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| Have any of you guys tried Le Nez Du Vin? In essence, it's a small, expensive box of nasty smells (obviously an ideal gift for a loved one or Mother). What you get in the box is twelve little bottles, each identified in a booklet and when you take off the lids, you smell appalling smells such as rotten egg, sulphur, cauliflower, etc., which are supposed to indicate if the wine is oxidised and so on. My main criticism of this malodorous set is that wines don't always smell exactly the same if something has gone wrong - otherwise I highly recommend and it's great to get out at dinner parties. You might want to do a bit of decanting and sniffing first though - just in case! | |||
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| Look at the included link below and make one yourself. Dr. Ann Noble of UC Davis has a P|DF file on line that will allow one to smell both the good and bad smells or to train oneself to pick them out. Anyway you can look at the wine aroma wheel This requires that you have the adobe reader which is a free download. Bob H. | |||
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| You are referring to the small "wine faults" version that provides only the bad smalls associated with bad things that can happen to wine. Since it's small and much cheaper, you'd tend to see it in gift shops. The main Nez du Vin (which costs a couple hundred US dollars if I recall correctly) has a large selection of fruit and spice odors and is a very good way to train your nose. It also has a lot of structured documenation for self-learning about grape varieties, various components of wines, regions etc. It's a little like high school, but hey someof us need that :) Finally, as an aside, I used my initials on this forum for years, but it has been requested that we give real names. | |||
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| Well, I don't call fifty five quid cheap but hey! Randy, Bob, I appreciate your advice about using real names and it's refreshing to find a site that does so. But I'm not going to do so myself. Firstly, personal security-wise, it's highly inadvisable (especially for females). Secondly, I have a cellar which I've been carefully filling over the years, which amounts to some 750+ bottles, many of which have (happily) grown in value since the late 80s. Therefore, I don't wish to advertise my name and location, as anyone could look me up in the local phone book and drop by next time I'm on holiday and relieve me of my precious wine. Maybe that sounds paranoid but it's my personal rule for the internet. If that's wholly unacceptable, let me know and I'll bow out. Please be assured that I will (as always) make every effort to be civil and pleasant at all times - and I give you my permission to take me up on that if I'm not! With good wishes. A. | |||
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| Am, I also use a Le Nez du Vin. I don't often use it with wines, but more to train/test myself when I am bored. I don't have the faults version, but I do have the "Master's" (?) kit. As far as names go, just by posting your first name and last initial, you will be fulfilling the requirements for the "real names policy" of which there has never been any problems or violations (that I know of) and you would be free from fears that someone would look up the last letter of your name in every phone book in the UK. Many of us, with time, prefer to use our full names and where we are located to create an even more personal setting - but that is not required. You will also find that the other large wine forum on the internet requires both full first and last names, so it aint that bad here! Best, Joe | |||
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| Hi Joe - thanks for your good advice on names - I am happier now. The bad smell kit would probably be at least an interesting partner to your proper smells set - especially to summon up in the mind in those nervous moments when you're in a restaurant and deciding that something really has to go back because it's corked or tainted! Not that it happens quite so often now what with screwcaps but I seemed to hit a bad seam recently and got three in a row of the same wine - all corked. | |||
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| Is that your last initial isn't 'R' so I could imagine you as Amanda Reckonwith, a pseudo I've used in newsgroups for years. | |||
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| Welcome! ;o) I've wanted to get the "faults" kit for a while, but every time I have the money it seems to go to wines first *shrug* Besides, if I want to smell faulty notes in wine I can just buy Gigondas, Cornas, etc. | |||
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| If you are truly worried, you may feel free to use your real first name and last initial. As the bartender of this online watering hole, though, I do ask that folks avoid using chat-room-style "handles" and nicknames. It creates an atmosphere of anonymity that I don't think is good for the sense of community that we value. So unless your first name really is Amnesia, I frankly don't consider it acceptable. But your real first name and last-initial only is OK. I do have to admit to being curious what danger lies in using a full name ... it's not like we're asking for your street address or phone number. But as I said, I'm OK with the abbreviated form. | |||
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| Fair enough, Robin, especially it seems very friendly around here - happy enough to cooperate as my surname doesn't need to come in to it. | |||
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| I notice that you are not entering your E-mail address on your posts. This is OK, it's strictly optional. But just so you know, it's totally safe to include it, because the software is set up in such a way that nobody can see what it is. The advantages in using your E-mail are somewhat significant: You gain the ability to edit your own posts (the "key" for editing is sent to you in E-mail upon request); you gain the ability to get an E-mail notice when someone responds to your post; and you gain the ability for forum members to contact you privately - again, in a way that does not reveal your E-mail address to correspondents unless you choose to respond. Again, it's your option, but in the event you were concerned about losing privacy or being "spammed" if you enter your E-mail, note that we have taken steps to protect you from that. | |||
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| That's good to know, thanks again Robin. It's great to have found a truly international forum by the way - great for getting help when off on holidays or buying trips. | |||
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| And yes, we're a friendly group around here. Except when we pick on Joe Perry ... | |||
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| (every word like a knife...) | |||
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| We still love you in Texas, Joe :>) | |||
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| Of course, I'm assuming the only reason you do love him in Texas is he's never been there. :^) | |||
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| In fact, real names are one of the few rules we do have around here. These can be found in the pull down menu above under FAQ & Rules. For example I always sign my posts as Bob H. but I put my full name on the header of each post. I am one who thinks this is a way of providing assurance that we remain civil to each other. (Of course you knew all this anyway) Bob H. | |||
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| I think Robin's certified fax mentioned something about hot lead and funnels, but I don't recall the exact words. Then the cease and desist orders poured in and I capitulated, peniless but wiser about wines. | |||
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| The packaging for Le Nez du Vin is so intriguing though -- all those little bottles look like fun. If you're looking for something to bring to a party, check out WineSmarts--a fun question and answer game about wine. Yes, I happen to be the co-writer, but it is a fun way to learn about wine with friends. And people like Larry Stone and Mario Batali have given it great reviews. You can get a preview at www.smartsco.com. Any other fun ways to learn about wine that you've tried? | |||
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| I will certainly take a look; in the meantime, I'm sure I saw somebody looking for dinner party ideas elsewhere in the forum - maybe that's a suggestion for them too? By the way, have you seen the "what it should smell like" versions of LNDV? I haven't tried those - was fascinated by the idea of buying bad smells for some reason - I wonder if they're any use? | |||
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| One other thought on the Nez du Vin..an inexpensive version that you may already have done is to get a simple white wine (jug is best), and add a few drops of artificial flavors: cherry, butter, asparagus, etc, and see if you can guess which is which. Granted, these are artificial, so they tend to hit you over the head, but it is one way to work out the nose. Has anyone else done this and foudn it useful, or not? | |||