Message in the Bottle by Tim Gaiser: what's inside, and who it's for

The short answer: Message in the Bottle is a book about how to taste, not what to drink. Tim Gaiser, a Master Sommelier and a former Director of Education for the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas, explains the deductive tasting method step by step, then shows how to train focus and sensory memory. It is written for exam candidates and readable for anyone who wants to taste with more confidence.

The book at a glance

Who is Tim Gaiser?

Tim Gaiser is a Master Sommelier who has taught wine for more than thirty years. He served as Director of Education and Education Chair for the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas, and has taught at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. On his blog he has interviewed many fellow Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine about how they taste.

What's inside

• The basics: glassware, setting up a tasting, and how to look, smell and taste in a fixed order.
• The deductive tasting grid: how to move from what is in the glass (fruit, earth, wood, structure) to a conclusion about grape, place and age.
• Structure: acidity, tannin, alcohol and body, and how to judge them the same way every time.
• Blind tasting: strategies for exams and for practice groups.
• Writing it down: how to write clear tasting notes and wine tech sheets.
• The mental side: focus, concentration, and exercises that use visualisation to build smell and taste memory.
• Practice: a list of suggested producers to buy for classic examples of each grape and region.
• Essays on wine and why we taste it.

Who it's for, and who it isn't

• For Court of Master Sommeliers candidates: the Court's tasting exams are deductive too. At the Certified level in Europe you taste two wines blind and answer on the Court's tasting grid; the Advanced has six wines in 25 minutes.
• For WSET students: useful for focus and memory. WSET examines with its own Systematic Approach to Tasting, so learn that grid for the exam.
• For curious drinkers: Gaiser widened the book after early feedback, so people who simply want to taste better can follow it.
• Not for: anyone looking for wine recommendations or region-by-region facts. Pair it with a reference book for that.

How to get the most from it

• Read one chapter, then taste. The method only sticks with a glass in front of you.
• Buy from the producer list. Classic examples teach your palate what 'typical' means, and typical is what blind tasting rewards.
• Taste out loud, in the same order every time, ideally with a study group.
• Do the memory exercises daily, away from wine too: smell the fruit and spices in your kitchen and name them.
• Check the grid your exam uses. Your Court or school publishes its own tasting grid; the book helps you use it, it doesn't replace it.

Message in the Bottle is on the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe's suggested reading list, next to Brian K. Julyan's handbook. For that book, see my study guide to Sales & Service for the Wine Professional. For the words to use once you have tasted, read how to describe wine without sounding weird.

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