As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, one of my goals for 2010 is to improve readers’ ability to get at content on the blog. While I will be looking to address this in a number of ways over the course of the year, the first one is by creating a tasting note database.

The tasting note database is, initially, just a Google spreadsheet. The spreadsheet includes information about producer, vintage, rating, the tasting note, publication date, and other information (see below). My hope is that this will allow readers to more easily get at some of the review information in a summarized/searchable/sortable form.

At present, the tasting note database contains incomplete information for 2009. As I add wine reviews in 2010, I will be updating the database with this information. This will not always be done immediately. Rather, the “last updated” date will be displayed in the link on the main page. This may, of course, occasionally be out of sync with the information on the blog. I will try to update the database at least several times per month. Additionally, I will be adding additional tasting notes from 2009 as time allows (other years may or may not be added in the future).

Access to the tasting note database requires a Google account as the spreadsheet is a Google document. This does not mean that you must have a gmail account. Any email address can be used to create an account on Google provided you set up an account and create a password. In my experience, Google has not spammed me on any accounts I have created, so hopefully this is not too much of a burden (please let me know if you feel otherwise).

Below is an explanation of the fields in the database. Some of these are intended for when the spreadsheet is moved to an actual database in the future. This is a work in progress. Please let me know if you see errors or issues in the database. Also let me know if you would like to see additional information that is not contained in the database.

Enjoy!

NB: This post will be updated as any changes are made to the database.

Tasting Note Database fields

Winery: The name of the winery

Wine Name: The name of the wine

AVA: The American Viticultural Area of the wine

Vintage: The vintage of the wine (non-vintage listed as NV)

$: The retail price of the wine

Rating: The rating given to the wine (see Rating System)

Notes: Tasting notes

Region: The geographical area the wine comes from.

Type: Red, white, rosé, sparkling or dessert

Main Varietal: The main varietal that composes the wine.

Publication Date: The date the review was published to the blog if applicable

Setting: Whether the wine was sampled in a public or private setting (see How I Taste Wine).

Purchased/Provided (if private): If a wine was sampled in a private setting, whether the sample was purchased (Purchased) or provided as a sample (Sample). If the wine was sampled in a public setting this will be listed as NA for Not Applicable.

Temp (If not standard): The temperature of the wine if it deviated from the standard range of 62-66 for reds and 50-55 for whites. If no value is listed, the temperature was in the standard range. NR is listed if the temperature was Not Recorded.

Hyperlink: A link to the original post where the wine was reviewed.