Comments on: Cheesy descriptions

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:50:10 +0000

So, having suffered through International Art English (http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/jan/27/users-guide-international-art-english?fb=native&commentpage=4) and International Wine English, we now have International Cheese Engish, as well.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:05:29 +0000

I read this piece in the times and thoroughly enjoyed it–sometimes I really think wine writers would be better off taking a step back from “hints of bramble” and writing tasting notes that were more fun since tastes are subjective after all.

By: Thomas Pellechia

Thomas Pellechia — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:54:21 +0000

…and so I did, Dr. Vino.

I miss my hometown.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:00:29 +0000

Thomas – I agree that Murray’s descriptions are often excellent. Click through to the story to see the latest from other shops.

Daniel – I agree, the celebrity metaphor can go too far and, as you point out, open to multiple interpretations. But the descriptions highlighted in the story often blend enough of metaphor with actual taste to be interesting. Consider this:

“Taleggio Way more classic and rustic than a dog-eared copy of Gibbon, yet as potent and trenchant. This washed rind Italian is the basis for so many others, but few match the tangy flavor and pastoral aromas (hmmm, barnyard).”

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:50:26 +0000

I remember doing something like this years ago for wines that needed shelf talkers but had no press. We’d just start heading off on tangents, usually equating the wine to a famous actor or band. But after a while it gets a little silly, as each of us has a different opinion of each actor or band. While we all might agree that Audrey Hepburn is elegant and graceful, others think the Stones are great and I have always hated them. Generational differences. So we stopped. That and after a while it was getting a little too “wine x”, which was really tedious.

By: Thomas Pellechia

Thomas Pellechia — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:04:42 +0000

The cheese descriptors I remember at the old Murray’s Cheese shop (the corner of Cornelia and Bleecker) were fantastic.

Don’t know about them these days, as I have been away for a while…