Rahsaan wrote:Gary Barlettano wrote:I guess I've been tasting wine for going on fifty years now and I don't think either my tasting skill or sense of taste has improved one iota..
Really? Are you exaggerating? No improvement?
Is that because you haven't put my effort/analytical attention into the wine drinking process?
I don't know, Rahsaan. There were times when I could lift more weight, run faster, jump higher etc. and I could do exercises to improve on my native gifts, but my five senses peaked at some point in my early teens and that was that. And I don't know if you can do exercises or get hit by a jolt of electricity which might build more and new synaptic pathways which might increase sensitivity to sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
As I suggest, however, I have learned over the years how better to interpret the messages which my senses send to my brain and how to associate these stimuli with other stimuli and experiences. My ability to articulate such has improved as well, although I am not as articulate as many and do not have as large a magazine of epithets as most. To my mind, this makes me a better wine geek, but not necessarily a better taster.
In short, my tasting abilities have not improved, but, and perhaps debatably, my foundation of facts, and my analytical, interpretive, and communications skills have gotten better. The latter, however, do not in my estimation make me a better taster.