I started taking wine a little more seriously over the past couple of years. It’s been fun to learn about different varietals and the countries that grow them best. The geography is really interesting and it’s fun to go visit places like Tuscany and Bordeaux. The whole process has been rewarding in a lot of ways. When you’re at a nice restaurant, for example, you want to make sure you choose the best wine that’s going to work best with your meal for your specific palate at your individual price point. Being able to explain your preferences and have an intelligent conversation with the Sommelier helps you do that.
When I first started studying wine I quickly realized how many similarities there were between the wine world and trading. It’s crazy. The Court of Master Sommeliers developed what they call the Deductive Method. What you’re essentially doing is taking into account all of the characteristics being displayed and eliminating possibilities along the way. So for example, if the wine is white, you know it’s not a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir. Then you smell it and taste it to further eliminate other varietals and work your way down from there. When we look at markets, if the stock is making new all-time highs, we know it’s not in a downtrend. Then we look at each sector’s momentum and relative Strength characteristics to further eliminate the weaker sectors from being potential suitors until we ultimately find the strongest stocks within the strongest sectors.
Sommeliers consider the color of the wine, the smell, the body, the flavors and a history of wine making to come up with a guess of what the wine could be and where it’s from. At our shop, we identify market trends, use momentum, relative strength, intermarket analysis and a history of market trading patterns to isolate a specific investment opportunity. Traders and Sommeliers are weighing all of the evidence knowing full well that it is based on incomplete information. We trust the process.
One of the weaker parts of my wine game is smell. It’s really hard for me to get those notes of grapefruit or freshly cut grass, for example, while it appears seamless for others. My fiancee in particular is really good at this part and it totally frustrates me. So last week I took a Wine Aromas class at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. I was really excited to learn how to smell better but the experience really just reiterated how bad I am at this part of the wine tasting process. [Read more…]