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Meaning & use

degustation

noun·Advancedformal

Last updated

UK/ˌdiːɡʌˈsteɪʃən/
US/ˌdiːɡəˈsteɪʃən/

Meanings

  1. nouncountableformal

    A meal made up of many small courses, each tasted slowly to appreciate the flavors, usually in a high-end restaurant.

    Grammar: Often used before menu: a degustation menu.

    Patterns

    • a degustation of something
    • degustation menu

    We booked a twelve-course degustation to celebrate our anniversary.

    The restaurant offers a vegetarian degustation on weekends.

    After the degustation, the chef came out to talk to the guests.

  2. noununcountableformalrare

    The act of carefully tasting food or drink in order to enjoy or judge it.

    Grammar: A less common, more general sense, often in wine contexts.

    Patterns

    • the degustation of something

    The vineyard invites visitors to a degustation of its reserve wines.

    Careful degustation helps judges separate the best cheeses.

    He wrote a long essay on the degustation of tea.

Word forms

pluraldegustations

Common combinations

degustation menu
The degustation menu changes with the seasons.
wine degustation
We attended a wine degustation in the cellar.
tasting degustation
The tasting degustation paired each dish with a different drink.
seven-course degustation
A seven-course degustation can take three hours.
book a degustation
It is wise to book a degustation weeks in advance.

Synonyms and how they differ

tasting menu
Tasting menu is the plain English phrase for a multi-course meal of small portions, whereas degustation sounds more upscale and borrowed from French.
tasting
Tasting is broad and covers any sampling, and degustation implies a full formal sequence.
sampling
Sampling is casual and may mean trying a few bites, but degustation suggests a planned experience.

Word family

degust verb
to taste with careful attention (rare)
gustatory adjective
relating to the sense of taste
gusto noun
enthusiasm and enjoyment

Commonly confused: degustation or degradation?

degustation vs degradation

Degradation means lowering in quality or dignity and is unrelated to food, although the beginning sounds similar.

Practice

Which meal is best described as a degustation?

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