winetaster

[ wahyn-tey-ster ]

noun

1. a critic, writer, buyer, or other professional who tests the quality of wine by tasting.
2. a small, flat bowl, often of silver, used to hold a small amount of wine being tasted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of winetaster¹

First recorded in 1625–35; wine + taster

Example Sentences

As the late, great Bordeaux enologist Professor Émile Peynaud noted in his seminal work, “The Taste of Wine,” a wine’s appearance is every bit as important as its taste and smell: “The winetaster’s eye must be able to interpret the slightest visual clue and it should be as carefully critical of appearance as his nose of odors,” he wrote in a chapter devoted to the visual aspect of wine.

From Wall Street Journal

He was like a winetaster sampling an old claret.

From Literature

He was also the classic exemplar of the winetaster theory of literature.

From Time Magazine Archive

Similarly, Tony Thompson�the passionate editor with a winetaster's nose for genius and a mixed-up love life�recalls bits and pieces of several real-life editors' personal histories.

From Time Magazine Archive

Through his mouth and into his windpipe he rolled the smoke with all the sober concentration of a winetaster.

From Time Magazine Archive