How can the unavoidable subjectivity of taste experience be transformed into the intersubjectivity of wine tasting? We suggest, first, that the object of wine tasting is not a «natural» object, but an object «constructed» by means of discursive practices and tasting techniques that narrow the taster's subjectivity and direct her attention towards certain specific properties of wine; second, that professional tasters acquire these practices and techniques, and master their application to concrete instances of wine tasting, as a result of a learning process led by experienced teachers. On the basis of a close ethnographic analysis of apprentice sommelier classes, we single out and illustrate four techniques used by teachers: calibrazione - the fine-tuning of beginners' perceptions in order to approach the tasting experience carefully and attentively; magnificazione - the highlighting of select features of the object of taste; attesa e considerazione - the suspension of judgement and the diachronical revisitation of the tasting experience; cristallizzazione - the final determination and inscription in a tasting sheet of the most relevant taste components of a given wine. All these practices are eminently reflexive, implying a continuous attention of the taster to his/her tasting activity and an interaction between wine descriptors and taste experience.

Il sapere del sommelier: verso un'etnografia della degustazione / Giglioli, Pier Paolo; Fele, Giolo. - In: ETNOGRAFIA E RICERCA QUALITATIVA. - ISSN 1973-3194. - 2016:1(2016), pp. 53-72. [10.3240/83056]

Il sapere del sommelier: verso un'etnografia della degustazione

Fele, Giolo
2016-01-01

Abstract

How can the unavoidable subjectivity of taste experience be transformed into the intersubjectivity of wine tasting? We suggest, first, that the object of wine tasting is not a «natural» object, but an object «constructed» by means of discursive practices and tasting techniques that narrow the taster's subjectivity and direct her attention towards certain specific properties of wine; second, that professional tasters acquire these practices and techniques, and master their application to concrete instances of wine tasting, as a result of a learning process led by experienced teachers. On the basis of a close ethnographic analysis of apprentice sommelier classes, we single out and illustrate four techniques used by teachers: calibrazione - the fine-tuning of beginners' perceptions in order to approach the tasting experience carefully and attentively; magnificazione - the highlighting of select features of the object of taste; attesa e considerazione - the suspension of judgement and the diachronical revisitation of the tasting experience; cristallizzazione - the final determination and inscription in a tasting sheet of the most relevant taste components of a given wine. All these practices are eminently reflexive, implying a continuous attention of the taster to his/her tasting activity and an interaction between wine descriptors and taste experience.
2016
1
Giglioli, Pier Paolo; Fele, Giolo
Il sapere del sommelier: verso un'etnografia della degustazione / Giglioli, Pier Paolo; Fele, Giolo. - In: ETNOGRAFIA E RICERCA QUALITATIVA. - ISSN 1973-3194. - 2016:1(2016), pp. 53-72. [10.3240/83056]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Giglioli Fele 2016 Il sapere del sommelier - Verso un'etnografia della degustazione.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (Publisher’s layout)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 181.73 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
181.73 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/148035
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact