Wine Library TV – The Strawberry Wine Secret
Q: How do you learn about wine and identify “red fruit” tasting notes?
A: The absolute best way to learn about wine is to actively train your palate by tasting everyday fruits, specifically bright red berries like strawberries. Strawberry is a foundational “red fruit” tasting note found in many popular light-to-medium-bodied red wines, such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Sangiovese. By familiarizing your palate with the sweet, tart, and jammy profile of a strawberry, you can easily identify those exact same characteristics when you smell and taste a lighter red wine.
In this classic, hilarious clip from the Wine Library TV archives, Gary Vaynerchuk continues his extreme palate-training masterclass. After taking a massive bite of concentrated strawberry preserves—and nearly throwing up on camera from the intense sweetness—Gary quickly recovers to drop a crucial piece of real-world wine education. He emphasizes that strawberry is a core, fundamental flavor found in countless red wines across the globe, and understanding it is non-negotiable for anyone who wants to develop a serious palate.
When sommeliers and wine critics write tasting notes, they typically divide red wines into two main fruit categories: “dark fruit” (like blackberry, cassis, and plum) and “red fruit” (like cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and strawberry). If you are drinking a lighter-bodied red wine made from thin-skinned grapes, such as a California Pinot Noir, a Spanish Garnacha, or a French Beaujolais, strawberry is very frequently the dominant aroma and flavor. Depending on the climate where the grapes were grown, that strawberry note can range from freshly picked and tart (in cooler climates) to deeply baked, sweet, and jammy (in warmer climates).
This unpretentious, hands-on approach to tasting is the ultimate secret to learning how to pick wine. You do not need to memorize a sommelier textbook to figure out what you like to drink. If you know you love the bright, sweet, and acidic profile of fresh strawberries or strawberry jam, you immediately know to look for lighter, high-acid red wines rather than heavy, highly tannic Cabernets. By building this specific sensory memory library, your next trip to the wine shop will be incredibly intuitive and fun!
Chapters:
0:00 – The Strawberry Preserve Challenge
0:08 – Gary Almost Throws Up
0:14 – The Core Flavor of Red Wine
0:21 – Seeking Out Red Fruit Profiles
0:26 – The Basics of Wine Tasting
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