Hell;
Several months ago, somebody, very politely, asked what he should do to
avoid, at a formal tasting, appear (as I think his words were chosen) "not
appear a peasant". Good advice was given, and less good. References were
made to a FAQ, etc.
Friday, self and Xina went to a formal tasting in the tastevins Society -
first for the autumn, theme was South Americans (6 wines tasted blind and
one with the meal, one from Uruguay, two from Argentine, the rest from
Chile). Self had a head cold, and after frantically trying to find any
redeeming qualities in an Uruguay tannat (I didn´t find any), quietly gave
up - more or less. This is when the cause for my rant starts narking me. I
take a wiff from glass number two - I smell musk, heliotrope, and Chanel no
5. I swirl it - the same aromas fill my, admittedly incapacitated, nostrils
[1]. I try to shield my poor proboscis with the left hand - impossible, the
Perfumes from Hell are still there, like Furies out to get the poor mortal
stricken with hubris ...
And so it goes. I smell, vaguely, eucalyptus and thyme, and distinctly the
fragrancies from several well-known perfume producers.
I do not believe that peasants, as a rule, douse themselves with such costly
ungents from the Orient and adjacents territories - after all, the guys I
buy my wine from tend to _be_ peasants (in a sense)[2], and they never smell
like this in their tasting rooms.
Dear brethren, and sistren, perfumes (male or female) should be outlawed
during tasting sessions. Surely it is enough to be clean?

Do I hear dissenting voices?

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

[1] Anatomically, strictly speaking, the odour sensitive organs are not
located in the nostrils.
[2] Calling Mme Veronique Boss-Drouhin, or Baronesse Philippine Rotschild, a
peasant would indeed be stretching the phrase, not to mention bordering on
the less-than-courteous


--
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