How to taste wine like a proHow to taste wine like a pro

David Flaherty has more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry. He is a certified cicerone and a former operations manager and beer and spirits director for Hearth restaurant and the Terroir wine bars in New York City. He is currently marketing director for the Washington State Wine Commission and writes about wine, beer and spirits in his blog, Grapes and Grains.

Every time I smell a campfire, I’m transported back to childhood camping trips with my family. The simple smell of burning wood brings me back to those events with a profound intensity.

Because our olfactory bulb (where our brain processes smells) has intimate access to our amygdala (the part that processes emotion), memories and smells can be intensely linked for a...