Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook

Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook is essential for absolutely anybody involved in wine tasting. The book comprehensively covers all practical and theoretical aspects of wine tasting, from the techniques used by professionals to assess wine properties and quality - to the physiological, psychological and physicochemical origins of sensory perception. The author outlines the classification of still table wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines, and explores the vineyard and winery origins of wine quality.

The major proportion of Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook is devoted to the practical concerns of preparing and performing different types of wine assessments. Data from sensory evaluation studies illustrate tests described in the book.

Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook should be read by professional tasters, those who train tasters and those involved in designing wine tastings; as well as serious wine connoisseurs who want unbiased information on how to maximize their perception and appreciation of wine.

Key Features
* Flow chart of wine tasting steps
* Details of errors to be avoided
* Procedures for training and testing sensory skill
* Examples of tasting sheets
* Original data derived from over fourteen years of training tasters
* Illustrative material supporting the text: tables, charts and figures

Joel Sidel

The author should be commended for undertaking to write on this subject matter. Bringing the science of sensory evaluation to the wine industry is needed and the author has provided an extensive amount of information,some very solid reference material,all presented in a text that is easy to read. We expect that all winemakers will find this text informative and possibly will take some exception; none the less,much benefit will be derived from reading the text in its entirety,but probably not in one sitting! Sensory professionals also will benefit from this text and it should be part of the required reading for students in both enology and sensory evaluation.

Ron Jackson received the bachelor's and master's degree from Queen's University and the doctrine from the University of Toronto. His time in Vineland, Ontario, and subsequently at Cornell University redirected his interest in plant disease toward viticulture and enology. As part of his regular teaching duries at Brandon University, he developed the first wine technology course in Canada. For many years he was a technical advisor to the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, developed sensory tests to assess the tasting skills of members of its Sensory Panel, and was a member of its External Tasting Panel. He is also the author of Conserve Water, Drink Wine and several technical reviews. Dr. Jackson has resigned from his position as a professor and the chair of the Botany Department at Brandon University to concentrate on writing. He is allied with the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University.