Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook

by Ronald S. Jackson PhD

Overview

Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook is essential for absolutely anybody involved in wine tasting. The book comprehensively covers all practical and theoretical aspects of wine tasting, from the techniques used by professionals to assess wine properties and quality - to the physiological, psychological and physicochemical origins of sensory perception. The author outlines the classification of still table wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines, and explores the vineyard and winery origins of wine quality.

The major proportion of Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook is devoted to the practical concerns of preparing and performing different types of wine assessments. Data from sensory evaluation studies illustrate tests described in the book.

Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook should be read by professional tasters, those who train tasters and those involved in designing wine tastings; as well as serious wine connoisseurs who want unbiased information on how to maximize their perception and appreciation of wine.

Key Features:
* Details of errors to be avoided
* Procedures for training and testing sensory skill
* Original data derived from over fourteen years of training tasters
* Illustrative material supporting the text: tables, charts and figures

Illustrative Material:
* Flow Chart of Wine Tasting Steps
* Examples of Tasting Sheets: Hedonic (hierarchy and numerical ranking), Wine Appreciation (blank and complete examples), Quality assessment (general, sparkling, artistic ranking), Sensory Analysis (quality and aroma specific)
* Fragrance Chart (with colored icons)
* Off-odor Chart (with colored icons)
* Color transparency representing standardized wine color terms
* Color illustrations representing the appearance of wines of different ages
* Warming-cooling chart for bottles of wine (air and ice water)
* Table of aroma descriptors for the major grape varieties (red and white)
* Chart of the warming rate of wine in a glass
* Figure showing the influence of alcohol content on 'tears' formation
* Taster variability to the major tastant and odorants in wine

Author Biography: Ron Jackson received the bachelor's and master's degree from Queen's University and the doctrine from the University of Toronto. His time in Vineland, Ontario, and subsequently at Cornell University redirected his interest in plant disease toward viticulture and enology. As part of his regular teaching duries at Brandon University, he developed the first wine technology course in Canada. For many years he was a technical advisor to the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, developed sensory tests to assess the tasting skills of members of its Sensory Panel, and was a member of its External Tasting Panel. He is also the author of Conserve Water, Drink Wine and several technical reviews. Dr. Jackson has resigned from his position as a professor and the chair of the Botany Department at Brandon University to concentrate on writing. He is allied with the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780323984508
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	10/02/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	486
File size:	46 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ron Jackson received the bachelor's and master's degree from Queen's University and the doctrine from the University of Toronto. His time in Vineland, Ontario, and subsequently at Cornell University redirected his interest in plant disease toward viticulture and enology. As part of his regular teaching duties at Brandon University, he developed the first wine technology course in Canada. For many years he was a technical advisor to the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, developed sensory tests to assess the tasting skills of members of its Sensory Panel, and was a member of its External Tasting Panel. He is also the author of Conserve Water, Drink Wine and several technical reviews. Dr. Jackson has resigned from his position as a professor and the chair of the Botany Department at Brandon University to concentrate on writing. He is allied with the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University.

Read an Excerpt

From the best-sellig author of Wine Science, 1st & 2nd edition!

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Visual Perceptions 3. Olfactory Sensations 4. Oral Sensations 5. Quantitative Wine Assessment 6. Qualitative Wine Assessment 7. Styles and Types of Wine Quality 8. Nature and Origins of Wine Quality 9. Wine and Food Combination

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Differentiate between the mystique of wine tasting and understand the realities that enhance the perception and appreciation of wine

Editorial Reviews

The author should be commended for undertaking to write on this subject matter. Bringing the science of sensory evaluation to the wine industry is needed and the author has provided an extensive amount of information,some very solid reference material,all presented in a text that is easy to read. We expect that all winemakers will find this text informative and possibly will take some exception; none the less,much benefit will be derived from reading the text in its entirety,but probably not in one sitting! Sensory professionals also will benefit from this text and it should be part of the required reading for students in both enology and sensory evaluation.

Joel Sidel

Wine Tasting is without question the finest book addressed to wine sensory technology that I have ever seen during my 41 years in wine. Being an academic,I am particularly impressed by the scientific support which Dr. Jackson provides for explaining human evaluation and interpretation of various wine aromas,flavors,virtues and vagaries. His text is,however,not beyond the comprehension and understanding of people who are not formally trained in the enological sciences. As a judge at several wine competitions across the U.S. every year,and as Chairman of the Indy International,one of the largest,I will make it a point that my fellow judges have the opportunity to learn of this essential work. Wine Tasting advances the state of the art.

Richard P. Vine

"This volume details the practical and theoretical aspects of critical wine tasting, in the context of human sensory perception, from the techniques used by professionals to assess wine properties and quality, to the physiological, psychological and physiochemical origins of sensory perception...Numerous tables, charts and figures throughout this volume provide excellent illustrative material to support the detailed information presented in text. In conclusion, this comprehensive volume is highly recommended to any individuals involved in wine tasting, from professional tasters and those who train tasters and design tastings, to amateur wine connoisseurs, who want unbiased information on how to maximize their perception and appreciation of wine." —Carbohydrate Polymers (2005)

"This book by Dr. Jackson is very entertaining and informative to read. He has succeeded in writing a wine tasting book that would appeal to the experienced wine aficionado as well as to a faculty member teaching a beginning wine sensory or wine tasting class...This author enjoyed this book and would recommend it. In fact I am seriously contemplating using it in my Wine Sensory Evaluation course." —H. Heymann, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California- Davis, September 2004)

"...very entertaining and informative to read. ...would appeal to the experienced wine aficionado as well as the faculty member teaching a beginning wine sensory or wine tasting class." —FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE (2003)"...a solid text that offers practical information on the sensations of wine for many types of readers. Extensive use of diagrams, tables, charts, and illustrations enhances the volume...a useful book that will find a number of audiences. It deserves a place in many academic collections not for what it has to tell us about wine, but about human physiological responses to the seduction of the liquid. Recommended." —E STREAMS (June 2003)

"Wine Tasting is without question the finest book addressed to wine sensory technology that I have ever seen during my 41 years in wine. Being an academic, I am particularly impressed by the scientific support which Dr. Jackson provides for explaining human evaluation and interpretation of various wine aromas, flavors, virtues and vagaries. His text is, however, not beyond the comprehension and understanding of people who are not formally trained in the enological sciences. This book will also become a standard reference for the 325 students which study in my 4th-year Wine Appreciation class at Purdue University every semester. As a judge at several wine competitions across the U.S. every year, and as Chairman of the Indy International, one of the largest, I will make it a point that my fellow judges have the opportunity to learn of this essential work. Wine Tasting advances the state of the art." —Richard P. Vine, Purdue University, Indiana, U.S.A., Wine Consultant to American Airlines

"The author should be commended for undertaking to write on this subject matter. Bringing the science of sensory evaluation to the wine industry is needed and the author has provided an extensive amount of information, some very solid reference material, all presented in a text that is easy to read. There are numerous tables and figures, referenced with both current as well as some important historical information. Information about the origins of the much maligned Davis wine scorecard is welcomed, especially for one of us (HS) who was one of the subjects while the scorecard was being developed. We expect that all winemakers will find this text informative and possibly will take some exception; none the less, much benefit will be derived from reading the text in its entirety, but probably not in one sitting!The author also discusses the relationship of wine writers and the science of sensory evaluation, a topic that gets relatively little coverage, yet it needs more discussion if the industry is to make the transition from a cottage industry to a packaged goods business. Sensory professionals also will benefit from this text and it should be part of the required reading for students in both enology and sensory evaluation." —Joel Sidel and Herbert Stone, Tragon Corp, California, U.S.A., authors of Sensory Evaluation Practises, Second Edition

"As a whole, the book is a generous package of information, thus updating and providing a scienctific background for sensory research on wine." —Hely Tuorila, Department of Food Technology, University of Helsinki

From the Publisher