There's a 'secret society' of wine experts that meets every Tuesday morning to drink at the world's best restaurant

pulse

May 11, 2017 4:55 PM

The group that meets at Eleven Madison Park every Tuesday at 10 a.m. isn't there for the food. In fact, they generally don't consume any food at all.

Wine being served at Eleven Madison Park.

The meeting place is referred to simply as EMP.

That's short for Eleven Madison Park, New York's famous dining establishment, which was recently declared the world's best restaurant.

But the elite group of people who meet at EMP every Tuesday at 10 a.m. isn't there for the restaurant's $295 tasting menu. In fact, they generally don't consume any food at all during their meetings. They're there for the wine.

The group is made up of a dozen professional wine

In one particular meeting Bosker attended, the group tasted eight wines and took turns describing the look, smell, and taste of each one. Ultimately the taster guessed what grape the wine was made from, as well as where and when it was made.

The sommeliers' wine-tasting abilities were on full display at the meeting:

The members of the group are so intense, they have special routines intended to ensure their tongues and noses are perfectly primed for meetings. Some give up coffee or all hot beverages entirely. Others avoid eating hours before and skip brushing their teeth.

Quirky routines aside, they all follow a fairly similar script when it comes to deciphering which wine they are drinking, which Bosker describes in detail in her book.

The first step is to look at the wine, followed by smelling it. Then comes sipping, which involves tasting for acidity, alcohol content, tannins, and sweetness, Bosker writes. All of these qualities offer clues about the wine's identity.

According to Bosker, those training to become Master Sommeliers will taste more than 20,000 wines over the course of studying for the exam.

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