, which is applied by experts called degustators, eyes, nose and tongue are used. That is, food or drink is looked at, smelled and tasted.
Although the degustation method is mostly applied to wines, it can also be applied to spirits that go through special production processes such as whiskey and cognac. The dishes in which this method is applied are often the menus served with such drinks. It is even known that some restaurants specially prepare degustation menus.
How is degustation done?
It is possible to talk about four basic stages for the degustation method; looking, smelling, tasting and thinking. If we go through the wine example, a degustator first looks at the wine poured into the glass, then smells it, tastes it by taking a small sip, and finally makes an evaluation on the quality of the wine in question by thinking about the information he has obtained from these stages.
The appearance of the wine is extremely important because it directly affects its taste and quality. The degustator examines the wine in the glass for approximately 5 seconds. The sniffing stage is also extremely important because, as you know, smell means flavor. If you stuff your nose and eat something, you won’t know what’s going on.
The tasting stage is the most critical stage. Because a wine can have a bad taste, even if it is smooth and fragrant. Most degusters do not drink the wine during the tasting. He takes a sip, swirls it in his mouth, and spit it out. Breathing with the back of the nose with wine in the mouth will give more detailed information about the taste of the wine.
Of course, the last step, thinking, is the step that makes a degustator a true expert. At this stage, the degustator thinks about all the wines he has tasted throughout his life and the wine-like products he has tasted at that moment. At the end of this thinking process, it determines the tasting result by making an evaluation within the framework of some criteria that vary according to each drink and dish.
Is it possible to learn degustation?
To be frank, it is debatable whether anyone can degustation. Because, rather than a simple tasting process, this method is related to the food and drink culture of the degustater. Analyzing a food and drink well does not give the right to comment on the quality of that drink or food.
Of course, everyone can degustation within their own means, but how reliable the evaluation will be is debatable. If we go over the wine example again, it is expected that the deguistr should have detailed information about world wines. People who do not have such detailed knowledge cannot make an accurate comparison and, as a result, a good evaluation between the wine being tasted and other wines.
The degustation should set aside personal tastes during examination. If we go through the food example; Someone who likes every dish with a lot of spicy may find it unsuccessful just because the food is not spicy enough. So yes, even if it changes according to personal tastes, there are some truths accepted around the world in the culture of eating and drinking.
A degustation on the harmony of food and drink perhaps requires the greatest expertise. Because there are countless drinks and countless meals. A master chef may have prepared a beautiful and harmonious menu in line with his own expertise. However, only a degustator with significant experience can understand how true this harmony is.
How to learn degustation?
If you say I don’t have such an extensive eating and drinking culture, but you want to start from somewhere, you first need to do a good research about the food or drink you will taste. By finding the right images, you can learn how to do the first step, the looking stage.
During the sniffing phase, you should pay attention to the notes of the product. Every dish and drink has a main note followed by a side note. The main note creates the main smell and flavor, but it is wrong to be too dominant and make the side notes invisible.
It is possible to talk about similar notes during the tasting phase. The main note you take in the first sip or the first bite should be absolutely captivating. The subsequent taste reveals the real quality. Because most products stand out with the side notes they offer to their consumers apart from the main note.
In the thinking phase, try to be objective. What was the general mood of the meal or drink? Did you feel an unpleasant taste or smell? Was it possible to produce better, or are you sure you drink or eat the best? You can finalize the degustation analysis by making an evaluation with the help of these and similar questions. You can become an expert by going step by step but with determination.
We answered questions such as what is degustation, which is a method of analyzing food and drinks using different senses, and how to learn it, and we talked about what you need to know about the subject. You can share your thoughts about the degustation method in the comments.
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