This weekend, we had a small party with friends and family. Usually we cook and bake almost everything, but this time around we decided to take the easy way out and went to a local box store where we purchased cheese and turkey rolls, vegetables and a yummy chocolate cake with a creamy center.

We decided to open our homemade sweet dessert wine. Everyone who tasted it enjoyed the wine and there was not a drop left! It’s always nice to hear others compliment the wine you have made.

I imagine that winemakers enjoy hearing their wines complimented. However, should you compliment a wine at a commercial wine if it’s not that good? I don’t believe so. If the wine has an obvious fault, don’t feel you need to drink it or that you need to say anything at all. However, if cork taint or some other fault is noticeable, I believe that one does a disservice to the winery by not mentioning the fault. The staff at the tasting counter should be made aware that the wine has a fault so that the same bottle of wine does not continue to be served to more visitors. At some wineries, including Heron Hill Winery in New York, the staff is required to taste the wine before pouring a tasting. This helps to prevent a wine with a fault from being served to the public.

Since the purpose of tastings are to encourage visitors to discover a wine they like and perhaps purchase a bottle of it, care must be taken by a winery to enhance their image.

In a competitive market it only makes sense to put you best “wine” forward.

Cheers!  Kathy