Industry Tastings
One of the interesting parts of my job is attending industry tastings. These take on a variety of different forms: sometimes it's a true trade show, with nothing but industry folks, while other times it's a hybrid trade/public event. In either case, the biggest challenge is fighting palate fatigue.
Red wine, especially heavily-extracted and oaked reds, just get tiring to drink, especially when you're trying dozens back to back without much food. Even spitting (an essential in such situations) only does so much good: after about 15-20 wines, my taste buds are begging for mercy.
Sure, if you start with whites, and work up through lighter-bodied reds, you can delay the inevitable, but I marvel at some of my colleagues who can make their way through 30-40 reds. Either they have impressive stamina or are faking it. That's an investigation for another day.
