tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90212602098268905042024-03-14T00:18:28.551-07:00Swami of UmamiExploring the truth, myths, half-truths and downright lies surrounding the enjoyment of food and wine.Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-86423720185146074292012-09-25T11:04:00.001-07:002012-09-25T11:04:40.627-07:00The Holiday Table: The annual wine-pairing dilemma.
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<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">September 25, 2012</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Time once again to peruse the inane and
predictable holiday wine and food pairing articles. Conventional wisdom
recommends using some sort of formula to pair a selection of wines to
complement a menu that might include everything from Aunt Edna’s green beans to
friend Jerry’s tofu turkey. Napa-Valley based Master of Wine Tim Hanni, an
internationally renowned guru on the subject of wine with food and
professionally trained chef, suggests that instead of offering wines
based on what’s on the table, hosts at upcoming holiday meals should choose
wines based on who is gathering around it. <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Hanni has distilled years
of experience and research into a seemingly revolutionary approach to wine
drinking, based on a simple premise: people really do perceive things differently,
and they should be able to discover and enjoy the wines they prefer, including
sweet wines, without apology. Conversely, those who prefer intense red wines
will need no coaxing to savor a glass of their favorite wine style.. Hanni
dismisses the conventional rules of “matching” wine and food as simple
metaphors combined with the overly vivid imagination of the wine experts. “You
do need to know that the sweetness in a lot of the food will make whatever wine
you are drinking more intense, acidic and tannic, and that a little squeeze of
lemon or lime with a tiny bit of salt on the food will restore the balance of
whatever wine you choose, “ says Hanni.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">According to Hanni, wine drinkers fall
into four categories, or Vinotypes. Derived from both physiological and
psychological elements in an individual’s make-up, the four basic Vinotypes
range from people who naturally prefer sweet wines to those who relish the
bigger, more robust (tannic?) wines — and what tastes delicious to one person
may easily leave another grimacing with distaste. You remember this from
your childhood dinner table. </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Discover your Vinotype, and that of
your guests, Hanni says, and, “you will learn how to consistently find the
wines you will love the most and how to get the most pleasure from wine on your
terms.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Hanni was a pioneer in the art of
food and wine pairings at Napa Valley's Beringer Winery in the 1980s. His
experiences there sent him on a three-decade investigation of why people like
what they like. “I’d create what I thought were magical pairings,” Hanni
said. “And while some people loved them, others could hardly tolerate them. I
went from thinking, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ to ‘What’s going on here?'” </span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Hanni
began work with. Virginia Utermohlen, M.D., from Cornell University, who shared
a deep interest in the subject. Based on their research, Hanni said, “it’s
clear that the range and intensity of sensations we experience varies, often
dramatically, from one person to the next; and these individual difference play
an important role in determining individual wine preferences. Some people have
as few as 500 taste buds while others have over 11,000; this greatly influences
our personal wine preferences - not good or bad, just different.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">A series of questions Hanni
has developed — How do you take your coffee? What do you think of artificial
sweeteners?— are guideposts that help people identify their Vinotype: Sweet,
Hypersensitive, Sensitive or Tolerant. At one end of the spectrum are the Sweet
Vinotypes, people who experience a sensory overload from stimuli: light, sound,
taste and smell. In wines they who crave sweetness to mask what they perceive
as intolerable bitterness. These are people who started drinking
wine with white zinfandel and ones fueling the explosive popularity of Moscato.
They are also the ones who have often been made to feel apologetic about their
tastes. “They and their well-meaning friends suffer from the collective
delusion that, as their palate mature they will be able to appreciate what’s
perceived as more sophisticated wines, the big reds, the over-oaked
chardonnays,” Hanni says. “But it’s not true. If a person likes White Zinfandel
or Moscato with their steak, turkey or seafood, that’s what they should have.”</span></div>
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">At the other end of the
taste spectrum are the Tolerant Vinotypes. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">“Tolerant Vinotypes don’t understand what
all of the fuss is about with more sensitive Vinotypes – those wimps!” Hanni
explains. They take their coffee black and the most likely to enjoy Scotch.
“Big, red wines are their favorites and damn the torpedoes, Hanni says.
“Intensity is the name of the game and the bigger the better.” The Tolerant
Vinotypes are the ones who want the thermostat set colder and the volume on the
TV turned up while the Sweet and Hypersensitive demand the opposite.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">In between these two extremes lie the
types Hanni terms Hypersensitive and Sensitive Vinotypes. Hypersensitive
Vinotypes are quite sensitive to all sorts of things and, like the Sweet
Vinotypes, they have many pet peeves, he says. They are often artistic and
adamant that they know what they like. “Hypersensitive Vinotypes are very
similar in sensitivity to the Sweet Vinotypes but tend to prefer dry, or
just off-dry, wines on an everyday basis.,” he says. “Their favorite wines tend
to be more delicate and very, very smooth while also being lower in alcohol.
They may even like intense red wines but not with a lot of oak or heavy tannins
smooth and rich.<a href="http://www.timhanni.com/" target="_blank">www.timhanni.com</a><u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"> “The Hypersensitive Vinotype is a
bit more likely to ‘talk dry and drink sweet’ looking for those wines that have
a slight bit of residual sugar,” he adds.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">The Sensitive Vinotype is the most flexible of wine drinkers. “Sensitive Vinotypes go with the flow,” Hanni says. “Maybe they take their coffee with cream or a touch of sweetness at one point in the day, but they’ll enjoy black coffee if the wind is right. They are open to trying new things, and variety is truly the spice of their lives.” </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Sensitive Vinotypes love a wide range of mostly dry white and red wines, along with rosés and sparkling wines, Hanni says. “They are among the most adventurous wine lovers and open to all sorts of flavors and wine styles from delicate to robust.” They do have more limitations on bitterness and tannins than Tolerant Vinotypes, Hanni notes. “They are not typically looking for the oaky monsters but really impeccably balanced, smooth and the word ‘complex’ is usually important as a wine description."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">"Discovering people’s
Vinotype helps explain a lot of things people disagree on in life, from the
temperature in the room, to the use of cilantro in a recipe, to the volume of
the television, to the sheets that you sleep on,” Hanni says.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">“People should be able to
like what they like, and this includes sweet wines,” he concludes, and offering
wines matched to the different Vinotypes who all come together </span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">at holiday dining table
just might be your own holiday gift to wine lovers. <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">To discover your more about
the research and philosophies visit Hanni’s website,<strong><u> </u></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><strong><u>www.</u></strong><a href="http://timhanni.com/" moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><strong>timhanni.com</strong></span></a>. To find out
your Vinotype go to <a href="http://www.myvinotype.com/" target="_blank">www.myvinotype.com</a>.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Here is a list of Holiday Wine
Recommendations for the Vintoypes at your table or party. These wines were
Platinum or Gold award winners at the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi, a unique
evaluation event where hundreds of everyday consumers, are grouped into
Vinotype panels to taste and recommend their favorites from hundreds of wine
entered into the competition. <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Sweet Vinotypes are u</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">sually found sipping
their favorite White Zinfandel or Moscato so try one of these:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Hagafen Cellars Riesling, Napa Valley $24 </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Muscat, California $12.00<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Hypersensitive Vinotype<u1:p></u1:p></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Pinot Grigio or silky Pinot Noir are very
often the wine of choice and the will love one of the following:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 9pt;">·</span><span style="color: #141414; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">flipflop wines Sauvignon Blanc, Left Coast, ,Chile $7.00</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 9pt;">·</span><span style="color: #141414; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Loredona Pinot Grigio, Monterey, California $10.99</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 9pt;">·</span><span style="color: #141414; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Rutherford Vintners Pinot Noir, Napa Valley, California $12.99</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><u1:p> </u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Sensitive Vinotype<u1:p></u1:p></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">If you are limited on number of wines to
serve the good news is that the Sensitive Vinotype will probably like whatever
you select for the Hypersensitive or Tolerant but these will be specially loved:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Picket Fence Chardonnay 2009 Russian River Valley, California16.99</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">LuLu B., Malbec, Chile $7.00</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Cupcake Vineyards, Red Velvet, Zinfandel, Merlot Blend $13.99<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Tolerant Vinotype</span></b><o:p></o:p><br />
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; min-height: 14px; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Big,
bold and intense (and you know who it is that will love these) is the ticket
and here are some that will rock their world :<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Cycles Gladiator, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, California $12.00</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 1em 0in 1em 35.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Klinker Brick Winery Syrah Farrah, Lodi, California $20.00<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</li>
</ul>
<u1:p></u1:p>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-23364283214221863682012-05-29T11:44:00.002-07:002012-05-29T11:48:10.681-07:00June Webinar Dates for New Wine Fundamentals & Flavor Balancing<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
first two New Wine Fundamentals Webinars were a great success. Participants
from all around the globe, including Istanbul and China, joined in making these
a truly international phenomenon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Due
to the amount of information covered the wine and food component, “Flavor
Balancing, the UN-pairing of Wine and Food” will be offered as a separate
series with a full two hours devoted to the topic. It is recommended that the
New Wine Fundamentals is taken as a prerequisite to the Flavor Balancing Webinar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I think this was fabulous
training. First of all, his new wine fundamentals are exactly in line with the
way we feel about how people should get their arms around wine in general.
Second, if I had this training beforehand, it would have dramatically (and will)
altered the way I worked with some of our new hires. In fact, I intend to adopt
his Vinotyping ideas as I taste with people. His (Tim’s) approach is
iconoclastic and appropriate. He is not asking us to throw out the rules. He is
challenging us to examine why those rules exist and align our "rules"
to the reality of our customers. If we are successful, we can create a whole
new cadre of wine-drinkers who are fearless to drink wine they like, unashamed
of why they like the wine, and take every and appropriate advantage of the
critical reviews our wines receive.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
New Wine Fundamentals Webinar is a 2 hour “train the trainer” session that
includes the Vinotype and sensory insights components of my New Wine Fundamentals
program. You can sign up for yourself, or have any employees, associates or
friends join as well, by signing up for <span style="color: black;">one of </span>the
Webinars (link below). Let me know if you have any questions and love to have
you jump on board to help change the thinking of the wine industry! My wine and
food principles now replace ‘wine and food matching/pairing’ as part of the
curriculum for the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. Here is a link to a
brief video on the program: </span><a href="http://www.timhanni.com/New-Wine-Fundamentals.html"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.timhanni.com/New-Wine-Fundamentals.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a-Am-YyXY3o/T8UY89MWRwI/AAAAAAAAADs/TVzxuqIGFP0/s1600/NWF+logo2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a-Am-YyXY3o/T8UY89MWRwI/AAAAAAAAADs/TVzxuqIGFP0/s1600/NWF+logo2.gif" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">New Wine Fundamentals Webinars:</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> two dates and times to choose from:<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tuesday, June 19, 2012 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Saturday, June 23, 2012 from 9:00 to 11:00 AM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">REGISTRATION LINK: </span></b><a href="http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span id="goog_172493044"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_172493045"></span> for more information and to book your participation.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2 hour Webinar, $60.00 USD - Introduction to sensations, improved wine communications and Vinotypes: learn about the physical and psychological factors that influence wine preferences and wine consumer behaviors</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQRd7jd8JF4/T8UZEnSp2JI/AAAAAAAAAD0/mR8ohZB4eKg/s1600/Flavor+Balance+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQRd7jd8JF4/T8UZEnSp2JI/AAAAAAAAAD0/mR8ohZB4eKg/s1600/Flavor+Balance+Logo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Flavor
Balancing:</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> two
dates and times to choose from:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tuesday, June 26, 2012 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 9:00 to 11:00 AM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">REGISTRATION LINK: </span></b><a href="http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> for more information and to
book your participation.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2 hour Webinar, $60.00 USD – the “Cause & Effect” of
primary wine flavor interactions, wine and food myth busting plus how to
incorporate Flavor Balancing in tastings, hospitality events and wine &
food dinners. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">COMPLETION OF NEW WINE
FUNDAMENTALS WEBINAR OR SEMINAR IS RECOMMENDED PREREQUISITE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <span style="color: #666666;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My
hope is that I can use the Webinars to train and empower a legion of people
dedicated to a wine industry that focuses on the CONSUMER in a new and inviting
way. Hope you can join us and please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone
and everyone you think may be interested in joining the mission!<o:p></o:p></span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-73911781929995845122012-05-01T15:25:00.000-07:002012-05-01T15:25:07.576-07:00Learn About Vinotypes and Flavor Balancing via Online Webinars<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I
am launching a new education initiative for anyone who wants to participate in
a 2 hour “train the trainer” session that includes the Vinotype, sensory
insights and also the Flavor Balancing (wine and food UN-matching) components
of my New Wine Fundamentals program. You can sign up for yourself, or have any
employees, associates or friends join as well, by signing up for the Webinars
(link below). Let me know if you have any questions and love to have you jump
on board to help change the thinking of the wine industry! My wine and food
principles now replace ‘wine and food matching/pairing’ as part of the
curriculum for the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. Here is a link to a
brief video on the program: </span></span><a href="http://www.timhanni.com/New-Wine-Fundamentals.html"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.timhanni.com/New-Wine-Fundamentals.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Webinar
- New Wine Fundamentals Intro May 15, 2012 2:00 PM PDT</span></b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<b><span style="color: #6e058e; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Webinar
- New Wine Fundamentals Intro May 19, 2012 9:00 AM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">REGISTRATION LINK: </span></b><a href="http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/category.sc?categoryId=8</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> for more information and to book
your participation.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2
hour Webinar, $60.00 USD - Introduction to sensations, improved wine
communications and Vinotypes: learn about the physical and psychological
factors that influence wine preferences and wine consumer behaviors</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My
hope is that I can use the Webinars to train and empower a legion of people
dedicated to a wine industry that focuses on the CONSUMER in a new and inviting
way. Hope you can join us and please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone
and everyone you think may be interested in joining the mission!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-51285567074075876832012-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:002012-01-23T09:37:55.662-08:002012 Consumer Wine Awards Open for Submissions<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Consumer<span style="color: black;"> evaluators will assess hundreds of wines from around the world</span><o:p></o:p></span></span> <br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Lodi, CA (January <span style="color: black;">23</span>, 2012) -- Wines from all producing countries are now being accepted by the 5th Annual Consumer Wine Awards here, with the competition closing February 24 and winners announced in March.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The 5th annual Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi, open to wines from every region, grape variety, type and style in the world, will take place here March 17-18, 2012. Wines entered in this unique competition are evaluated by panels of everyday wine consumers in multiple categories of wine types, styles and price ranges. The unique event celebrates both the diversity of wines and of wine consumer preferences. Last year’s Platinum winners included an amazing range of wines from inexpensive table wines to high-end Napa Cabernets, wines from many states across the US and other countries, representing a full spectrum of wine flavors and styles. The competition is sponsored by the Lodi Tokay Rotary club and benefits local and international charities.</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eNNxliI227E/Tx2a3p3cL8I/AAAAAAAAADk/AQO8ekw8sy0/s1600/LIWAJudging2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eNNxliI227E/Tx2a3p3cL8I/AAAAAAAAADk/AQO8ekw8sy0/s1600/LIWAJudging2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">"The Consumer Wine Awards recognizes and celebrates the fact every person has unique physiological and sensory differences that profoundly affect wine and food preferences,” said co-director Tim Hanni MW. "The people evaluating each wine category will be the very consumers who are most inclined to buy and enjoy those wines, and this creates a new way for other consumers, who share similar tastes, to confidently explore wines recommended by their peers." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Awards are given in a variety of formats identified on the website, </span><a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">www.consumerwineawards.com</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, and will also include a special George M. Taber value wine award celebrating his upcoming book, “A Toast to Bargain Wines”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This year the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi will create "Best of Country" Awards for wines from around the globe; e.g., the highest scoring wines from Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, etc., will be given the opportunity to be tasted in their own sub-category by country, by consumers who favor traditional wines with regional character, or can be included in the traditional varietal categories at the discretion of the producer or importer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The top scoring wine from each country would be awarded "Best of (Country/Region)". "This is a great way for producers everywhere to see how their wines rate with their own countries' wines or, at their discretion, against U.S. and international competition," Hanni said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">G. M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, co-director, said that the competition is growing in popularity, reaching almost 1000 wines last year. He said, "Wineries should participate in the 2012 awards to tap into what we estimate to be in excess of 40% or more of the total wine market. We reach out to the overwhelmed, intimidated and disenfranchised core wine consumers who do not seem to respond to the language, values and conventional wisdom of the traditional wine community. We believe the wine industry can benefit from a completely new direction and strategy that can only come from critically rethinking the consumer opportunity." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Several research programs are accompanying the competition, helping participants identify consumer palatal preferences. "With over 100,000 wines in the market, these consumer-generated preference awards provide new guidelines for the industry," Pucilowski said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and hoteliers are using the prize winners in their own wine programs, said Hanni. "It's a win-win, with winning wineries working with the trade to show the consumers that their tastes are being factored into wine programs." The competition is sponsored by the Lodi Tokay Rotary Club and proceeds fund local and international charitable projects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Key Dates:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">• January 4, 2012 - First Day for receiving entry applications and wines (or labels) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">• February 24, 2012 - Last Day for accepting entry applications and wines (or labels)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">• March 17-18, 2012 - Competition to be held at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, California</span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Contacts for questions and information:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Harvey Posert Public Relations, </span><a href="mailto:hposertpr@comcast.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">hposertpr@comcast.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">, (707) 963-2685 Tim Hanni MW, </span><a href="mailto:tim@timhanni.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">tim@timhanni.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">, (707) 337-0327 (tasting methodology, consumer research) G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, </span><a href="mailto:gmpooch@pacbell.net"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">gmpooch@pacbell.net</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">, (209) 369-2020 (wine submissions) Mike Bennett, (209) 642-2391 </span><a href="mailto:mbennett41@sbcglobal.net"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">mbennett41@sbcglobal.net</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (Rotary PR contact, Lodi-related information and details)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Consumer Wine Awards is looking for Consumer Wine Evaluators (<span style="color: black;">people </span>NOT in wine bi<span style="color: black;">siness</span>): </span><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CWAL2012_Consumer_Evaluator_Application"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CWAL2012_Consumer_Evaluator_Application</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> to apply<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-42320630119487891932011-11-06T07:56:00.000-08:002011-11-06T07:56:17.235-08:00CONSUMER WINE AWARDS COMPETITION SET FOR 2012<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Consumer Preferences Can Surprise, Validate Experts</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> <br />
November 4, 2011, Lodi, CA -- The 5th annual Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi, open to wines from every region, grape variety, type and style in the world, will take place here March 17-18, 2012. Wines entered in this unique competition are evaluated by panels of everyday wine consumers in multiple categories of wine types, styles and price ranges. The unique evnt celebrates both the diversity of wines and of wine consumer preferences. Last year’s Platinum winners included an amazing range of wines from inexpensive table wines to high-end Napa Cabernets, wines from many states across the US and other countries, representing a full spectrum of wine flavors and styles.</span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V0I6FMoX2wE/TratOPb2lCI/AAAAAAAAADU/XU4dQtEPs5k/s1600/LIWAJudging2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V0I6FMoX2wE/TratOPb2lCI/AAAAAAAAADU/XU4dQtEPs5k/s1600/LIWAJudging2.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Consumer Evaluators in Actions</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"The Consumer Wine Awards recognizes and celebrates the fact every person has unique physiological and sensory differences that profoundly affect wine and food preferences,” said co-director Tim Hanni MW. "The people evaluating each wine category will be the very consumers who are most inclined to buy and enjoy those wines and this creates a new way for other consumers, who share similar tastes, to confidently explore wines recommended by their peers." Awards are given in a variety of formats identified on the website, </span></span><a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/" moz-do-not-send="true" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">www.consumerwineawards.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> and will also include a special George Taber value wine award celebrating his upcoming book, A Toast to Bargain Wines.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> This year the Consumer Wine Awards will create "Best of Country" Awards for wines from around the globe; e.g., the highest scoring wines from Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, etc.,will be be given the opportunity to be tasted in their own sub-category by country, by consumers who favor traditional wines with regional character, or can be included in the traditional varietal categories at the discretion of the producer or importer. The top scoring wine from each country would be awarded "Best of (Country/Region)". "This is a great way for producers everywhere to see how their wines rate with their own countries' wines or, at their discretion, against U.S. and international competition," Hanni said.</span></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">G. M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, co-director, said that the competition is growing in popularity, reaching almost 1000 wines last year. He said, "Wineries should participate in the 2012 awards to tap into what we estimate to be in excess of 40% or more of the total wine market. We reach out to the overwhelmed, intimidated and disenfranchised core wine consumers who do not seem to respond to the language, values and conventional wisdom of the traditional wine community. We believe the wine industry can benefit from a completely new direction and strategy that can only come from critically rethinking the consumer opportunity." Several research programs are accompanying the competition, helping participants identify consumer palatal preferences. "With over 100,000 wines in the market, these consumer preference awards are guidelines for the industry," Pucilowski said.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BPc8NNQdnFU/Trat0hvxuKI/AAAAAAAAADc/VGBQzfNf0V8/s1600/Award+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BPc8NNQdnFU/Trat0hvxuKI/AAAAAAAAADc/VGBQzfNf0V8/s320/Award+18.jpg" width="194" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and hoteliers are using the prize winners in their own wine programs, said Hanni "It's a win-win, with winning wineries working with the trade to show the consumers that their tastes are being factored into wine programs." The competition is sponsored by the Lodi Tokay Rotary Club and proceeds fund local and international charitable projects.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Key Dates:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">January 4, 2012 - First Day for receiving entry applications and wines (or labels) </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">February 24, 2012 - Last Day for accepting entry applications and wines (or labels)</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">March 17-18, 2012 - Competition to be held at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, California</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Contacts for questions and information:</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> <u5:p></u5:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Harvey Posert Public Relations, </span></span><a href="mailto:hposertpr@comcast.com" moz-do-not-send="true" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hposertpr@comcast.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">, (707) 963-2685</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tim Hanni MW, </span></span><a href="mailto:tim@timhanni.com" moz-do-not-send="true" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">tim@timhanni.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">, (707) 337-0327 (tasting methodology, consumer research)</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, </span></span><a href="mailto:gmpooch@pacbell.net" moz-do-not-send="true" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">gmpooch@pacbell.net</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">, (209) 369-2020 (wine submissions) </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Mike Bennett, (209) 642-2391 </span><a href="mailto:mbennett41@sbcglobal.net" moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">mbennett41@sbcglobal.net</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> (Rotary PR contact, Lodi-related information and details)</span></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> <u5:p></u5:p></span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-3401705060069982812011-08-27T10:41:00.000-07:002011-08-29T10:49:15.021-07:00Imaginary Wine and Food Disasters<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dkdn3bUmkpM/TlkU2dRqcjI/AAAAAAAAAC4/F7ih6KqcgmM/s1600/halibut-salmon-veggies-wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" qaa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dkdn3bUmkpM/TlkU2dRqcjI/AAAAAAAAAC4/F7ih6KqcgmM/s200/halibut-salmon-veggies-wine.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicate sauteed halibut, salmon and <br />
grilled asparagus served with Moscato, <br />
White Zin and Cab (1985 Beringer <br />
Chabot vineyard!). All yummy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Have you even tried it?</span></strong></span></div><br />
Almost all wine and food matching occurs in the fertile imagination of usually well-meaning and earnest wine and food enthusiasts and professionals. There is also some specter of "wine and food disasters" looming that can befall the poor, unsuspecting consumer if they make the mistake of ordering or serving the wrong wine with the wrong food: see Dan Berger's piece on wine pairing disasters - <a href="http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/article_cbc1dd26-6acc-11e0-9fd6-001cc4c03286.html">http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/article_cbc1dd26-6acc-11e0-9fd6-001cc4c03286.html</a><br />
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Here are recommendations for Peking Duck on a recent expert thread (spelling is from posts):<br />
<ul><li>Reisling, a Sauvignon Blanc or Chateau Neuf-du-Pape, Oregon Pinot Noir, 100% Pinot Meunier Champagne, Alsace blends, a big ol' Pride Cabernet, Dolcetto and ripe vintages of rosso di montalcino, Sangiovese, Australian Sparkling Cabernet, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Dry rose (esp. ones based upon Rhone red varieties like Grenache, and Syrah or Italian varieties like Barbera and Sangiovese), a good portuguese wine from Douro.</li>
</ul>Holy moly. Basically everyone just conjures up the dish, conjures up the metaphorical match and then goes to the mental rolodex of wines they love in their heads and comes up with a match. The process is not based on any reality - just our fertile imagination and personal wine favorites. Note there is nothing wrong with this - just what the hell is a poor consumer supposed to do with this information???? You can bet that all contributors would defend their choices AND you can bet that if it is a wine you love it will be great with the Peking Duck AND if it is not a great match a dash of soy sauce (which is erroneously referred to as a wine enemy) and a tiny squeeze of lemon (for those who are more highly sensitive to bitterness) will set the dish right with any of the wines recommended.<br />
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Now take the information to your retailer, "I went online and looking for a big, delicate, fruity and spicy late harvest sparkling nouveau white cabernet-pinot noir-grenache-sangiovese rose from Portugal made by an Australian winemaker with lots of not-oak owned by an Italian family to go with Peking Duck..."<br />
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When people come to my house for lunch or dinner and I get the cursory, "What wine should I bring?" question I disclose the meal I plan and ask them to bring a wine that will NOT go with the dish. The wine should be something they like but would be considered a 'disaster' with the food. Most often I love to serve a delicate fish dish, like sole or halibut (red snapper or flounder when I am in Florida) and the wines that are selected are the intense reds that are so de riguer these days. Not sorta red, big and red.<br />
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The typical dishes I prepare are filet of sole a la bonne femme (paupiettes of sole - rolled up - poached in white wine and fish fumet with tarragon and mushrooms. The wines selected range from intense Lodi Petite Sirah to Napa Cabernet. I will invite some who have had this experience weigh in in the comments.<br />
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The results? Yummy food, wonderful wine. The sole is delicious. The wine does not overpower the food nor does the food do anything other than make the wine more rich and delectable. The wine and food 'disaster' is all in our heads. Not one of the hundreds of people I cook for over the years has EVER tried a delicate piece of fish a la meuniere with and intense red wine. EVER!<br />
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Same goes for steak and Riesling or lamb and Pinot Grigio. If the food is green and vegetal the imagination goes to Sauvignon Blanc. Oysters and Syrah? Ask winemaker Ken Brown - we spent an afternoon at Edna Valley Winery many years ago with a whole group of people slurping down fresh oyster and sucking down Syrah, Cabernet - anything close at hand that was supposed to 'not go with' oysters. If a slight metallic or bitter edge arose the tiniest bit of fresh lemon juice brought the wine back into wonderful balance. There were a lot of quizzical looks - turns out not one person in the very large group of very expert wine people had even tried the combination.<br />
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There is no natural affinity between Pinot Noir and salmon - salmon is just metaphorically more similar to Pinot: salmon is big and red as far as fish go (not as big and not as red as a cow) and Pinot is not as 'big' and red as a Cabernet. it is an imaginary match - and if you love Pinot Noir and love salmon chances are you will be very passionate that this IS a perfect match!<br />
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<strong>A couple of caveats</strong><br />
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1. The wine must be in the realm of a wine you would enjoy - if you hate high alcohol Zinfandel, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio or whatever, it WILL suck with your food (or without).<br />
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2. The more emotionally you are tied to wine and food matching the more likely it is the imaginary wine and food matches you conjure up will work together. This is a psychological phenomenon and self-fulfilling prophecy of wine and food matching, not an experiential reality.<br />
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3. The more 'Hypersensitive' you are the more likely you are to get a bitter reaction from strong wines (high extract, higher alcohol) with foods with lots of umami - a tiny addition of lemon and salt will cure most negative reactions but you don't tend to favor huge reds or oaky whites in the first place and stick to the wines you love the most.<br />
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4. The more 'Tolerant' you are the more you will love big, extracted reds with whatever the hell you are eating and less likely you are to get any bitter reactions - you just want big, red wines and you know who you are! A delicate Riesling with sushi is not in the cards for you.<br />
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5. If you love the metaphorical matching of heavy wines with heavy foods, searching for that orgasmic synergy when the wine and food elevate the experience to a whole new level, compliment and contrast the flavors and textures - keep on doing that. Just understand that the experience is personal, subjective and mostly all in your head!<br />
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It is time that to radically address the role of enjoying wine and food together - things are completely out of control and the misinformation, false premises and misunderstandings are at an all-time high. Go ahead - spend a week diligently trying the WRONG wine with your food, or vice-versa. You will be surprised at the success you will have finding delicious matches you never imagined.Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0Napa, CA, USA38.3047222 -122.2988889000000138.2398507 -122.36665140000001 38.3695937 -122.23112640000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-64031165128085919942011-05-31T14:46:00.000-07:002011-05-31T14:52:01.024-07:00Wine & Spirits Education Trust Adopts Consumer-friendly Hanni Approach<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jx-3z234Ixw/TeVhO0557aI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Y4qS3pbzyMk/s1600/WSET.logo_details.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jx-3z234Ixw/TeVhO0557aI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Y4qS3pbzyMk/s1600/WSET.logo_details.gif" t8="true" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am very proud to formally announce that the Wine & Spirits Education Trust will be adopting my principles and approach to the enjoyment of wine with food for their Advanced Course curriculum. Their key textbook, Exploring the World of Wines and Spirits, is currently being revised, translated and reprinted with the new chapter and is scheduled for distribution this fall.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can download a reprint of the new chapter, with the permission of the WSET, at <a href="http://www.timhanni.com/Wine_with_Food_WSET.pdf">http://www.timhanni.com/Wine_with_Food_WSET.pdf</a>. I would be delighted to answer any questions and interested in comments on the material. I was in London earlier this month and was able to conduct a Master Class with the WSET team and it was very well received with some lingering doubts and resistance clearly evident from a few attendees. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know that a lot of my assertions may at first seem extreme but I am very careful with my research and invite others to participate in helping to bring about positive change to an area that has become increasingly confusing and contradictory. My transition from staunch traditionalist to “disruptive innovator” in the wine and food arena did not come about either quickly or easily.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am more convinced than ever that the way to globally expand wine sales and promote a greater diversity of wine styles will come from the wine community learning to celebrate the diversity of wine consumer tastes and deepen our understanding of individual consumer preferences. Combining this consumer-centric approach with a new and more accurate understanding of the dynamics of wine and food interactions with much-needed revisions to inaccurate wine and food principles could be the key for stimulating wine consumption from consumers who love wine but are off put by the unnecessary, confusing rituals and false promises of wine and food pairing. My mission is to expand wine enjoyment and by introducing a much greater rigor into a community that operates on a lot of half-truths and myths.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Join in with your comments and let me know what you think!</span></div>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-90072861112362084052011-04-19T06:42:00.000-07:002011-04-19T06:42:44.513-07:00CONSUMER WINE AWARDS AT LODI FULFILLS PROMISE TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITYAn army of 120 wine consumers supported by a legion of over 100 local Rotarians convened in Lodi, California, to participate as Consumer Evaluators for the 2011 Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi. They sipped, spat and voted their favorites from nearly 700 wines submitted and the results covered a spectrum of wines that were as diverse as the spectrum of consumers who evaluated them. Platinum Awards went to twenty-one wines including an intense Lodi Zinfandel, two delicate Pinot Grigios, a high-end Napa Valley Bordeaux blend, a Chardonnay from Pennsylvania, a Chardonnay from Virginia and even a generic, boxed “Rhine” wine from California.<br />
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What makes this event so unique is that panels of consumers, not wine critics or experts, are selected to evaluate categories of wines that they love. This means that the awards are given by the very people who most frequently select the types of wines they are asked to evaluate. "We recognized that some wines which get a shrug from the experts are getting kudos from the everyday consumers who buy and drink them," says Competition Co-Director "Pooch" Pucilowski.<br />
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Christine Carroll, from Crossing Vineyards, Crossing, PA and Platinum Award winner for 2008 Viognier, wrote the organizers saying, “These awards mean so much more to us than the political, wine-snob-driven competitions we often enter. You have no idea how tough it is to prove that world class wine can be produced in Pennsylvania! Your recognition encourages us to go quietly about the process of making good, affordably priced wines every day. We will keep fighting the good fight.” <br />
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Master of Wine Tim Hanni, who is responsible for the unique focus and methodology employed for the event, points out, “Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi encompasses all of the things we value and are working to bring to the wine community. We are exploring a better understanding of consumer preferences and values to develop peer-to-peer wine recommendations as an alternative, not replacement, to expert or wine critic recommendations. The wine industry is missing the mark and spending too much time trying to tell consumers what they like instead of listening and finding out what they want. The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi is part of a bigger movement to end “the tyranny of the minority” of a handful of critics, who tend to focus on a very narrow range of wines, and expose more people to the phenomenal wines from around America and beyond. We are thrilled that so many lesser-known wines performed so magnificently.”<br />
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A full listing of results and information on the 2012 Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi can be found at <a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/">http://www.consumerwineawards.com/</a>.<br />
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Contact: Tim Hanni MW, tim@timhanni.comTim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-87862171409857295832011-04-10T07:33:00.000-07:002011-04-10T07:33:23.229-07:00How (Or If) You Wear Underwear May Provide Insights to Wine Preferences<em>Individual sensory sensitivity manifested in strange ways.</em><br />
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My research colleague, Dr. Virginia Utermohlen MD, and I are proposing that the range and intensity of sensations we experience varies, often dramatically, from one person to the next and these individual differences play an important role in determining individual wine preferences. It is well known that people often argue about the characteristics and qualities they perceive in a wine—it's as if they were not tasting or smelling the same thing. This disagreement is known to occur among experts, even when they are sharing from the exact same bottle. We propose that these differences in perception often stem from sensitivity variables. Furthermore these variables are evident in a spectrum of individual attitudes and behaviors and may even influence the development of our personality traits. <br />
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Someone who is extremely sensitive to touch is usually more sensitive to other sensory stimuli: light, sound, taste, and smell. This insight helps explain a lot of things people disagree on in life, from the temperature in the room, to the use of cilantro in a recipe, to the volume of the television, to the sheets that you sleep on.<br />
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Virginia and I were recently reviewing data collected from wine consumers and discussing how heightened taste sensitivity is manifested in many other behaviors related to sensory sensitivity—ranging from finding the right thermostat settings to the need to cut tags out of clothing because it is so irritating. She inquired, “Have you ever asked people if they wear their underwear inside out?”<br />
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“Dear god”, I asked, “what on earth for?” Virginia went on to explain that a common behavior of ultra-sensitive people, who tend to prefer sweet or very light dry wines, is to invert their undies due to the irritation from the seams against their skin. Or, she said, they oftentimes just abandon wearing undergarments altogether. Inquiring minds want to know, so I have begun asking this question at events and wine tastings where I conduct our Taste Sensitivity Quotient (TasteSQ) interview. <br />
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During a TasteSQ interview at a recent wine tasting in San Francisco, I tried the question for the first time with a gentleman who hit all of the other questions for a Sweet (ultrasensitive) taster dead-on: can’t stand coffee (too bitter), loves salt (a sign of more taste buds, not less), and experiences a horrible, bitter and metallic taste from artificial sweeteners. And yes, he loved sweet wines and could not stand the horrible taste of dry wines. I proceeded to make assertion after assertion on things like his need to cut tags out of his clothes, how loud restaurants completely ruin even the most delicious food, and that his Mother experienced severe morning sickness with him. He was amazed. Feeling this was the perfect chance I asked, “Do you ever wear your underwear inside out?” He almost fell over. It was evident, and he later confirmed the answer, saying “Yep – how the h*** did you know THAT?” His friends were quite amused.<br />
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It was a simple deductive process. People who love sweet or delicate wines are typically what we call Sweet or Hypersensitive tasters. They share common traits such as hypersensitivity to light, sound, smell and, in this case, touch. In fact, they live in a vivid cacophony of sensations that other people cannot even imagine. This means they tend to seek out wines that are sweet or delicate, and they require the wines to be low in alcohol and ultra-smooth tasting. <br />
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A common behavior of these ultrasensitive individuals is to turn their undies inside out or to abandon wearing them at all. With my insatiable curiosity fired up I am delving deeper into this phenomenon and finding people who abandon undies altogether are reticent to share the information, but their stuttering and blushing give away their secret. Another connection to the term “blush wine”? Kidding.<br />
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Sweet and Hypersensitive tasters, who have the most taste buds and share an aversion to bitterness, high alcohol, and tannin will seek out wines that are often sweet, such as Moscato or White Zinfandel, or delicate dry wines, like dry Riesling or Pinot Grigio. They seek out and enjoy the very wines abandoned by the wine critics and wine community in general. Light, delicate, smooth and fragrant.<br />
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Boy, this assertion is going to get my detractors’ panties in a wad. That is, if they are wearing any.Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-54815757320719166732011-03-15T11:21:00.000-07:002011-03-15T11:21:39.254-07:00New Hope for Mothers of Picky Eaters<strong>Research shows picky eaters are the most sensitive tasters, provides new hope to frustrated mothers everywhere. </strong><br />
March 14, 2011, Napa, CA: Children who are picky eaters often have highly sensitive palates with heightened perception of bitterness. As a result they will typically avoid healthy vegetables while gravitating to salty and fatty foods thus developing a host of life-long, unhealthy eating habits that may result in higher risks of disease, obesity, and cancer. They may also be more likely to end up with diminished confidence and low self-esteem, according to Dr. Virginia Utermohlen. <br />
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The solution for preparing kid-friendly foods lies in a technique called "flavor balancing" developed by her research partner, Master of Wine and chef Tim Hanni. Says Utermohlen, "I am a highly sensitive taster myself; I was, and still am, a very picky eater and never have been able to eat green beans or many other vegetables. When I tried some fresh green beans prepared with Tim's flavor balancing technique I polished off a whole plate full!"<br />
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Utermohlen is a pediatrician, researcher and recently retired professor in the Cornell University Division of Nutritional Sciences, who studies how taste and smell sensitivity are related to personality, food choice, eating attitudes and behavior, and choice of profession. Tim Hanni MW is the founder of the Napa Seasoning Company, a trained chef and Master of Wine who studies how sensory sensitivity variables affect consumer wine and food preferences. Utermohlen and Hanni teamed up two years ago to conduct deeper research on the role of sensory physiology in shaping human food and beverage preferences, behaviors and even personality traits. Their research not only shows that picky eaters crave salt, love sweets and avoid bitter foods and beverages, but that these picky eaters grow up feeling embarrassed about their preferences and often alienated or even punished at the table. Says Hanni, “It is time we learned to better understand and cultivate, not punish, young palates.”<br />
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Contact: Tim Hanni MW tim@napaseasoning.com or 707-337-0327Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-60245959697321415512011-02-22T10:36:00.000-08:002011-02-22T10:37:54.662-08:00Pinot Noir Summit to Assess Consumer Wine Favorites by Taste Sensitivity QuotientHow consumers' wine preferences mesh with the preferences of other consumers with similar taste sensitivity will be determined at a pioneering tasting program in the 9th Annual Pinot Noir Summit February 26 at the San Francisco Hilton. "By establishing the TasteSQ (<a href="http://www.tastesq.com/">http://www.tastesq.com/</a>) of the participants, we can easily show how your TasteSQ influences your Pinot Noir syle preferences and then how that matches with other people with a similar sensitivity," said Tim Hanni, MW, who created the Consumer Wine Preference format with Cornell's Virginia Utermohlen, M.D. "For the first time they'll be able to tell which wines are best suited to which groups of tasters."<br />
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How it works: the experts and the consumers will be assessed by Hanni for their Taste SQ (Sensitivity Quotient) to determine if they are a Sweet, Hyper-sensitive, Sensitive or Tolerant taster. Their TasteSQ will be recorded on their ballot as they taste through the range of wines selected from the Pinot Noir Shootout and select their top three favorite wines. Hanni and Dr. Utermohlen, partners in TasteScience, will analyze the results by TasteSQ segments to demonstrate how differences in consumer preferences can be understood and explained by taste sensitivity. This information will be available with the overall results from the event.<br />
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Pinot Noir enthusiasts will taste 64 top Pinot Noirs blind, as well as attend wine workshops and tasting with winemakers and wine educators. The daylong program costs$125, with a portion going to Junior Achievement. For tickets, register at <a href="http://www.affairsofthevine.com/">http://www.affairsofthevine.com/</a>. For further information contact Barbara Drady, Affairs of the Vine, 707/874-1975 or barbara@affairsofthevine.com.<br />
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To take the 2011 Consumer Wine Preferences Survey go to <a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/">http://www.consumerwineawards.com/</a>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-5339832036511446072011-01-25T09:14:00.000-08:002011-01-25T09:16:25.669-08:00Search for Wine Consumers to Evaluate Hundreds of Wines<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TT8D1OaiRCI/AAAAAAAAACs/WSQKyQstvhQ/s1600/CWAL+Logo+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="72" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TT8D1OaiRCI/AAAAAAAAACs/WSQKyQstvhQ/s320/CWAL+Logo+2.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi is seeking everyday wine lovers to participate in a wine preferences survey and apply to become a Consumer Wine Evaluator. Please take our 20 minute survey even if you are unable to participate in the event. We want to hear from you and you can go to </span><a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.consumerwineawards.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> to take our survey and apply to be one of our Evaluators.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi takes place at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, CA, on Saturday, March 19th, 2010 from approximately 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and possibly on Sunday, March 20th, 2011, from approximately 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We also have our famous 'After Party' from 6:00 to 9:00 and everyone is invited to participate in this event ($25.00 per person, Consumer Wine Evaluators free).</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TT8DhmBLIRI/AAAAAAAAACo/QT58rSPhIps/s1600/Judging2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TT8DhmBLIRI/AAAAAAAAACo/QT58rSPhIps/s1600/Judging2.bmp" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are looking for a broad spectrum of 'everyday' wine consumers with little or no formal wine tasting training or high level wine education - our special evaluation process is amazingly simple to learn. But you certainly can be passionate about wine AND WE WANT PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE WINES THAT ARE WELL-MADE, DISTINCT AND EVEN SOMETIMES UNUSUAL - NOT A BUNCH OF HARSH 'CRITICS'!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">No expenses or compensation are provided - it is up to you to make all travel and accommodation arrangements. You will be invited, as our guest and at no charge, to attend the 'After Party' on Saturday evening. Tickets will be available at a fee for additional guests.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do you meet these qualifications?</span></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You have a spirit of discovery, adventure and willingness to try new wines. Evaluation panels will be made up of people who love the types of wine they are evaluating. People with specific preferences for major wine types will be selected to assess those types of wine. We are also encouraging the submission of wines from all around the world including many lesser-known varieties and styles and will do our best to assign those wines, according to primary flavors, to the appropriate panels. Last year, for example, a Rhubarb wine from South Dakota nearly earned the highest award possible missing by the narrowest margin possible while an elegant and complex Rocca Cabernet Sauvignon took the highest honors for that variety.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You need to understand that this may actually be WORK! You may anticipate tasting in the neighborhood of 40 wines over the course of 3 hours. Tasting and then SPITTING the wine is required and special training to develop your spitting skills will be provided. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While this is a fun event it is imperative to maintain a serious attitude and demeanor during the introduction, training and evaluation. It is very important, especially as wine is an alcoholic beverage, to ensure the safe and moderate execution of this program.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thank you again for your interest in our program. Whether or not you are selected as a Consumer Wine Evaluator you are invited to visit Lodi for the weekend and join us Saturday, March 19th at Hutchins Street Square for the After Party (only $25.00 per person for non-evaluators). To take the survey, buy tickets to the After party or learn more go to </span><a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.consumerwineawards.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-26005406931690595862011-01-06T19:04:00.000-08:002011-01-06T19:09:41.487-08:00Prediction: 2011 to Become the “Year of the Wine Consumer”<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I love the adage, “If I ask you what time it is don’t tell me how the watch works.” And I confess that I am as guilty as any wine expert for launching into a lesson on history, geology and fermentation sciences when asked the simple question, “What would be a nice wine for my dinner tonight?” </span><br />
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</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TSaBqyXRkCI/AAAAAAAAACk/RzK0G49xTv4/s1600/UndecidedWoman5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TSaBqyXRkCI/AAAAAAAAACk/RzK0G49xTv4/s320/UndecidedWoman5.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This being said I think it is high time that the wine industry and our community of wine experts, educators, consultants and sommeliers take the point of this saying to heart. Some people are really curious and passionate about understanding minute details about wines: where they come from, how they are made, how made them and how to best describe their experience with fantastic descriptive details of flora, fauna, numerical ratings and god only knows what else. This is well and good if the person or people you are dealing with are on the same plane. The problem is that many people simply don’t give a rat’s butt about all of the details and trivia about wine. They just want something that tastes good without all of the hoopla and without the inference that they must become more “educated” before they can enjoy a nice glass of wine. And things have been getting worse as of late.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Over the past few decades the missive for many wine pundits has been to “educate consumers to appreciate better wines.” Behind this noble effort is a misguided premise that “better” wine is dry, intense, high in alcohol and often emitting smells that can be likened to Carmen Miranda’s head gear, cat’s pee (seriously), old socks or wet dogs. The bottom-line for all of this a covert agenda of “let’s get more consumers to spend more money on wines they may not like.” I we turn the tables and have the wine industry become as passionate about understanding and embracing wine consumers as we are about learning and disseminating wine trivia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My prediction for 2011 is that more and more wine authorities and educators will finally take up the practice of learning to listen to consumers and back off on the inappropriate assumption that all consumers want to be educated about wine. And ditto for the incorrect assumption that all consumers are always searching for new wine experiences. Many are, and the Year of the Wine Consumer is not about stifling wine education or suppressing the desire of many to constantly explore new wines. The Year of the Wine Consumer is more about finding out where a consumer want to go and then getting them to the products that will delight them without the unnecessary baggage of intimidation, arrogance and misassumptions about what they really like and want from a wine.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To make this prediction a reality two things need to happen. First, wine consumers need to have a stronger voice and take on a powerful posture that their personal preferences count. This means to demand from the wine people you encounter that they cater you’re your needs, not the greater glory of Bacchus and the other false gods of wine.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Secondly, the wine community; educators, mavens, sommeliers, and experts, need to learn to listen for what consumers are really asking for. Would you like to be taken on a wild journey or stick to something close to home, warm and comfortable? We would become focused on asking, “What do I need to know about you?” so we can help custom tailor a wine selection that will rock your world. Our mission for the “Year of the Wine Consumer” is to get the attention focused on the consumers’ wants and needs with the option to go for a ride still open and available to anyone who cares.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you are a wine consumer and like the idea of the wine industry being of better service to you here is how you can help. My partner, Dr. Virginia Utermohlen MD, and I are conducting a survey in conjunction with the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi and we want you to participate. It will probably take about 20 minutes as this is not silly cliché-riddled throwaway project. There is some serious science going on behind the scenes and we are really working hard to get people who are tired of the confusion, overwhelm and lack of personalized service when looking for help with your wine selections. Please take the 20 minutes and forward this piece on to anyone and everyone you know who enjoys wine but is tired of the ordeal and expense of trying to find wines that suit your personal preferences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Help us make 2011 the Year of the Wine Consumer by going to www.consumerwineawards.com and selecting the link: Take the NEW 2011 Consumer Survey. And then send this along to every wine drinker you know so they can do the same. Let them know that the wine industry is finally ready to listen and that the new wine education mission is to learn how to be more of service and become better listeners. </span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-46150169121021095582010-12-30T19:43:00.000-08:002010-12-30T19:45:23.118-08:00Celebrate Consumer Diversity for a Healthier, More Diverse Wine Industry<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Wine consumers come in all shapes, sizes, gender, adult age and socio-economic groups. Wines come in many colors, flavors, styles and price points. Long term growth, expansion of production in emerging regions, acceptance of overlooked-but-traditional and new wine types and a general better health prognosis for the wine industry will come from celebrating the diversity of wines, wine consumers and the diversity of rating, scoring and communications systems to get the right consumer to the right product.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The way to expand wine sales and promote a greater diversity of wine styles will come from the wine community learning to celebrate the diversity of wine consumer tastes and deepen our understanding of individual consumer preferences. This strategy will allow the peaceful coexistence of different valuation systems that are geared towards, and can be custom fit to, the wants and needs of different groups of consumers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My friend John Stallcup says that wine style, fashion and quality is largely dictated by the “tyranny of the minority”; a handful of wine critics who favor dry, highly concentrated and intense wines. This has resulted in the homogenization of wine styles around the world and stifled the efforts of vintners who favor delicacy, lesser known grape varieties or produce wine in lesser-known growing regions. Modern communications and technology are having an impact on expanding wine communication. But the frustration of new-age critics, bloggers and wine producers is omnipresent as more pressure is mounted to find alternatives to end the 30-year dominance of the 100 point rating system.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This “tyranny of the minority” results in a hyper-focus on a handful of regions, producers and wine styles. While terrific wines are being produced in every state in the US and several Provinces in Canada there is less attention paid to the passionate efforts of these vintners outside of their state or province of production. Even producers in Europe, where they have been growing and making wine for centuries, are now facing ”identity crises”. As winegrowers in Chianti, Bordeaux and other regions vie to “fight it out for the points” many lament that the wines are losing their personality and character, instead becoming homogenous and indistinguishable “modern” style of wines so fashionable with the majority of wine critics and gatekeepers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is important to stress that this is a call to end the DOMINANCE of the 100 point system – not a call to end the 100 point system itself. There is a definable, established and viable market segment of people who clearly favor the types of wines earning high scores in the “more equals better” equation and find the 100 point system works perfectly for their needs. The opportunity is to develop and promote meaningful alternative systems for people who do not enjoy the higher alcohol, high intensity types of wines favored by this method of valuation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So how can we sell a more diverse spectrum of wines to the largest, most diverse range of consumers? Now is the time to create a new approach to wine marketing and communications. One that does not destroy any of the existing systems yet will usher in a new era of better understanding and personalizing the experience for wine consumers. The consumers are out there, there is plenty of wine to go around and the time is ripe for change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Help us get wine consumers to take our survey! Wine professionals are welcome to weigh in but we really want to get this out past the gatekeepers and reach every day wine consumers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cwal2011 </span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">About the Consumer Wine Awards </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Consumer Wine Awards is an international wine competition open to wines grown and produced anywhere in the world and represents a viable alternative for generating meaningful, peer-to-peer wine recommendations. It is entering its’ fourth year and second year employing panels of untrained consumers instead of traditional wine experts. We will begin accepting wines January 1, 2011, to be tasted March 19 and 20, 2011. The submission forms and handbook can be downloaded at www.consumerwineawards.com. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-26433842205665716882010-12-12T11:30:00.000-08:002010-12-12T12:35:09.338-08:00Top Expert Declares Wines Should Be Homogenized, Lifeless Commodities!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you are reading this I apparently got your attention. The intention of this post is to help people get past the incorrect conclusions drawn by many people about my work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Seems that if I am to infer the wine industry might be better off learning more about consumers and applying that learning to promoting the expansion of wine consumption that what I REALLY and saying is we need to produce bland, homoginized, cheap wines with no soul or character and sell them to consumers that I think are morons. Here is a lovely example of how the logic seems to go:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I recently posted a comment to a blog on balance that predicatbly inspired lively debate and opposing points of view. I used a Napa Valley Cabernet for an example of a wine people might perceive differentlly from a standpoint of balance, primarily how differently we experience alcohol and tannin. My comment was framed by the Sufi parable about 3 blind men describing how they perceived an elephant and I used generalizations from my research on taste sensitivity to illustrate how physiological sensory variables shape our differing experiences and the descriptions and opinions we form of those experiences. Here is the response it elicited:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ticked off California wine critic: “I think he makes too much of his pet theories, but then we all do. But when he drags them in to suggest that only people with dull palates could appreciate CA Cabs, then he goes too far.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Blog author, “I didn't take Tim's comment to be a broadbrush stroke against CA wines.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Critic, expanding his hostility and errant correlations, “frankly, how can the story be interpreted any other way. Only the third blind blogger, the one with no taste buds (<em>hmmm – I never said that</em>), likes CA wines…And what he sees is that only blind bloggers with no tastebudes like CA wine. That would <strong>suggest</strong> that 95% of all Californians are borne with fewer taste buds than average <em>(hmmm - I said never said that).</em> Sorry, Joe, but that kind of logic cannot be left unchallenged”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yowser – that is sure a stretch! He then goes over to attack me on his own blog:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"So, today, over on Joe Roberts’ site, Mr. Hanni, brought his “number of taste buds” theory to bear on why some people never like California wine...To put it another way, apparently 95% of people living in California are born with an insufficient number of taste buds and we just do not know any better...This theory gets what it deserves: F"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Although the headline for this blog is the farthest thing from my mind, people who are passionate and very expert about wine seem very confronted and afraid that this is what I am proposing - and unwilling to learn more about it. All I can say is get over it. <strong>My consumer research and movement is directed to end the ‘tyranny of the minority’, restore the possibility of making wines with MORE character and MORE diversity is being met with great resistance, ignorance and hostility. </strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All this cynicism, hostility and fear is aimed towards me for looking for NEW solutions to create a stronger market and add more value to the entire wine industry. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here is my mission: <em>understand, embrace and cultivate ALL wine consumers.</em></span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here is my plan: </span></strong><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Re-educate the wine industry versus relying on educating the wine consumers on BS (not that this stops educating consumers – just changes the game in a big way and will require a lot of revision to materials and information)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Conduct more NEW consumer research to really understand the market – not the wine but also not excluding wine research.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Disseminate better and more accurate information that encourages people to explore new wines more confidently, confidently share their preference </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Abolish the fear, intimidation and overwhelm we have created, and continue to radiate, because of OUR ignorance. Many people think they are doing this but they are just doing the same-old-stuff in a new way with the same outcome.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And beware! There will be more focus coming your way on sweet wine consumers – AND big red wine consumers and sparkling wine consumers and light white wine consumers and pink wine consumers and fortified wine consumers and people who love terroir and people who love 100 point systems and people who love Italian, French, Australian, South African, New Zealand and South American wines – plus wines from anywhere I may have missed in this incomplete wine.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From the point of fear and cynicism in the wine community here are a few nuggets from the field:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Aw, jeez, Tim. Now I understand why your posts have had a bit of irritation for me… You view wine as a commodity –“</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“you are-in my opinion-an idiot.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Seriously, your argument is ridiculous.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“I read the Hanni piece a bit like Charlie did, as more pathetic than anything else. Hanni should know better.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Anybody who says their goal in life is to make simple what we wine critics over-analyze is giving you a simplistic explanation and one moreover you should take with a grain of salt. Beware the demystification industry. It’s not as pure and disinterested as you might think.”</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And now another take from a few of the people (and wine producing regions) where they see understanding consumers and opportunity:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“We are working with the Sauternais to 'Liberez les Sauternes' or free Sauternes from it's labeling as a dessert wine and I instinctively feel that you might be able to help us. The Sauternais drink their wines with fish, roast meats and spicy foods as well as with dessert - they can't understand why the world insists on drinking it only with sweet dishes, cheese or foie gras… The 'anti-sweet' phenomenon is frustrating and confusing to them. They sense that, if left alone to choose, most people would prefer to drink sweet wines much more frequently and your research suggests that this might be the case. If there is anything that you can send to help our mini-movement I would be most grateful…” From producers in a classic region, producing great wine of style and character, frustrated and facing lost market by the obtuse and narrow thinking of the wine industry!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Tim, your name has been recommended to me at least 5 times in the last week and I see why now! Your review of who I am and what I like, I have to say spot on!” From a blogger who asked the question – “who am I”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“I’ve been ridiculed by black coffee–drinking big cab lovers as not having a “sophisticated” palate for preferring sweet wines — fruit-far-forward rieslings and icewines, preferably — to pucker-producing titans of tannin. I like icewines, because they don’t have the bite of high-alcohol ports or the like. A Napa Valley chef recently tried to convince me that learning to savor bitterness was part of “growing up” as a cosmopolitan connoisseur.” From a MALE wine business writer who is embarrassed to tell people what kind of wines he enjoys the most.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“I really love how you continue to refine and hone in on this tremendous wealth of information you have. This is a great distillation, very clear. A great set up for exploring and learning. How exciting that it will be part of these curriculums!” From one of the Napa Valley’s greatest chefs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So who is against growing the industry? Seems like a lot of people think consumers are too stupid to know what they should like and the job of the wine expert is to save them from themselves. I propose there is a better way.</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-34073419453015436432010-12-07T15:47:00.000-08:002010-12-07T19:04:41.955-08:00Confidence = Consumption<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Wine consumers are a curious lot and wine experts are even curiouser (?). What do people really want fer christsake? Why do they like the wines they like, and why don’t we all agree on what is, or isn’t, quality and value? Pretty simple, really – we are all different. The question seems to be, “how different are we, what are these differences and what does it matter?” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And it turns out it is our (the wine trade and experts) relative ignorance of taste sensitivity and basic human behavior that is making millions of potential wine consumers feel intimadated and lose confidence in their ability to enjoy "sophisticated" wines. After a year of survey development, collection and data crunching <a href="http://gradeducation.lifesciences.cornell.edu/faculty/individual5544">Dr. Virginia Utermohlen, MD</a> and I are excited to announce we are one step closer to a solution!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of the fascinating things that came out of the data we have been looking at from our just-concluded wine consumer research project, conducted in conjunction with the <a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/">Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi</a> is that “<strong><u><em>confident consumers are consuming consumer</em></u></strong>.” And the most confident consumers are a phenotype we categorize from our research as Tolerant tasters: they are physiologically predisposed to love red wines. They want red wines regardless of occasion or meal. They can tolerate lots of intensity, bitterness, tannin and high levels of alcohol. They know what they like and how to get at it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The least confident segment? Those we categorize as Sweet and Hyper-sensitive who are physiologically predisposed to abhor the wines favored by the Tolerant crowd. And here is where this matters: the disenfranchised consumers of light wines, sweet or dry, are 6 times more likely to be embarrassed about the wines they drink and 10 times more likely to drink wine less than once a month than a Tolerant consumer. There is a clear-cut correlation between taste sensitivity, confidence and wine consumption. And don't you think for a second they are not drining - they are over at the bar slurping down the appletinis, cosmos and myriad other drinks where they are not punished and stigmatized for having more taste buds!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TP7vl_cuYFI/AAAAAAAAACc/_uzUuFaMnk8/s1600/Confidence+and+consumption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TP7vl_cuYFI/AAAAAAAAACc/_uzUuFaMnk8/s640/Confidence+and+consumption.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I propose that this is an amazing opportunity for the wine industry and we really need to address the issues that keep so many consumers, at all levels of interest and participation, so overwhelmed and confused. And with the enormous range of products and differing opinions from wine experts, is it any wonder?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With over 80,000 wines in the US market alone the vast majority of wine consumers are confused, intimidated and overwhelmed - even stigmatized for their wine preferences. And 'wine education' as it is presented today, only makes matters worse in many cases. Wine experts, writers and bloggers argue over wine characteristics that are clearly perceived differently and this is directly related to the range and intensity of sensations we are physiologically capable of experiencing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The battle is raging once again in the blogosphere even as we speak – "what defines ‘balance’?" for a 'taste' of the argument go to my pal Joe Robert's site: <a href="http://www.1winedude.com/">1WineDude</a>. The answer lies in understanding your sensitivity quotient and how this affects your personal experience (range and intensity of sensations) of wine flavors. Your taste sensitivity combined with your unique, ever-changing neural programming over time as a result of culture, society, learning, experience and aspirations and <em>voila!</em> - YOUR personal preferences. Throw on top of this an understanding of OTHER people's sensitivities and holy moly - no more arguing, just get that it can be radiaclly different one person to the next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>A Sufi Parable Revisited</strong> (also see my post 3 Blind Men and a Wine )</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Three blind bloggers were asked to taste a high-scoring Napa Cabernet and describe the balance of fruit, oak and alcohol of the wine to a universe of spectators. The first blind man was a hyper-sensitive taster with over ten thousand taste buds, the next a sensitive taster with 2,000 buds and the third a tolerant taster with somewhere around 500 taste papillae. All were wine lovers, passionate and oh so knowledgeable, but they were unaware of their physiological sensory equipment and radically differing perception. Each of them tasted the wine and spoke in turn: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“<em>Yech, this wine is horrible – the jammy fruit, burning alcohol, excessive oak – how can anyone drink an unbalanced, over-the-top wine like this? It would ruin any meal,”</em> said the first blind blogger. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The second blind blogger weighed in, “<em>This wine is representative of the style I have grown tired of – have learned to seek wines of greater finesse and that is why I joined the Anything But Cabernet movement</em>.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Ah, nirvana!” quote the third expert. “<em>Full, rich and powerful; smooth and hedonistically satisfying with a sweet fruit core. 95 points!” </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The spectators looked on in confusion. Bewildered, they silently wondered which of these mavens was right – what should they look for, how on earth should they make decisions and who could they turn to so they could make a smart buying decision? It was as if each of the blind bloggers were feeling up the same elephant and describing it as either a snake, a tree trunk and a rope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">FYI, for anyone in the wine trade (or interested in general) interested in the results of the study Dr. Virginia Utermohlen and I have been working on we are releasing our full report titled Wine Consumer Segmentation: Beverage preferences, Attitudes, and Behaviors for purchase. If you are in wine production, marketing and/or communications you can learn more about the study and place your order today at <a href="http://www.shop.napaseasoning.com/product.sc;jsessionid=A9CA531710D9BC3F823E0A907D7468DF.qscstrfrnt03?productId=17&categoryId=1">THIS LINK</a>. We will be delivering the report electronically this Friday, December 10, 2010.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A copy of our free summary report can be downloaded at <a href="http://www.timhanni.com/">http://www.timhanni.com/</a>. It is a comparison of the Sweet and Tolerant phenotype groups and chock full of great information. The summary provides a thumbnail look at the background and format of the information that is available in the full report. The full report covers all four segments we have identified and slices and dices the data in detail calling out opportunities for strategically marketing to ALL consumers who choose wine in a more powerful and targeted manner.</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-42709047216436572052010-11-18T11:56:00.000-08:002010-11-19T15:39:16.466-08:00A Challenge to the Wine Industry<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There are many positive factors that have parlayed wine into the adult beverage most associated with good taste, sophistication and style. Wine quality, at all price levels, has improved dramatically. The range of wine types and styles available today is complete enough to satisfy every possible consumer preference and pocketbook. Indeed one of the challenges consumers face is how to confidently drill into the overwhelming number of choices and find wines they will love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An equally dizzying number of choices exists with wine classes, educational initiatives and the availability of wine evaluations and information.</span></span> The birth and expansion of social media, blogs and on line wine communities ranging from eRobert Parker, Jancis Robinson and Snooth have provided and explosion of connectivity and the ability to share points of view. To top it all off there are new generations of wine heroes and evangelists like Gary Vaynerchuk, Joe Roberts, Jeff Lefevere, Alder Yarrow and many, many others that millions of consumers and professionals alike tune into every day. Yep, there is plenty of wine information and interaction available.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This being said I am struck by how often the same issues and obstacles to expanding wine consumption seem to arise over and over again. So let’s take a look at the progress that has been made over the past 10 years. The following quote appeared in Brand Week a decade ago and at the center of discussion in many wine industry circles as a call to action:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>“The fragmented, historically insular (wine) industry generally seems resigned to accepting the wine consumer pool as is rather than aggressively pursuing new markets... the next decade could easily be referred to by future wine historians as the "years of missed opportunity.”</em> <strong>Brand Week,</strong> May 1, 2000</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">10 Years After</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So what does the wine landscape look like 10 years after Brand Week’s prediction that “the next decade could easily be referred to as the ‘years of missed 0pportunity’”?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>“The wine industry is guilty of going out of its way to confuse the consumer, and must urgently come up with 'a new big idea', according to a British advertising heavyweight…'The wine industry is the most fragmented market I've seen. Fragmented, confusing, impenetrable.'”</em> <strong>Sir John Hegarty</strong>, June 28, 2010, Masters of Wine International Symposium, Bordeaux, France</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hmmm. Sounds pretty familiar. What is it that keeps us stuck in this deeply etched rut carved into the path of wine enjoyment and appreciation? I am convinced that it is a combination of complacency, misinformation and stubbornness in the wine industry. It is an unwillingness to adapt and change that is preventing us from having a larger consumer base and compromising our long-term fiscal stability and health. Despite ample evidence that the wine industry would be well served by becoming more consumer-focused, simplifying our messages and improving OUR ability to communicate our mantra remains the same, “we must better educate consumers, move them up to better wine.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is nothing new about the wine industry mission to educate consumers and there is also nothing wrong with the idea. Ditto for the idea of moving them up to better wine. Perhaps what we really need is another strategy to run concurrently. We seem to be keeping something in place that is not working for a really large portion of the market and then we wonder why we are not making more sustainable progress in removing the overwhelm and intimidation as evidenced in every wine consumer study ever conducted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This quote about the Project Genome consumer study taken from Wines & Vines in 2008, “With the highest percentage of consumers falling into the "Overwhelmed" category, Leslie Joseph, Constellation's vice president of consumer research affairs, commented: ‘We need to do a better job as an industry of helping these people understand what a wine's going to taste like.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And the following is from the UK site WINEOPTIONS.COM illustrating this phenomenon is present on a global scale. <em>“WineOption.org feels the wine trade has traditionally placed its focus on connoisseurs and wine snobs rather than the much greater number of unpretentious people who enjoy wine. Many producers, retailers and wine writers have traditionally taken much of the potential enjoyment out of wine drinking by shrouding the subject with myth, snobbery, and arcane or pretentious language. This facade has been, and in some quarters remains, a convenient means of confusing or even intimidating wine shoppers into making purchase decisions much less helpfully informed than is the case with most other foods and beverages. In fact, it is perfectly possible to provide in relatively simple day to day language the basic information which most wine drinkers need and want to select any given wine.”</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think that it is high time we look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “What are we missing that keeps a vast majority of consumers (and many of us professionals who are able to admit it) confused, mystified and intimidated?” The answer as I see it is to turn the tables and start newly educating ourselves and cleaning up a lot of the tired clichés and misinformation that is disseminated under the pretense of “wine education”. I am not implying that we stop wine education per se, just that we enforce a greater rigor in the information we dispense and come up with alternative solutions for the huge market segment that is further disenfranchised by our narrow, product-based and self-serving approach. The call to action is not to change anything about the many things we are doing right as an industry, it is a call to action so we can collectively discover what we may be missing that would add immeasurably to our continued growth and success. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I love this quote: <em>“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”</em> <strong>Tony Robbins</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What would it look like if the wine industry and wine communities to on the mission to understand, embrace and cultivate ALL wine consumers, not just the over-saturated segment we narrowly define as ‘worthy’? What if our next educational initiative were internal and focused on learning more about consumers and discovering more about who likes what and why? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For more info visit <a href="http://www.timhanni.com/">http://www.timhanni.com/</a></span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-24238627817574535642010-11-15T11:02:00.000-08:002010-11-17T06:25:09.623-08:00Perversion, Corruption and Wine?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The intention of this article is to explore one of the commonly held conventions about wine enjoyment and the notion of “sophisticated” wine consumers. The exploratory aspect of this piece includes looking at the meaning of the term ‘sophisticated’ and then asking the question, “is this the direction the wine industry really wants to go?” There seems to be a line drawn in the sand as to what is “good” wine versus “bad” wine and that this demarcation also carries over to defining what we consider “sophisticated” consumers versus “unsophisticated” consumers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I love to look up words and drill down into their origins and deeper meaning. One word that I find particularly fascinating is the word ‘sophisticate’. In common usage, and especially when used in relationship with wine, the word sophisticated is associated with a worldly understanding or attainment of a superior status of knowledge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A number of years ago I decided to look up the word and turned to my trusty American Heritage Dictionary and here is what I found:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sophisticated – adj.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Having acquired worldly knowledge or refinement; lacking natural simplicity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first part of this definition seemed to align with my understanding of the word. But it was the second part that caught my attention, “lacking in natural simplicity.” It occurred to me that in the wine community there is an inherent discord between the promotion of wine as a simplistic, communal beverage and the expectation that people should become more sophisticated and drink ‘better’ wine. The definition gave me cause to wonder if you can have natural simplicity and sophistication simultaneously? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Of course one can argue there is the option that being naturally simplistic or sophisticated is a matter of choice. Some occasions call for natural simplicity while other occasions call for greater degree of sophistication. I would not necessarily disagree with this argument but I do wonder if a person becomes truly sophisticated, can they revert back to a natural simplicity, or is the worldly knowledge or refinement become neurologically hard-wired making it impossible to revert back to the naturally simplistic way of being? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This loss of natural simplicity also make me wonder if one of the reasons many people feel uncomfortable around formal wine events or in the presence of wine sophisticates. Is it due to this lack of natural simplicity and dare I say pretense? I can see how the worldly-knowing air of sophistication might be construed as self-righteousness and this in turn become an intimidating factor for the uninitiated. I can also see how much I contribute to this air of worldly knowing and faux refinement whenever I am around wine people. And pity the poor “unsophisticated” individuals that happen to stumble into this milieu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Which brings me to the second definition in the dictionary which I found even more interesting than the first:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sophisticate – v.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. To cause to become less natural, esp. to make less naïve and cause to be worldly-wise. 2. To corrupt or pervert; adulterate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Less natural? Corrupt, perverted; adulterated? Apparently when sophistry was being bandied about as a pre-Socratic school of philosophy in ancient Greece someone who set out to become worldly-wise long ago they came back with new ideas on religion, societal mores and sexual alternatives, thus becoming perverted and corrupted to the values and practices of their own culture. Sophists then used subtle, misleading and fallacious arguments to prove their points of view. The word ‘adulterate’ means ‘to make impure, spurious or inferior by adding extraneous or improper ingredients’ and I guess this applies to learning new values and ideas as filling our heads with extraneous or improper ingredients as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It finally struck me how this applies to the subject of expanding wine enjoyment and improving the dynamics of the wine community as a whole. Along with sophistication there is a loss of naturalness and simplicity, combined with an inherent self-righteousness and the use of misleading arguments to prove an opinion or point of view. This progression, gained by learning and exploring, is completely natural, nearly unavoidable and may provide insights into the loss of simplicity and understanding about wine and for other people’s points of view. The sophist is inclined to convince everyone else that their new-found knowledge and opinions is something that everyone should behold and adopt. Learning that this is how we learn can give us the ability to accept and understand the points of view of others rather than feeling the need to impose our will and values on others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That gets us to the next two definitions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sophist – n.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. A scholar or thinker, esp. one skillful in devious argumentation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sophistry – n.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. A plausible but misleading or fallacious argument.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These definitions see to imply that being a sophisticated wine drinker being devious, misleading and fallacious. How the heck does that fit in? My take on this is that it is not necessarily by intention but rather the completely human capacity to believe that what we know and things we experience are more real for ourselves than for others. It provides us with a sense of superiority and being in the know, wanting to hsare our experiences with others and a genuine feeling that others will benefit from seeing things our way. People also tend to gravitate to others who seem to share a common perspective and points of view. The point of view might be inclusive and people are bound by shared agreement or the connection may be made by an exclusive agreement such as the anything-but-chardonnay crowd and the feeling of strength in numbers that comes from collective agreement that this is the way it is and should be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my mind the devious, misleading or fallacious arguments are intentional. They are points of view that come from an individual rationale for value and preferences held to be inherently better that another’s either as an individual or collective. Then arguments ensue that one way is right, or better in some way, than another’s is where the fallacy lies. This behavior can be seen in how people connect and congregate around wine, food, politics, religion, fashion, cars – you name it. It is completely human. Whether it is the 100 point rating system, groups formed around an agreement for the superiority of wines from certain locales or the antithesis of inclusive agreement; the shared opinion for the exclusion of wine types or styles. It is misleading to think that one way is superior to another. Self-righteousness is part of being human, can take many forms and is widely practiced – even in the devious guise of the anti-geek.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Consider the possibility that sophistication inevitable and it is a natural human progression as we seek to learn about and understanding our universe. The new discoveries we make can excite us and bring more enjoyment to our lives and it is also only natural to want to share these discoveries with others. It is when we try to convince others that this new found knowledge is some how superior or are compelled to attack others for not agreeing with our philosophies or values that they their lives would be improved if only they would adopt another set of values, opinions or points of view. Yes – natural simplicity can so-exist with sophistication. It requires us to be sophisticated enough to understand the difference, and the differences in our individual opinions, perspectives and points of view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hmmmm. Perverted and corrupt. Anyone besides me feeling a little more like a ‘sophisticate’ today?</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-85697373293638243762010-11-04T08:56:00.000-07:002010-11-04T08:56:49.860-07:00Consumer Friendly Wine Events<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>"Welcome to our event - would you like to learn about your taste sensitivity and how it affects your wine preferences?"</em></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TNBthWnEi5I/AAAAAAAAACI/0AwKUigRRAg/s1600/Taste+Test.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535044361810906002" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/TNBthWnEi5I/AAAAAAAAACI/0AwKUigRRAg/s200/Taste+Test.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 133px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Imagine showing up at a wine event and you are met by someone who asks you a simple set of questions that helps you discover your Taste Sensitivity Quotient (TasteSQ) to determine if you are a Sweet, Hyper-sensitive, Sensitive or Tolerant taster. The wines are then set up in the room grouped by flavor categories: Sweet, Delicate, Smooth and Intense providing a means for the guests to zero in on the wines you are most likely to adore. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A similar format is used to add a new dimension to a wine dinner: a minimum of four wines are offered simultaneously across the range of flavor categories: sweet, delicate, smooth and intense. The wines are poured at the beginning of the meal and served with every course. This allows the guest to try them all and determine which they like best, not fearing the one they love will be whisked away at the end of a course. Tolerant tasters who love intense red wine are free to dive right in, sweet wine lovers get to enjoy their sweet wine throughout the meal and everyone gets to explore any or all of the wines with every dish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Here are a few things we have discovered over the past 3 years of adding the TasteSQ dimension to different tastings and dinners:</span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Many attendees immediately gain a sense of confidence and spirit to explore new wines. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Couples and friends often discover that different taste sensitivities are the source of their disagreements (or agreements) over wine styles.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">What we categorize as 'disenfranchised' consumers (mostly Sweet and Hyper-sensitive tasters) learn that their inherent wine preferences come from having more taste buds and their attitude is positively and immediately transformed. Young wine drinkers feel especially empowered.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Having the wines grouped into flavor categories ensures a better mix of wine styles for an event. This helps to avoid the 'big red' syndrome and balances out the offerings so that there is more variety.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Vintners who are pouring their wines get the gist of this really quickly and get to frame their talking points in a personalized fashion while learning how their wines are received by the different TasteSQ groups. We get wonderful feedback about the insights this provides for them.</span></li>
</ol><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">At the Lodi Spring Wine Show we train members of the Lodi Tokay Rotary to conduct the TasteSQ interview (you can try it at <a href="http://www.yumyuk.com/">www.yumyuk.com</a>) and assess hundreds of attendees who then get a sticker that declares their Taste Sensitivity group. This new process is now part and parcel of every event and wine dinner I organize. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Discovering something about yourself, and others, is always a great way to engage people and to generate conversations and camaraderie. The dynamics at a dinner table when everyone is wearing their TasteSQ badge is lively, inclusive and provides a fun topic for lively discussion. For more information on this type of event and background on Taste Sensitivity Quotient you can also visit <a href="http://www.timhanni.com/">www.timhanni.com</a>. </span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-34980339624719589362010-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:002010-11-02T12:11:26.999-07:00Expand the wine market...but not THAT way!?<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It is common knowledge that perception varies from one person to the next. So why then do so many people get so hysterical when research is conducted to quantify what the differences are, and how to use the findings of the research to expand consumption? </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of the problems is mistatements, especially in news headlines. Dr. Utermohlen and I assert sweet wine drinkers are more sensitive tasters, and that this is not necessarily a good thing at all! The headlines for Wine Business and other postings of the press release declare: Study Shows Sweet Wine Drinkers Better Tasters. No, not BETTER - just different and more sensitive.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here are links to two of the most active blogs:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rants: </span><a href="http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/10/25/white-zin-has-its-place-but-its-not-great-wine/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/10/25/white-zin-has-its-place-but-its-not-great-wine/</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Raves: </span><a href="http://www.1winedude.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://www.1winedude.com/</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Background and research at </span><a href="http://www.timhanni.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">www.timhanni.com</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">NEW: check out the new </span><a href="http://www.yumyuk.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">www.yumyuk.com</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> site! Still under development bu coming right along and there are great wine recommendations now in each flavor category, along with recommended sites and expert mavens to consult for Sweet, Hyper-sensitive, Sensitive and Tolerant tasters.</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-60354115918585457932010-10-22T15:23:00.000-07:002010-10-22T15:32:50.852-07:00Why the hostility, me wonders?Jancis Robinson, who broke the news on the consumer survey summary report that Dr. Utermohlen and I released, reported to me, "There was some hostile reaction on the forum of my purple pages but I quelled it, I think."<br /><br />It is amazing to me how intolerant many people in the wine community have become. Some (many) people love sweet wine, and history shows it is not a US (we grew up on Coca Cola) phenomenon. It is actually a big opportunity! I guess more fuel for the fire to change things...NOW.Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-54713559067726066782010-10-19T07:34:00.000-07:002010-10-19T08:00:20.760-07:00Sweet Wine Drinkers Unite!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A summary of the results of the Wine Consumer Preferences study I conducted via the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi, </span><a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">www.consumerwineawards.com</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> , are now posted and can be downloaded that web site and at </span><a href="http://www.timhanni.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">www.timhanni.com</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> . The report compares differences in preferences, attitudes and behaviors between SWEET and TOLERANT (love big red wines) consumers. Dr. Utermohlen, my research partner, and I also issued a press release that is sure to draw the ire of the dry-wine-is-good-wine crowd. I will be posting some of the comments, pro and con, as they are received. <strong><u>Please send me YOUR story! </u></strong><a href="mailto:tim@timhanni.com"><strong>tim@timhanni.com</strong></a><strong><u> </u></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The first one is from Jeff Quackenbush who lives in Sonoma:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Tim,<br />Thank you for sending this. I’ve been ridiculed by black coffee–drinking big cab lovers as not having a “sophisticated” palate for preferring sweet wines — fruit-far-forward rieslings and icewines, preferably — to pucker-producing titans of tannin. I like icewines, because they don’t have the bite of high-alcohol ports or the like. A Napa Valley chef recently tried to convince me that learning to savor bitterness was part of “growing up” as a cosmopolitan connoisseur.<br />Jeff</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The next from a very cool mini-consortium of Sauterne producers called Boredeaux Gold (and this is covered in detail in the revision of the wine and food section of the WSET materials I was asked to rewrite):</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">"We are working with the Sauternais to 'Liberez les Sauternes' or free Sauternes from it's labelling as a dessert wine and I instinctively feel that you might be able to help us. The Sauternais drink their wines with fish, roast meats and spicy foods as well as with dessert - they can't understand why the world insists on drinking it only with sweet dishes, cheese or foie gras... The 'anti-sweet' phenomenon is frustrating and confusing to them. They sense that, if left alone to choose, most people would prefer to drink sweet wines much more frequently and your research suggests that this might be the case."</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">When the Lafite and Hermitage came out in a formal, French haute cuisine meal sweet wines were served right along side as DINNER wines, not dessert wines. As stated in Larousse Gastonomique in 1938, "if the guest prefers." Kinda shoots down 'traditional' wine and food matching.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Finally for now is this embarrassing (for our industry) recount from a meal at a very famous restaurant last year:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Lissa Doumani is representative of the millions of hyper-sensitive wine drinkers in the world and does not fit the stereotype of a "wimpy" consumer in any way, shape or form. Lissa, daughter of iconic vintner Carl Doumani, grew up in the heart of the Napa Valley surrounded by vines at a winery that was famous for intense red wines. Lissa became a pastry chef by trade (not unusual for a highly sensitive taster) and now she and her husband Hiro are proprietors of two Michelin-starred California restaurants; Terra in St. Helena and Ame in San Francisco. Also at the table were Dr. Harold McGee, food scientist and guru to the culinary world and Chef Kukuoka from Kyoto.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">During a dinner at a world famous high-end restaurant she turned to her table mate Tim Hanni MW, co-author of this study and a recognized authority on wine and food, and asked him to order a wine that she might like better than the ones pre-selected by the restaurant. The highly rated, high-alcohol wines that had been chosen by the wine experts to accompany the meal tasted unpleasantly overpowering and even burned her hyper-sensitive palate.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">What ensued is the bane of the vast majority of consumers who prefer light intensity and even sweet wines. Hanni's request for a recommendation of a "light, delicate wine" was met with the embarrassing retort, <strong>"if you knew anything about wine and food you would know that these are the appropriate wine for each dish." </strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Says Hanni, "This is not an indictment for well-intentioned wine professionals. It is indicative of our lack of understanding how vastly different our sensory physiology can be from one person to the next."</span>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-55457386749633843062010-02-04T16:24:00.000-08:002010-02-04T17:26:11.627-08:00Bull S*%t, Breakfast of Champignons<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/S2tlnwHSNiI/AAAAAAAAABw/59vMSls61RI/s1600-h/Breakfast+of+Champignons.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434549108957394466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 365px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FEHZoWfDCaY/S2tlnwHSNiI/AAAAAAAAABw/59vMSls61RI/s400/Breakfast+of+Champignons.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I took this picture many, many years ago and made this poster. Thought it would be fun to share! </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>A new article just came out in the Guardian (U.K.) written by a really nice guy named Oliver Thring. He attended a dinner I did in Wimbledon as part of my 'Bibendum Tour' in London a couple of weeks age. We spent the evening in Wimbledon with about 16 wine and food writers/bloggers discussing my ideas about individual taste sensitivity and the role it plays in shaping our wine preferences. </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>After that we attacked Wine and Food Matching conventional wisdoms with gusto! Lots of fun. Ollie was inspired, as were most of the guests, by the step-by-step dismantling of each wine and food myth, demonstrations that provide dramatic evidence that something is amiss with even our most closely held beliefs and then demonstrations incorporating Flavor Balancing that make both wine and food wonderfully delicious even in bizarre and unimaginable combinations.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>What I find so challenging in this age of communications is that full and complete concepts cannot be presented very well in the scope of a news article. In this case the entire psychological/neuroscience component of my work was omitted and I have no probelem with that. What cracks me up is how so many people,k who have no clue about the complete scope of my work or the many wonderful chefs, scientists and wine experts I interact and work with on a regular basis. </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Oliver had a blast as did I. He and the rest of the crew were really engaged in the demonstrations of taste illusions and in-depth critical re-thinking of wine and food traditions and I applaud him for this great article! Missed a bit of a point - I think wine critics are great, we just need new ideas for millions of other consumers. An alternative, not a threat or replacment.</div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/feb/04/wine-criticism-tasting-flavour-matching?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments">http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/feb/04/wine-criticism-tasting-flavour-matching?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments</a></div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>AND THEN - it hits the blogosphere!</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/feb/04/wine-criticism-tasting-flavour-matching">http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/feb/04/wine-criticism-tasting-flavour-matching</a> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Here are some links to go see the real action that develops!! Love to all - come have lunch with me when you can.</div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/02/04/demystify-this/comment-page-1/#comment-30480">http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/02/04/demystify-this/comment-page-1/#comment-30480</a></div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30104">http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30104</a> </div><div></div><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-56379097243306721322010-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:002010-01-24T11:24:39.571-08:00The Great Cabernet Debate: Hypersensitive vs. Tolerant TastersI got so involved responding to a blog by Steve Heimoff today I thought I would tweak it a bit and make my own blog out of it! Lazy bastard that I am. And save your breath on the "this dumbs down wine" and these ideas are "stoopid and moronic." I know, I know. come have lunch with me.<br /><br />Two radically different perspectives on the "state of the art of Cabernet Sauvignon" have surfaced the information superhighway over the course of about 2 weeks time. Just to be clear, I seriously LOVE both of the guys I will cite below who seem to be so diametrically opposed to each other on this topic. Both are brilliant, passionate men who very probably have VERY different sensory sensitivities that directly affect their experience of Cabernet Sauvignon. But I, on the other hand, give them something to agree on - ME! They both have really passionate, strong and generally negative views on a new initiative I have undertaken to create a process and new event with consumers formally evaluating wine and generating peer-to-peer recommendations. This is being done with my partners Pooch Pucilowski and Aaron Kidder (sorry to drag you guys into this! :-) ).<br /><br />Steve recently posted a sarcastic (more like a thinly-veiled attack, but maybe I am being hyper-sensitive?) on the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi event that is one of my pet projects. I take it all in stride (sniff). Conversations I have had with Dan Berger have demonstrated he agrees with Steve in principle that consumers are not generally fit to evaluate wines in a formal tasting situation. Says Steve, "With this breathless hyperventilation, the producers of <a href="http://www.consumerwineawards.com/">the latest get-rich-quick “wine awards”</a> gimmick announce yet another effort to 'democratize' wine assessment by taking it away from — gasp! — evil experts like me and handing it over to that ever-popular bastion of populism — the Consumer! We’re seeing these 'consumer-judged wine competitions' multiply like e coli in a petrie (sic) dish..."<br /><br />The intention is not to take anything away from "evil experts" - just seeing if we can find a way to bring more people into the wine community fold and have them feel welcome. For the whole enchilada go to on this conversation at Steve’s blog go to <a href="http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/01/20/announcing-the-new-voice-of-the-people-worldwide-wine-awards-competition-exclusively-on-steveheimoff-com/#comments">http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/01/20/announcing-the-new-voice-of-the-people-worldwide-wine-awards-competition-exclusively-on-steveheimoff-com/#comments</a> .<br /><br />Below are links to the Berger article and Heiman blog that set this up "great Cabernet debate" so nicely. I have also provided some snippets taken from each.<br /><br />In one corner we have the Steve Heimoff opinion, “Well, these certainly are wines that have become spectacular in recent years. You really do have to wonder where their evolution will take them. I know some people who don’t like the Napa cult style, which is based on super-mature grapes (with consequent low acidity) and generous dollops of new oak. They’re entitled to their opinion; I happen to like it.” <a href="http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/01/19/napa-cabernet-as-good-as-it-can-get/">http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/01/19/napa-cabernet-as-good-as-it-can-get/</a><br /><br />In the other corner we have this just in from Dan Berger's recent article, "For more than a decade, I have hoped for a miracle. Then last week I realized the worst: Cabernet Sauvignon has changed so appreciably that I fear we’ll never see it in the way we once did... A long book could be devoted to this sad tale of decline."<br /><a href="http://www.napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/article_704bc688-0712-11df-a231-001cc4c002e0.html">http://www.napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/article_704bc688-0712-11df-a231-001cc4c002e0.html</a><br /><br />Consider for a moment that on one end of the spectrum we have, Dan Berger, a hypersensitive taster whose tongue, general taste sensitivity and wine preferences I have personally analyzed, is writing about his very real and very passionate views on what Cabernet should or should not be. His hypersensitivity provides an experience such that high alcohol burns and that modern Cabernets and many other wines are over-blown, over-oaked and not nice with food. For Dan, and anyone else with his sensitivity and values, this point of view is dead-on correct: “There are complicated reasons for this turnabout, but the bottom line is that we may have lost cabernet for all time. I can’t drink them young; I can’t imagine they will age well, and I cannot figure out why so many people are still buying them.” Spoken like a true hypersensitive taster! And perfect advice for other hypersensitive and many more-sensitive tasters.<br /><br />People at the less-sensitive to tolerant end of the spectrum will more predictably LOVE the high-alcohol, oak and intensity that have come to define great Cabernet for the Parker/Laube crowd. And with food as well! The alcohol tastes ’sweet’, the oak and tannin are not at all overbearing and in fact the very same wines are perceived as smooth, rich and balanced. This level of extract and intensity is the source of ‘great’ for many tolerant tasters.<br /><br />I can pretty much surmise that the getting to the source of these differences in opinion lies in better understanding the vastly different experiences from people at different ends of taste sensitivity continuum. I have not had the pleasure of personally assessing Steve H.’s taste sensitivity profile but will when/if he comes to lunch. I have personally tested thousands of people. I know that people like Tim Mondavi and Jancis Robinson, along with Dan, are both at the hypersensitive end of the spectrum and very predictably in the same camp with Dan Berger on the unpleasant direction things have gone with ‘too much’ oak, ‘too much’ alcohol and their experience that the food and Cabernet affinity is lost in all of this extreme flavor.<br /><br />Steve responded to my on of my comments on his own blog, "But is a hypersensitive palate necessarily a good thing in a wine critic? I don’t think so." My response - it is not good, not bad. Just different sensory physiology and the source of a lot of unpleasant disagreement between wine critics and experts.<br /><br />The first thing to understand about what we are looking at is there is not a 'good, bad, better' to taste sensitivity. It just 'is what it is.' Some people have as few as 300 taste buds, others over 10,000 and this plays a very significant role in establishing our individual perception of wine and everything else. All of our senses come into play and taste sensitivity correlates to our sensitivities to smell, sight, touch and hearing as well. A person with way less taste buds has many advantages and the people with the very most taste buds often have preferences that make the wine industry howl in horror! Just ask Dr. Virginia Utermohlen at Cornell University, one of our key research partners who studies this phenomenon in the context of personality development and behavioral traits and is a super/uber/hypersensitive taster. She is one of our 'poster children' for the most sensitive tasters of all - what we call SWEET tasters. If it is over 10% alcohol and less than 3% sugar, count her out. Just like MILLIONS of consumers in the US and BILLIONS around the world.<br /><br />To Steve H.'s point "But is a hypersensitive palate necessarily a good thing in a wine critic? I don’t think so." Not a good thing, not a bad thing - just a very important thing to understand so that the differences in our opinions, so brilliantly lit up by the 'Great Cabernet Debate', can be better understood in a very cool and valid new way. Also PLEASE keep in mind we are simultaneously studying the psychological phenomena that have us move about with our preferences and passions.<br /><br />Dan Berger goes on to note rhetorically, “P.S. Is there any connection to the decline in Cabernet style and the dramatically increased sales of pinot noir?”<br /><br />This actually points to our studies of the migration of more sensitive tasters (NOTE: not inferring “better tasters” or anything of the sort!!!) to lower phenolic wines which they have a more natural tendency to enjoy. Then you can see the Hypersensitive vs. Tolerant division erupt in the same way over Pinot Noir style between the people who love and savor delicacy and finesse vs. the high extract, high alcohol and heavy oak camp (read more tolerant tasters).<br /><br />Steve then commented on my observations, “As for Tim’s observation that the “decline in Cabernet style” is connected to the rise of Pinot Noir, I don’t agree. Over the course of my career, many experienced collectors told me they started off with Bordeaux/Cabernet, and then, when they got older, found themselves preferring Burgundy/Pinot Noir. I think that’s a natural progression, and not due to any modern style of Cabernet.”<br /><br />I am saying that the ‘decline in Cabernet style’ is a point of view largely held by hypersensitive, and more sensitive tasters in general, and that the migration to Pinot Noir is more predictable for this sensitivity group. Our research on the subject points to traits which are very typical of a hypersensitive taster's view of things and their often predictable migration to less intense, less bitter and astringent wines. It is not a universal or uniform progression to Burgundy or Pinot Noir, more like the 'March of the More Sensitive Tasters' with a lot of passion and intellectual elements involved! Many people are absolutely satisfied to stay with their intense, extracted and oaky favorites.<br /><br />Understand the examples I am providing here are greatly generalized insights from the nearly 20 years of observation, research and learning with the participation of really great researchers and scientists around the world. There are variations and mitigating factors that abound in all of this. It is a wonderfully complex and fascinating area of science and learning we are exploring and I invite any and all of you to jump in with us to continue learning more.<br /><br />My usual response when people get really upset about my point of view is to invite them to lunch. I will reiterate my invitation to Steve H. in his blog: Hell – everyone is invited to my place for lunch to learn what we have discovered and argue and attack all of the premises for my outrages claims. I will cook, and I am serious.Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021260209826890504.post-4877965546994213742010-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:002010-01-01T09:24:48.939-08:00Terroir continuedHappy new year, y'all! I have been participating in another 'terroir' discussion and thought this would be useful to post here:<br /><br />Let me see if this makes sense - there is something that drives me to want to find completion for explaining things like terroir - not leaving it open ended and undefined. Please excuse my obstinance and let me try an analogy that occured to me.<br /><br /><em>Terroir is the combination of everything and anything that shapes the characteristics of a wine. A 'gout de terroir' is a distinctive characteristic in a wine that enables someone with experience to connect a wine back to its' origin.</em><br /><br />Here is an important definition to help explain things:<br /><strong>Flavor</strong>: definition #4, American Heritage DictionaryA distinctive yet intangible quality felt to be characteristic of a given thing: "What matters in literature . . . is surely the idiosyncratic, the individual, the flavor or color of a particular human suffering" (Harold Bloom).<br />New York, as a city, has a certain 'flavor' to it. Meaning there are certain things that distinguish the locale. The people, the taxis, the buildings. If you see a picture of the skyline or Times Square you can say, "oh, that's New York." London has a different flavor. Or LA, or San Francisco, or Miami, or Peoria. Every town, village or city has a 'flavor' to it.<br /><br />If you have never been to the town, or seen pictures of it or a movie set in it you may not be able to recognize the 'flavor' of a place. If you see a movie set in parts of Miami you may not be able to distinguish it from Cuba. The more experienced you become with the places the more adept you become at recognizing the 'flavors' and identifying the locality. Skylines, neighborhoods, villages, towns and cities change over time. The 'flavor' of a neighborhood may become transformed and unrecognizable to someone who grew up there. They will lament that something was lost - it is not like it was in the 'good old days.'<br /><br />The smell of a certain section of a place may be viewed by one person negatively as a stench (flaw) or by another as a distinguishing attribute that evokes positive memories. Low tide will do this, as well as a run around Pike's Place in Seattle!<br />The 'flavor' of New York changed on 9/11. The twin towers went down and the 'distinctive characteristics' of the skyline were forever changed. Phylloxera devastated the vineyards of France in the late 19th century and millions of vines had to be replanted but only after being grafted onto (gasp) Americian rootstock. The terroir, the local flavor of the wines and even the people, changed as a result.<br /><br />THIS is terroir: the FLAVOR of a wine in the context of "a distinctive yet intangible quality felt to be characteristic of a given thing." It ma be any combination of the people, the customs, the the traditions, the soil, climate, yeasts and barrels - anything and everything that plays a role in shaping the 'flavor' of a wine from a given place. A 'gout de terroir' are the elements of true flavor (in a sensory context) that enables a person with an intimate knowledge and memory of wine 'places' to say, "that is a Pinot Grigio from Northern Italy," or "that is a Lodi Zinfancel," or "that is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc," "this is Harlan Estate," ad nauseum.<br /><br />People can do that! A wine may exhibit great qualities yet have no context of terroir. When Sassacaia came along in the region where Sangiovese was sacred it was greeted with skepticism. It became so overwhelmingly successful the entire region of Chianti was changed! The 'alien' Cabernet was now desireable, even legalized to replace the tradtional white grapes that were required in Chianti. The gout te terroir of Chianti morphed.<br /><br />Good and bad experiences shape your memories and attitutudes. You can go to LA and find yourself in a bad neighborhood. That may forever change your memories and the mere thought of LA will elicit an "I HATE LA" response. Conversely you could hate New York but go there and discover a neighborhood that is filled with friendly, loving people that bowl you over with their charm and grace. Then people get together on a New York or LA of Paris or London or Peoria discussion on line and we all get to argue over who is right or wrong! we are, of course, human.<br /><br />Love to you all for the New Year!Tim Hanni MWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11172259599335529027noreply@blogger.com0