My morning workout now consisted not only of reviewing the fifty-odd essences in my kit from Le Nez du Vin, but also blind tasting, alone, in the kitchen, before breakfast. To be sure I was sensitive to tiny variations in alcohol, acid, and sugar levels—the secret to nailing a wine’s structure—I plunged into a palate-refining regimen devised by UC Davis sensory scientists to train professional wine judges. Per their instructions, I ordered enough beakers, scientific scales, and powdered chemicals to land myself on an FBI watch list. Next, I made Matt blind test me on precise dilutions of
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