Above: One of the most beautiful wines at our lunch was the 1970 Barbaresco Pora by Produttori del Barbaresco.

Tom Petty once asked Roy Orbinson if he ever wrote down his music as he was songwriting.

The answer was no.

“If I don’t remember it,” he responded, “no one else will.”

Sometimes, I feel the same way about wine tasting: note-taking can be cumbersome when you’re tasting and enjoying fine wine. And after all, when the wines are truly great, you won’t forget them.

Above: I was expecting the 70 Pora to be light in body but it was fresh and vibrant. What a wine! I’ll never forget it.

But the science and art of tasting notes are vital to the wine world we inhabit. And few can rival the ability, insight, experience, and acumen of Ken Vastola.

Please check out his superb notes from our recent (mostly) Nebbiolo tasting and luncheon at Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria in NYC.

His site is one of my number-one resources for vintage and label notes and he is a rabbi in my wine world.