They're grrrrrrrrapes!

Eric Asimov, the New York Times' chief wine critic, has started a blog about wine drinking (not,as he pointedly states, wine tasting) called The Pour.

What is the result of tasting? Tasting notes. These are the quick descriptions of wines in the language that we all find so comical, unless we take it too seriously. You know, hints of blackberry with overtones of Kona coffee grounds, that sort of thing. Somewhere along the line, these notes, used as shorthand by professionals and serious collectors, have come to be understood as the common parlance for wine. I know a hard core of wine fans care about "aromas of apricot jam, guava and jackfruit" and other comically specific descriptions, but these people are like audio gearheads who think of music in terms of wattage, intermodulation and output impedance. It's a turnoff for much of the world, which really only cares if the music sounds good.

This is not to say that I'm turning my back on critical or analytical drinking. I'd be out of a job, and besides, most wine lovers can’t stop themselves, and I'm no different. The point is to talk about wine outside the clinical context. In The Pour, I'm going to avoid tasting notes like the avian flu. Instead, I will talk about the pleasures of drinking, about wines I have tried at home with family and friends or with people in the wine business. I will also take the opportunity to expand on issues that appear in the newspaper, either with the Times' tasting panel or with The Pour column.

Should be fun.