Over the weekend, I think my palate got out of whack.

On Saturday evening, we popped a 2006 Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Gris to go with the Asian chicken stir fry dish Kari crafted. I tasted the wine and thought it was a crisp, dry accompaniment to our meal. Meanwhile, my wife was drinking it and thought it tasted somewhat sweet, going so far as to think it was a riesling. Two glasses and all I could taste was a crisp, slightly flat pinot gris.

On Sunday evening, we opened a 2005 Witness Tree Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to accompany a grilled beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, and a fresh greens salad. During the meal, I commented to Kari that the wine tasted overly acidic, almost astringent on the palate. Once again, my wife had a different opinion, stating the wine carried some nice fruit (black cherry) and was well balanced. Throughout the meal, I thought couldn't get any of the cherry or raspberry notes Kari was describing.

I suddenly realized it was not the wine that was flawed, it was my palate dialed up high on the acidic side.

Granted, I had a minor case of nasal congestion, but not anything that kept me from enjoying my meal. I could taste the food just fine, but for some reason my wine palate had gone askew. It got me thinking about the objectivity of commenting on either wine as part of my series, WIDWD. Fortunately, I had someone with me tasting the same wine to help me realize something was wrong.

I started to wonder how many negative wine reviews were due to the reviewer's palate going astray. Imagine for a moment an otherwise healthy wine reviewer, sitting down to taste dozens of wines over a several hour period. He or she dives into each taste, while unbeknownst to them, their palate is registering high on some notes and low on others.

Would the reviewer be self-aware enough to catch this? If they were, would they stop and reschedule the tasting for another day? Or would they just plow ahead realizing this was the one and only opportunity to complete a review? Finally, would they mention this in their review to ensure their readers were aware of the risks associated with acting on their recommendations?

This situation certainly highlights the downside of relying on a single source for wine recommendations. If your wine experiences are based solely on one reviewer's scores or ratings, then you may be missing out on some good bottles. It just goes to show how important it is to think for yourself when it comes to buying and drinking wine. And my experience demonstrates the value of enjoying wine with others: you can always test to see if what you're tasting is accurate or not.

Tonight, we enjoyed the rest of the bottle of the '05 Witness Tree Vineyard Pinot Noir with a roasted whole chicken and the wine showed much more fruit and balance than the night before. I asked Kari if that was what she tasted the previous night, and she confirmed it was. Glad to know my palate is back in working order.

As such, you can expect some WIDWD posts in the coming days.