Is a taster born or made?
A question that I often ask my students when we start our tasting classes: Is a taster born or made? Does a taster need to have a specific career? Can a lawyer, economist, or doctor become a taster? Can a Pisco producer also be a taster and participate in national Pisco competitions? In this case, wouldn't they be judge and jury? In the latest competitions organized by the Regulatory Council of the Pisco Appelation of Origin "CRDO-Pisco," tasters had to sign an affidavit, and one of the paragraphs mentioned whether they were also a Pisco producer; if they were, they had to abstain from participating in tastings where their samples were being judged. Can a producer-taster recognize their Pisco? Of course, it's like their child.
In the past, humans used their senses to survive. Sight allowed them to observe where water and food sources were, the size of animals, while smell allowed them to detect the presence of animals nearby and their types. Ears helped to indicate whether there was danger or not, and taste would alert them if something they ate was spoiled or poisonous, warning them to reject it. Nowadays, we use our senses very little, which means we don't give them the importance they deserve. When we prepare our senses for tasting, with methodology, research, and practice, we become aware of the changes. Concentrating on observing, our sight alerts us of particles in suspension, color, density, while our nose separates aromas in our brain, and our mouth separates tastes, allowing us to form our appreciation and evaluation of a product, in this case, Pisco or wine. It's important to note that taste is highly subjective, and genetically proven that no two people perceive things in the same way.
That's why we say that a taster is made, not born. The methodology allows us to handle certain methods, and if we want to taste coffee, it will be entirely different from tasting Pisco or wine, just as tasting cocoa is different. The methodology guides us on how to do it, but we also need certain descriptors that each different food requires. For example, coffee tasters require acidity, while in cocoa, we evaluate consistency in chocolate, persistence in the taste, bitterness. In olive oil, we evaluate density, and so on. After this, all that remains is to practice and practice, and consistency will make us tasters.
As we practice, our evaluations will offer experiences that will help improve our work, make it more efficient, and help us utilize our senses, associate moments from our childhood or youth, and compare sensations. Tasting describes the intimacy of food, Pisco, or wine.
It basically consists of taking the necessary time to think about what we are drinking or eating.
By focusing all your attention on the food, pisco or wine, observing it, smelling it and tasting it, you will be able to experience all its nuances.
Thus, the taster becomes more perfectionist unconsciously and leaves their first impression in a distant corner, always searching for the Pisco or wine that deserves 100 points. Enjoy pisco responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine No. 09 octubre del 2016
Cocktail magazine in issuu
October 2016
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