Taste based Wine Style Taxonomies

Two types of taxonomies exist, used to classify wines based on either:

a.	the usual base attributes such as originating wine area (France), or grapes (Australia, United States), production method (Spain), sugar content (Germany).
b.	taste characteristics of the end product (wine vintage).

Typically this type of taxonomy can be found in books as a chapter 'wine styles', or on shop websites to browse a wine catalog.

Both types of taxonomies serve a different purpose. Attribute based search and hierarchical navigation supports consumers who want another Riesling or Madiran. Wine styles based on taste supports consumers who want to compare or shop in products with similar characteristics.

The ISWN database already provides all the attributes for attribute based search and navigation as standard. Therefore, the scope of the ISWN Wine Style Framework focuses on a taste based taxonomy.

Taste based taxonomies are a challenge to define, but great for classification and use. It can offer tremendous support to the end consumer markets in terms of market transparency; simply put: it 'puts like with like' and this ways enables much easier comparison and shopping to individual needs.
Making a taste based taxonomy and classification work is challenging because wines can come from different wine areas and/or have a different grape mix, and still belong to the same style. And as personal taste is subjective, there will always be debate over style categories and the grey zones between them.

Hence, wine styles can only 'work' successfully when they are used thinking along the 80/20 rule. One should not focus on the exceptions that set the rules. The following tips might help:

DO:	use the style framework to see how one particular wine maps into the style categories based on its taste characteristics
DON'T:	use broad and general terms such as grape or region to extrapolate and generalize, as is often done in the world of wine. (Example: Beaujolais (wine area) or Gamay (grape) to denote young fresh fruity red wines; indeed some Beaujolais or Gamays will definitely not be in this style, and especially - many wines in this style (from other countries) will not be Gamay).