I love wine descriptions that appeal to all senses.

Out of the hundreds and (probably) thousands of wine descriptions I have read, only very few go beyond the usual description of aroma, structure and length etc. Some may try to impress with the excessive use of fancy adjectives or funny connotations. Others tend to go wild with winemaking details or food-pairing recommendations.

But what does it take to really describe a tasting experience?

After years of practicing, I think I can pretty much find the right words to describe any wine that I taste. My wine descriptions aren’t too bad actually. However, there are some creative souls among us who have mastered the art of describing not only the wine itself with all its characteristics and actual properties but really the sensual experience of tasting and the sensations and emotions it causes so that- only by reading the description- one takes an imaginative sip of a wine.

An excellent example of such a tasting note is Harold Hamersma’s description of our 2022 Welschriesling.

Here is an excerpt of this description- from the original Dutch version because I’m afraid a lot of the essence is lost in translation:

…zorgt voor een lawine aan wit fruit, peert er op los, appelt nadrukkelijk, we krijgen met meloen van doen en hij kraakt, snerpt en knappert dat het een lieve lust is…

A vague approach in English (happy for any comments):

…it creates an avalanche of white fruit, emphatic aromas of apple, we get to deal with melon and it cracks, teases and crackles to our sweet delight…