A Taste of Spanish Wine Tasting(1)
A love of wine and a love of the Spanish language don’t make the thought of
going to a Spanish wine tasting any less daunting. During the ten years that I
spent in Canada before returning to Spain last year, I barely used my Spanish at
all. These were the years in which I developed a real passion for wine and the
accompanying vocabulary.
I began feeling comfortable describing a beverage with terms like leather, flint
and cigar box; herbaceous, balanced and round. It’s not that these are
difficult words, but it requires a mental adjustment to apply them to the
context of wine when you’re first getting started. (There’s a beginner’s list
of English wine terms here.) When I got to Spain, I suddenly realized that,
although my Spanish is still pretty good, I would have to learn the whole wine
tasting vocabulary over again in my second language. (You can get started with
Spanish wine terms here.)
Recently, I have been fortunate enough to attend a few tasting events. One was
hosted by a group that meets weekly to sample mostly Valencian wines, and
another was staged by an up-scale wine store. I’m happy to report that there
was nothing daunting about either one and I heartily recommend grabbing any and
every chance to take part in similar events to everyone, regardless of your
Spanish level.
