Are you fruity and vibrant?

June 24, 2011

Are you fruity and vibrant?

There’s a great scene in the movie Sideways where Miles (Paul Giamatti) instructs Jack (Thomas Haden Church) on the art of wine tasting.

Miles: Let me show you how this is done. First thing, hold the glass up and examine the wine against the light. You're looking for color and clarity. Just, get a sense of it. OK? Uhh, thick? Thin? Watery? Syrupy? OK? Alright. Now, tip it. What you're doing here is checking for color density as it thins out towards the rim. Uhh, that's gonna tell you how old it is, among other things. It's usually more important with reds. OK? Now, stick your nose in it. Don't be shy, really get your nose in there. Mmm... a little citrus... maybe some strawberry... passion fruit... and, oh, there's just like the faintest soupçon of like asparagus and just a flutter of a, like a, nutty Edam cheese...

Jack: Wow. Strawberries, yeah! Strawberries. Not the cheese...

What do you do if you’re more Jack than Miles?

If you shop for wine in Québec’s liquor stores, you simply look for your colour. And I’m not referring to red or white.

Here’s an idea I’ve been meaning to write about for a while. It’s simple and beautifully executed online and in stores.

Go to SAQ.com and find your taste tag.

Let’s say you select ‘aromatic and mellow’.

You can then view all products from this tag, including their price and store availability.

What if you’re not sure about your preferred taste tag?

You take the online quiz to find your tag.

In case, you’re not sure about ‘fruit only’ versus ‘multiple aromas’, the illustrations should help… Jack would click on fruit only; “Wow. Strawberries”.