[Chateau Joe]

I'm getting ready to bottle a Gewurtz for gifts. I'm going to sweeten it up a little for my friends. I am curious what some of you do/eat to clear your palate before you taste a new wine. I know that certain things just do not go well together (ie. orange juice and tooth paste). I'm trying to be sure I get a true taste of the wine.

Thanks and Merry Christmas
Joe

[NorthernWiner]

Oyster crackers

[Howie]

Either plain bread or unsalted simple crackers.

[jagmanvdp]

I have been to a few professional wine tastings, complete with judges and found that the judges cleared their palates with water and raw carrots.

There's an old saying about wine.."Sell on cheese, buy on carrots". Try it...it works.

[Mike H]

Unflavored sparkling water served at room temperature and plain bread work for us at home.

During judgings, we'll supply bottled water at room temp, bread, celery and a sample of whole coffee beans to clear the nose.

If there is a level of sweetness you're aiming for, you may want to taste a calibration sample of a similar or identical wine.

Good luck.

[FineWino]

I'm getting ready to bottle a Gewurtz for gifts. I'm going to sweeten it up a little for my friends. I am curious what some of you do/eat to clear your palate before you taste a new wine. I know that certain things just do not go well together (ie. orange juice and tooth paste). I'm trying to be sure I get a true taste of the wine.

Thanks and Merry Christmas
Joe

The water and raw carrots is probably the best, and water should also be used if you are eating bread or crackers because they will make the wine taste slightly less sweet if the starches break down in your mouth. Water is the most important thing, and the above apply more if you are doing a comparative tasting of several wines.

If you want your palate to be at its best for sensory evaluation, it is best done a couple of hours after a meal and you have preferably had nothing but water to drink for the past hour or so. I have found over many years that my senses are usually peaked mid-morning and mid-afternoon. It helps to have a bit of an appetite.

In the case of evaluating the sweetness of your Gewurtz, I suggest you set up a bench trial with 3 to 5 glasses, each sweetened at a different level, and compare them side by side. Once you have settled on the sweetness level you want, you can treat the whole batch.