Wine tasting is something taken very seriously by professional wine tasters and is not just a way of showing off. It may be something that most people have seen or heard of and it may appear quite mysterious to the novice. However, all the ritual is really only a series of steps that can enhance your enjoyment of wine.
Learning how to taste wine can only improve your appreciation of it.
Steps Of Wine Tasting
- The first thing to know is that you do not fill your glass. This is because you are going to need to swirl the wine in your glass. Filling your glass to about a third full is about right. (Do not use a colored glass, it must be a clear wine glass!)
- The next step is to look at your wine. Hold the glass up to the light. Check to see if your wine is clear or cloudy. Look for any sediment or any solids in your wine.
- With red wines, tilt your glass away from you and also if possible, with a white background or white surface behind you. Older wines will fade and present as a deep red or brown at the rim.
- Next swirl your wine around In the glass. This will release the aromatic substances in the wine so that when you put your nose in the glass, you can appreciate the bouquet (the smell).
- As you sniff the aroma tilt your head forward and inhale gently not ferociously, for about three minutes. The scents may change as you do this. They can tell you a great deal about the origin of the wine and the way it was made (once you become more competent).
- Now take a mouthful of wine and roll it around your mouth as thoroughly as possible. This spreads the wine over the taste buds on your tongue. The tip of your tongue will sense the sweetness in the wine. The saltiness is tasted a little further back from the tip and acidity at the sides, along with sourness.
- Drawing in a little air helps to maximize the flavor. So, without dribbling, purse your lips and suck in air very gently (you may want to practice over a sink!)
- Close your lips and breathe down through your nose. The taste will become more intense. At this stage, think about what you taste, whether you like the taste, or not.
- You can, at this stage, swallow it, which is the best thing to do if in company. However, if you are to taste a few wines, you can spit it into buckets or boxes especially for this purpose. This is what happens in public wine tasting events.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WINE
- Dryness or Sweetness: the amount of natural sugars in a wine is one of the most easily recognized features. An example here is from a dry Chablis to a Liqueur Muscat there are a range of styles.
- Acidity: There are different types of acid, the most important is tartaric acid which is found in unfermented grape juice.
- When tasting your wine, notice how sharp the acid is at the end of your tongue. A good acidity is needed to help the best wines to age. However, if the grapes have not ripened enough, as will be noticed in a poor vintage, an excessive sourness or even bitterness will be noticeable, and this spoils the wine.
It may be a little confusing to the novice at first. However, don't confuse dryness with acidity as a dry wine can sometimes be low in acid while the sweetness of a Sauternes will contain enough acidity to offset the sugar.
- Tannin: This gives a furry, dry feeling that makes some young red wines difficult to drink. This will disappear in a mature wine. Tannin is found in the skins, stalks and pips of the grapes.
- Oak: Some wines are fermented in oak barrels and/or matured in oak barrels and this is where some of the flavor comes from. If you taste a vanilla or a nutmeg or cinnamon, this is a strong indication of the presence of oak.
- Fruit: There are biochemical reasons why some wines resemble a taste of foods such as fruits or even vegetables, herbs and spices. These are some of the most pleasant and charming features a wine may possess.
More than just a drink, it is an art…
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