How To Taste
Wine
1.
Look. Pour the wine into a clear glass and hold it in
front of a white background (a sheet of paper will do). Note the
color. From purple and ruby red through to brown for red wines and
from pale straw through to brown for white wines.
2.
Swirl.* Swirling the wine around your glass mixes the
wine with the air, releasing the wine's fragrance. Visually, it
allows you to observe the body of the wine. Does it have legs?—the
viscous droplets that form and ease down the sides of the glass when
the wine is swirled. Good legs may indicate a denser body and higher
alcohol content.
3. Smell. Most of what we taste
is actually our sense of smell doing double-duty. After swirling the
wine, sniff deeply in the bowl of the glass and enjoy the aromas.
Don’t try to taste the wine, yet. Just concentrate on what you can
smell. Some common aromas are fruit, flowers, earth, wood, herbs,
spices.
4.
Taste. Take a little of the wine into your mouth and
slosh it around. Concentrate on the flavors; see if you can
associate the taste with familiar flavors such as berries, butter,
vanilla, oak, tobacco or chocolate. Pay attention to your taste
buds. Draw a little air into your mouth (don’t worry if you look
silly). Examine the body and texture. You’ll note many flavors that
you wouldn’t normally associate with wine. After you swallow, note
the aftertaste. How long does the taste last?
*Some
experts suggest that after pouring the wine into the glass and,
before swirling, you take a sniff and see what is there … then swirl
and take another sniff after releasing the volatiles. This will give
some idea of the complexity that has been built into the wine. A
simple rule of thumb is:
If there is no change after
swirling then it is a simple uncomplicated wine.
If there are new aromas and
characters after swirling, then it is a more complex wine and
probably a more expensive wine.
After
tasting the wine, take a few moments to evaluate its overall flavor and balance but, most importantly, enjoy the experience.
