Seattle area tasting, 7/31/2010

[Roy Hersh]

I can't believe they let you work half days. What's up with that?

[Gary Banker]

I've been in uniform for almost 80 hours the past 7 days, that's how busy I've been with all the drama going on here. I assure you drool on my uniform at the moment is the least of my worries at this point

Think of all the overtime pay that can go to the next subscriber buying opportunity.

[Andy Velebil]

I can't believe they let you work half days. What's up with that?

Finally I got a 1/2 day off yesterday, celebrated by treating myself to a nice steak dinner, a bottle of 1993 Heitz Cellars Cab., a glass of 1968 Warre's Colheita (both from the restaurants list), and a 1994 Quinta do Crasto VP when I got home. All while sitting in front of my new TV that I finally got to enjoy. Life was good last night

Think of all the overtime pay that can go to the next subscriber buying opportunity.

I wish it's all gone! had to buy a new TV and pay Roy for the Harvest Trip, now I'm broke....can we wait a little bit for the Madeira buying op?

[Eric Menchen]

Well Andy, the sympathy I had for you working all those hours went out the window when you mentioned the TV, and most of all, the Harvest Trip. Enjoy.

[Andy Velebil]

Well Andy, the sympathy I had for you working all those hours went out the window when you mentioned the TV, and most of all, the Harvest Trip. Enjoy.

LOL. I had no choice on the TV, trust me I didn't want or expect to buy a new one right now, but the old one unexpectedly gave up the ghost and I had no choice. The harvest trip...wouldn't miss it for the world

[Glenn E.]

My notes are up!

I mentioned it in each of the threads, but I really was having an off night. My scores were significantly lower than everyone else's, sometimes by as much as 10 points.

1900 Niepoort Colheita
1904 Sandeman Vintage Port
1934 Fonseca Vintage Port
1935 Cockburn Vintage Port
1937 Noval Colheita
1940 Kopke Colheita
1944 Niepoort Colheita
1947 Kopke Colheita
1950 Niepoort Garrafeira
1950 Sandeman Vintage Port
1952 Dalva Golden White Colheita
1957 Kopke Colheita
1957 Sandeman Vintage Port
1967 Dalva Colheita

[Roy Hersh]

Glenn,

Thanks for posting these notes. Very much appreciated, guess I won't have to do an article now.

To avoid these off nights ... just say no ... to hard boiled eggs before tasting Port wine! I swear it will help.

[Glenn E.]

I've been trying to figure out what it might have been, because this is now the second time I've had an off palate at a tasting. The only common dinner element that I can come up with is... garlic.

This time around we had dinner at Cucina Cucina and I had garlic in an alfredo sauce. I had a small amount of tomato sauce that was coating a veal cutlet, but not enough that I would think it would have had such a dramatic effect. Dairy (cream sauce) might have been part of it, but I normally don't have an issue with dairy. And of course there was cheese in abundance, but cheese is a classic pairing with Port so that really shouldn't be a problem.

The first time was at a steak house and there was just garlic in the air. We did all of our notes before we ate, but since we were in the restaurant there was no getting away from the aromas. There were flavored butters on the table - one of which was garlic butter - that I had with the bread and water while tasting, so the garlic is all I can think of.

One of these days I'll have to try an experiment when I'm opening and old bottle of (inexpensive!) Port. If garlic causes an issue then, I'll know the culprit!

[Andy Velebil]

Glenn
did you do a longer or hard run earlier in the day? I've found that if I do a very long or hard workout in the morning my palate isn't as sharp as it normally is later in the evening. That may just be because the body is tired overall and the taste buds aren't firing on all cylinders.

[Glenn E.]

I did go for a run that morning, but it was only 3 miles and didn't really even leave me winded. I was still being very careful with stressing my left foot, so really just went far enough to warm up.

Plus that can't be the problem at the other tasting (at the steak house) because that was in NYC and I didn't have exercise gear with me.

I'll have to keep that in mind, though, and will test it to see if it does seem to affect my palate.

A small, inexact test tonight - I made grilled chicken Provencal, which has a pretty good amount of garlic in it, and am now drinking the remainder of my week-old 1985 Churchill. It was hot at the outset, but has now mellowed and is drinking beautifully again. So garlic may be the culprit, but if so it shouldn't last through an entire tasting because it hasn't even lasted through this one glass of week-old VP.

Back to square one, I guess.

[Roy Hersh]

The one time I had something like that happen to me is because I was taking antibiotics and it made wine taste really weird for a couple of weeks. There was no other possibility.

It certainly was not the run, as being a bit tired may make small alterations to your ability to taste, but yours weren't small on either occasion. Garlic is still the most likely candidate.

I know it would change my ability to taste even when drinking table wine and italian food with garlic I notice the affect, unless it happens to be an Italian wine that tends to meld with the dish. But give me a plate of pasta with red sauce laced with garlic and open a bottle of CA Cabernet and ... YIKES.

[Andy Velebil]

The one time I had something like that happen to me is because I was taking antibiotics and it made wine taste really weird for a couple of weeks. There was no other possibility.

It certainly was not the run, as being a bit tired may make small alterations to your ability to taste, but yours weren't small on either occasion. Garlic is still the most likely candidate.

I know it would change my ability to taste even when drinking table wine and italian food with garlic I notice the affect, unless it happens to be an Italian wine that tends to meld with the dish. But give me a plate of pasta with red sauce laced with garlic and open a bottle of CA Cabernet and ... YIKES.

I agree with the antibiotics you mentioned, as I've had that happen in the past as well. Same goes with a dish very heavy in garlic.

While it doesn't seem to be Glenn's case, I totally disagree with you about it could not have be caused by running or being tired. As you and some others know I race bicycles and train a lot, some of those training rides are in excesses of 100 miles a day, most are shorter but at very high output at 80-90% of max for up to 2-3 hours. That really takes a toll on the body and after such a hard workout the taste buds don't always fire on all cylinders. Since I train at that output often I've experienced it enough to know first hand it happens and why if I know I am going to be enjoying a wine offline or tasting, or just a very nice glass at home later in the evening, I try and tailor my workouts accordingly so I don't compromise by ability to properly enjoy or evaluate what I will be drinking later. Being tired, even a little, can alter your taste sensors.

[Roy Hersh]

Andy,

Sorry for not being more clear. Yes, I was speaking about Glenn in particular, knowing the typical length of his runs is 10 miles or less and have never heard of that level of exertion having a direct affect on one's palate. I was not meaning to allude that it was impossible for this dynamic to take place with those at other levels of output.

[Andy Velebil]

Roy,
No worries. But the topic is one I've paid close attention to since I exercise a lot...and not just from lifting Port bottles

One thing I should also add, is it's very possible for someones taste to be affected even a day or two later from fatigue. Depending on a persons overall conditioning and prior training habits, it's very often can take up to several days to recover from a demanding workout. So while the body outwardly may seem fine internally it may still be run down and not up to par. Most people don't realize this and assume they should be perfectly fine the next day or two later, which isn't always the case. And that doesn't factor in other things, such as over-training. A real occurrence that can happen to anyone, not just high level athletes where it's commonly seen. It still happens to many people who exercise and don't know the warnings signs that it's occurring. It can take a week or longer for the body to completely recover from the effects of over-training.

[Monique Locsin]

Any idea when the next tasting might be?.. It looks like there is a big interest in this from all the posts.. Please keep us informed.. Thanks.

[Glenn E.]

Hi Monique,

I don't know of anything planned for the rest of this year, but there may be something going on that I don't know about. November and December are difficult for planning non-holiday events, so I'll probably wait until after the new year to set something up.

But don't worry - I'll post about it here when I do!

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Monique,

Would you really be willing to join us all the way from the Philippines? Great to have you join us here!

Is there much interest in Port or availability of Port in your country?