Blind Tasting with the Palms’ Sommelier Jonathan Mitchell on The Wine Down
Episode 30 : The Wine Down
Episode Synopsis
Since wine is all about getting closer to our friends and our palates, we invited Jonathan Mitchell, manager of the Palm restaurant of Beverly Hills, into the studio to have a blind tasting.
We talk about some of the key elements to setting up a tasting at home for friends-from keeping clear of the power of suggestion, to how to serve and score wines. The key ingredient is being able to learn about wine and enjoy the company of your guests, and with a conversation as easy-going and free flowing as this one, it was easy. Cheers!
Guest Bio
Wine Director/Sommelier Jonathan Mitchell has fine-tuned wine lists for restaurants such as The Palm, Pacific Dining Car, Morton’s of Chicago (in Boston, Beverly Hills and Burbank), and The Sterling Steakhouse/Sideways Lounge.
He has traveled the world, from California’s wine country to France and even to Japan, where he was the sole American judge at the Japan Wine Challenge, hosted by Steven Spurrier. The other judges included Lynne Sherriff, Andrew Caillard, Anthony Rose, Michel Bettane, Eduardo Chadwick, and David Wrigley. Annually he judges the Central Coast Wine Competition in Paso Robles, hosted by Bob Foster.
He has also been featured in Chalk Hill’s Guide to Sommeliers in America, Variety Magazine, FOX 11 News, the syndicated radio shows The Lighten Up Lounge and What’s Cookin’, and is the palate editor for the website Wine and Music (www.wineandmusic.com), where he writes the column, “Sommelier Says”.
Episode Breakdown
00:01 Wine Down Intro.
00:48 Welcoming Jonathan Mitchell
02:07 The Booze News (Exporting US craft beers, vine production and export, American Indian wineries, and Brandon’s day with jockey Gary Stevens).
10:56 The background of the Palm restaurant-85 years old.
17:04 Transitioning from sommelier to restaurant manager.
20:33 Developing an understanding of grenache.
21:37 The mysterious Chinese palate for onion wine and Bordeaux.
25:28 Guidelines for a blind tasting.
26:52 Bottle shape clues to content.
27:27 Subjectivity: “There is no real good or bad.”
29:55 Tasting with non-wine drinkers. “How much is it?”
31:52 The Wine Evaluation Chart for scoring at a tasting and some generalities.
33:10 Tasting #1 and first impressions.
35:26 The UC Davis Aroma wheel.
39:02 Beyond the general labels for tasting and scent: “Go Shopping.”
42:22 Color changes through the aging of the wine.
42:58 Tasting a very alluring wine.
44:20 “Why I love wine tasting.” Opposing themes in taste and distinctions between aroma and bouquet.
45:28 The power of suggestion in a blind tasting.
47:00 The toughest thing about blind tasting: honesty.
50:02 Tasting the fourth bottle: “Let’s not judge this wine.”
52:42 Something to consider when looking at Wine Spectator ratings.
56:07 Some other things to consider in tasting, the idea of the peak and valley for wine taste.
58:37 Dividing the wines of the world into “old,” and “new.”
01:02:06 Unmasking the four wines.
01:03:42 The non-exact science of wine-tasting and organizing according to themes.
01:05:16 “No one needs to be right about wine.”
01:06:20 Thanks to Jonathan and cheers!
Additional Links
http://jonathanmitchell.com/
http://www.bettertastingwine.com/blindtasting.html
http://www.americanwinesociety.org/
http://www.thepalm.com/
Comments
Share
Hosted By
Sonja Magdevski
My voracious appetite for knowledge has led me to incredible journeys as well as halted me in my tracks. Through all I have done the one thing that connects me to the earth, to my work and to others is information.
Brandon Bartlett
Brandon Bartlett is a Senior Sales / Channel Manager at Beam. Beam owns Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Sauza Hornitos, Effen vodka, Knob Creek, Cruzan rum, and many others. Brandon has been in the hotel, restaurant, bar, nightclub, cigar, wine, and liquor business for 25 years.
