Memory Problems...

The title of this post could apply to lots of things in life, I'm sure (at least for me these days...) But one thing I've found is that the more wine I taste, the more wine I forget I like (or dislike!) So... what to do? Now, I know this is dorky, but I've started keeping a google spreadsheet of every wine (and beer) I try. I know they make wine journals, but I'm not about to tote one around in my purse, and I want to be able to access it from anywhere- which is where technology saves me. Now, just know, I'm not fancy with my notes, but I do like to keep track of anything from details of each sip and sniff to just a vague lasting impression.  For me, the things that are important to record are the following: 

• What date did I try it?
• The vintage?
• The winery?
• The wine?
• And then, I like to put misc notes- like, what grapes were in it? How did it compare to other stuff I tried? Do I have any fun factoids about the winery?
•  Tasting notes- now really, I'm not fancy. Sometimes I literally put things like "mmm. me likey." I'm usually only this succinct if I'm in a major hurry, but I include it just to show that you don't have to be pretentious for your own private use. I don't think I've ever once discussed a wine's legs in my notes. I might remark if it has a long finish, or if it is super tannic... Basically, I use a language that works for me, so that later, if I look back and go "oh yeah, I said that had an herbal flavor to it," I'll know what I meant. If I put in extraneous info from the back of the bottle about "exquisite notes of granite, cassis, and mountain herbs" that's not going to help me as much as "good acid on the front- falls off on the end," or even "gross. Tasted like raisins, feet and damp, wet leaves." I'll remember that I don't want to drink that again. 

So, there you go- type up a few columns and keep track for yourself! If you want to break it down further, you can do a tab for red wines, a tab for white, a tab for rose, and a tab for sparkling (I don't go this far, but I support you if you do! It'll make indexing easier later.) The important thing is to just take the notes when you taste- even if you don't get around to it till the next day, it's still worth recording your lasting impression of the wine. And then, when you're in the mood for something, you can look back, find stuff you liked, and go out and buy it again! (But beware the rut of only buying the 2 wines you already know you like. Be brave!)


Go forth, drink up! 


Did you know?
One of my favorite fall wines, Blaufrankisch, is also known as Lemberger? I just learned this week that they are one and the same! The more you learn!