A look at our scoring sheets

The scoring sheets are a fairly straightforward affair. I have enclosed an image here so that you can see what we complete during 'Minerals & Terroir' sessions.

We used to include a column on the sheet marking 'yes/no' scores, but as detailed in the previous posts, that has now been rendered unnecessary by our evolved scoring system, which is largely self explanatory.

This also means that the tastings should be more straightforward, with less time spent paused for jotting notes - unless additional or expectional observations are recorded.

suSpence and revelation! (session 6)

Our guest to the latest tasting session was freelance wine tutor and author, Godfrey Spence. 

With vast experience in the wine trade, Godfrey was curious to understand what I had been trying to tell him for weeks about 'Minerals & Terroir' in frustratingly limited 'wine speak'. Nevertheless, with the true spirit of a wine enthusiast, he agreed to come along and lend his observations.

The wines for today, white again, were to be tasted alonside still waters. Roberto's selection was:

• 2007 “Flor de Gewürztraminer”, Bodegas Laus, Somontano, Spain
• 2007 Scheurebe Trocken, Weingut Wittmann, Rheinhessen, Germany
• 2007 Torrontes, Finca el Retiro, Mendoza, Argentina
• 2007 “Tiara”, Niepoort, Douro, Portugal (Grapes: Rabigado, Codega, Donzelinho, Viosinho, Cercial)
  

Once again the English Well water showed well alongside the Danish Artesian. Curiously, the Scheurebe was a very difficult wine to enhance, with the inimitable English Well water best complementing the wine.

Interestingly, the Australian Rain water also transformed the taste of the Torrontes into cassis - like Ouzo or Pastis. We don't yet know why this is, but it is something to look into at a later date.

Of 16 wines, we can now see the most recommended waters are the English Well, Danish Artesian and Irish Spring. We can also see the the English Spring matches wines with the fruitier wines - the Muscat, Gruner & Gewurztraminer. Once we analyse these results for trends, we should hopefully understand the nature of these successful (or unsuccessful) pairings. 

It will be fascinating to discover whether the waters match universally well to grape varieties and their characteristics e.g. high acidity, or whether it is the unique terroir of the wines per se which is the determining factor.

Importantly for credibility, Godfrey found the exercise fascinating and having conceded that he was previously unaware of how water may have affected the taste of the wine, is now fully supportive of what we are setting out to acheive - a greater understanding of water/wine combinations to benefit and enhance a gastronomic environment. I'll invite him to post his comments on here, which should be very interesting to read, from a third party perspective.

Bluebird... in Piccadilly (session 5)

The christmas schedule can be punishing on the most well seasoned of sommeliers and Roberto had to sit this week out to maintain his good looks to ally his cool Italian charm.

As an alternative destination, we headed to Noura Piccadilly, base of Nicolas Angelina. The manager, Joseph, not only accomodated us, but joined us for the first session in order to understand what Nicolas had been banging on about for weeks. We also had the benefit of selecting wines from Noura's own wine list - one that had been compiled by Nicolas.

We were pairing white wines with still waters:

• Gruner Veltliner, Hopler, 2006
• Stella Bella, Margaret River, 2006, Western Australia - Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc
• Chateau Ka, "Source Blanche", 2007, Lebanon - Muscat, Sauvignon, Semillon
• Chateau Ksara, Cuvee du Pape, Chardonnay, 2006 - 12 month French new oak

In addition to a new venue, there was also a new taster to join us. The first wine-trained guest to join us was Olivier Gasselin, Head Sommelier at the D&D restaurant, The Bluebird. Boasting a 700-strong wine list, this would certainly be an excellent barometer of how valid our observations to date had been. 

As I have stated repeatedly, I am of the belief that we must add value to restaurant go-ers, particularly where water is concerned. The aim of 'Minerals & Terroir' is to make accessible the knowledge that the appropriate choice of waters can actually enhance the experience of the wine - which will have an impact on the food.

No one will know this better than a sommelier, and I awaited Olivier's opinion with eagerness. 

The tasting brought an unlikely 20 points for the Tasmanian Rain allied with the Gruner Veltliner. Olivier felt that it ehanced the minerality and complexity of the wine, in a way that the wine alone could not acheive. 

We also began to see a trend, in that the English Well water that had previously been shown to enhance the Petit Bourgeois (Sauvignon Blanc) also enhanced the Stella Bella and Chateau Ka - both containing Sauvignon! Additionally, the Danish Artesian which had previously enhanced the Knappstein Lenswood Vineyards (Semillon), also enhanced the Chateau Ka, containing Semillon.

Joseph remarked on how he was very surprised at the extent to which the waters affected the wine - and admitted that he had previously thought that Nicolas was going a little mad!

Olivier's opinion was that prior to attending, he had no pre-conceptions of what to expect, as he didn't really feel that water would have a significant impact on wine. Having sat through a tasting of four wines and eleven waters, he was quite curious as to the new understanding that he had reached about the previously ignored combination of wines and waters. He also requested that he attend future tastings also

In my opinion, since Olivier is a respected sommelier in a top London destination, this is a definite tick in the box from an individual who, after the tasting session, could appreciate the commercial relevance of what we were proposing, in addition to the experience-enhancing quality to offer his customers.

Taste of Italia - with Sparkling waters (Session 4)

Today we welcomed our first guest to 'Minerals & Terroir'. Chemist and pharmacologist Dr. Raj Patel was invited to lend his views and add some perspective to the chemical reaction that occurs on our palates.

We opted for Italian whites for this session, with Nicolas selecting:

• Gavi, 'Costa Mazzana', Piedmont, 2007 (Cortese)
• Pinot Grigio, Linea Classica, Alto Adige, 2007
• Fiano di Avellino, Campania, 2007
• Lugana DOC, S. Cristina, 'Vigneto Massoni', Veneto, 2007 (Trebbiano di Lugana)

The toughest to match was the Pinot Grigio, with subtle flavours and tones of peach flesh. The French naturally sparkling water showed best with this as it had done with the Heller Estate Chenin Blanc.

We noted that some sparkling waters reacted with the wines in such a way that they 'froth' up on the palate. This is a largely unpleasant reaction which isn't desireable in a sparkling water.

With regards to our anaysis of the waters, it also began to dawn on us that a simple 'yes/no', as we had been opting for up to this point may not be adequate in matching wines and waters. The subtleties of taste experiences that we were beginning to understand demanded a more thorough points assignment. 

Particularly important, was the agreement that any water scoring 16 or greater is deemed to enhance the wine being consumed, either in part, or as a whole. Progressing with this understanding is a vital piece of information for Aqua Amore and the wine trade, as this key category is what we shall be looking for in order to pair and recommend on wine menus. This is what will enhance drinkers' experience and facilitate the realisation that mineral waters have an irrefutable place in fine dining as a result of their unique qualities. As Roberto has labelled the category of 16-20, in all his wisdom - "top bollocks!".

In the meantime, Dr. Raj jad been fine tuning his palate to both waters and wines. He offered to take the mineral content of the waters and the scores to date in order to run them through a statistical analysis cofigurator and analyse the information  for trends and permutations, that may assist us in understanding and predicting which waters will match particular wines. We're really looking forward to receiving this information, so until then:

With regards to Dr. Raj's opinion on whether his taste experience of the wine was altered in different degrees - it was an unequivocal yes. This is importants, as it represents the experience of someone who has no specialisation or great experience in wines or water. He could represent the type of customer who wishes to enjoy a meal in a fine dining restaurant and upon taking the advice of the sommelier, would taste the benefit of having had a fine water with his selection of wine.

Session 3 - Whites with Still

Roberto and Nicolas had been travelling for a while, most notably having been invited on a week long tour of the vineyards of Chile - kindly invited by the 'Wines of Chile' association. The returned marvelling at the variety of terrain and the quality of wines.

Roberto's selection for today is:

• Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Sec, Domaine Berthoumieu, South West France, 2007
• Empreinte du Temps, Domaine Ferrer-Ribiere, Roussillon, 2006 - 82yrs old wine, Grenache Blanc
• Semillon, Knappstein Lenswood Vineyards, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, 2000
• Muscat d'Alsace "Prestige", Cave de Ribeauville, Alsace, 2005 (Muscat Blanc)

At this stage, we are starting to develop more specific taste categorisations for the way in which the waters match the wines. We are tasting that there are waters which actually enhance the taste of the wines.