Tastevins Seek 'Subtle Nuances'

In the midst of the uninhibited alcoholics who put themselves on display at every football weekend, freshman smoker, and tavern in the Square, a small, rather esoteric group of students who drink purely for esthetic reasons has gone virtually unnoticed.

The Adams House Wine Tasting Society is a group of about 30 Gold Coasters who gather bi-monthly to savor and discern the peculiar essence of a number of wines.

Les Tastevins by no means compose a general drinking society, having a particular contempt for those who drink wine for its intoxicating effects. This is illustrated by the society's tradition of throwing out all wine not used at a tasting. Those members who simply cannot get accustomed to this idea are expelled from the group for "enjoying their wine too much."

Wine-tasting is not original with the Adams group. On the contrary, it dates back centuries in the history of Europe and still flourishes in many parts of the world. Perhaps the most well-known group is "Les Chevaliers de Tastevin", a French association. Because of its age, a great wealth of tradition has grown up around the "cult of wine." There are many established authorities on the subject of wine-tasting and the procedure is well fixed and followed.

The Adams Wine Tasters follow the established tradition very closely. A set ritual is held too, which according to one member of the the society, is sometimes carried out "with as much precision as the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace."

Before each meeting, the two advisers, Seymour O. Simches, instructor in Romance Languages, and Robert F. Metzdorf, Cataloguer in Houghton Library, choose the particular type of wine to be tasted; Rhone, Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Rhine wine, and order it from either Boston or New York importers.

Scientific Ratings

When the group gathers in the room of one of the members at 5 p.m., it chooses a secretary to take minutes on all that is decided. The object of the meeting is to come to a general agreement about the various qualities of each wine. The wines are not rated as bad or good, but are described by precise, if imaginative, adjectives.

Each wine is put through an exacting series of tests, with only very little wine used--rarely over 30 cable centimeters.

The first test is the visual test. Holding the tulip-shaped glass up to the 'light, each member carefully guages the color of the wine and tries to describe it. The most common colors are ruby, garnet, topaz, amber, or green-gold. The wine is also examined for sedimentation and described as either cloudy or clear. The viscosity is examined to determine whether the wine is syrupy, oily, or watery.

The second test is for bouquet. Each member warms his glass by rolling it around in the palm of his hands, thus volatizing the wine more quickly. Then the tester dips his nose into the glass to the level of the wine and breathes in deeply. He meditates for a moment and attempts to describe the bouquet. He may have to repeat the process a number of times before he can come out with a suitable adjective, such as flowery, chalky, flinty, sour, or maybe just plain grape. Although preferring imaginative words, the members try to avoid such phrases as "the smell of soldiers marching through Elysian fields."

Consisting of three parts, the last test determines taste. The first part is the initial impact on the tongue and lips, with the tester taking a tiny sip and describing it as puckering, earthy, or acidic.

The second part of the taste test is carried out by swishing the wine in the mouth, then drawing in air through pursed lips. The "more subtle nuances" are thus revealed.

The third part of the test is the final effect of the liquid on the back palate as the wine is swallowed. A whole range of descriptive words can be used in this test, including smooth, harsh, alkaline, flinty, nitrous, or fruity. The body is also described as thin, light, rich or cloying.

Broad for Cleansing

At each meeting about four wines are tasted. Between wines, the tasters eat the soft part of French broad in order to clean the palate and remove the taste of the former wine.

The last test of the meeting comes when each wine is tasted with a choose, French broad, and pate, in order to see how is goes with food.

At the end of the meeting the group tries to come to some general conclusions about each wine, with the members deciding for what purpose the wine should be used, and when and how it should be served. Most important, they decide whether the wine is generally desirable or not.

Les tastevins of Adams House originated two years ago when Simches returned from a year in France. While there he felt embarrased because of his lack of knowledge concerning wines, a knowledge which he considers "an important aspect of French civilization.