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The Art of Wine Tasting: Tips for Beginners

07/25/2024
Waitress Is Pouring Red Wine In Glasses For Wine Tasting Event On The Table In Restaurant . Blurred Background. On Cloud Wine in Franklin, Wisconsin.

There are five main steps in the wine tasting process, these consist of sight, swirl, smell, taste, and savoring. Wine is a great way to start conversations, share common interests, and is an all-around great social drink that is popularly consumed at social events. Wine even dates back to BCE times when it was consumed and made in many different fashions, this has also allowed wine to become one of the most popular drinks of all time. Today’s wine has transformed into an aged drink that develops intense flavors and feelings in your mouth that satisfy many different taste buds depending on the wine and what type. There are a few types of wine that include white, red, sparkling, and a few other stragglers. Deciding which wine most interests you or tastes the best for you is the most important piece because enjoying your wine is the most important part of the process. White wine has different characteristics than red wine. White wine has a refreshing tart acidity, with floral aromas and fruit-forward tastes. As most white wine is aged in steel barrels, some types of white wine like chardonnay may age in an oak barrel to get a nutty taste and extra creamy mouthfeel. Red wine brings a much deeper flavor to the table and a much higher feeling of acidity and bright red fruit flavors like grapes, and other darker fruit notes depending on the type of red wine. Having these different characteristics is how people select the wine that best fits the occasion and taste preferences. Now that we have a little information about which wine to pick, we can go over the wine tasting process to ensure that you get everything you can out of your bottle.

Observation (sight):

Examining the wine is a great way to see all the particles. Clearly place the glass towards a white background or up to a light and look through the glass. When holding the wine glass, hold it by the stem as to avoid changing the temperature and aromas that give the wine its character. Looking through the glass will allow you to see its color, viscosity, and clarity. These visuals can tell you so much about the wine like its age, grape variety, and different techniques in aging the wine or in the winemaking process. A wine’s viscosity is often called the wine’s “legs” which can tell you about the alcohol content. Because more prominent or slow-moving legs often have higher alcohol content and possibly more glycerol. This affects the mouthfeel and texture that the wine would otherwise not have with less aging and certain techniques. This entire step gives you information on the wine’s quality, legs, color, and ensuring the clarity of the wine.

Swirl:

Swirling wine is the step that has most people confused or questioning the entire tasting process of wine, but it does have an incredibly significant meaning and purpose. When swirling the wine, grab the stem of the wine glass and gently twist your wrist in a circular motion allowing the wine to run up the walls of the glass. When doing this make sure the wine looks like a spinning wheel that continues to circulate around the glass even when done swirling. The importance of swirling the wine is by introducing oxygen into the wine that releases the aromas, for red wine this also mellows the wine making it more approachable. Softening the wine and opening the aromas causes volatile aromatic compounds to evaporate from it and concentrate the flavors and smells to fully experience the glass in its separate components. Swirling also creates the legs by combining all the wine together to have one consistent viscosity. Swirling is an undervalued detail of the tasting process and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Smell (Nosing):

Smelling wine is also known as nosing and can allow us to identify a variety of scents that can contribute to the overall sensory experience. This is a fantastic way to identify what actual fruit goes into the blend or how it was aged and what it was aged in. All these factors can determine the final smell of your wine to your nose. When smelling wine, slightly tilt the wine glass up to your nose and place it just under your nose. Inhale slowly, taking a deep breath through your nose to detect fruits, herbs, floral, and even earthy scents sometimes. These smells associate differently to everyone and can be placed into a few different categories based on your personal experience. Repeating and reflecting on what the wine is trying to tell you can reveal so much about the wine and doing this a few times will ensure the most amazing experience. Interpreting and trusting your own perceptions to best get what you want out of smelling your wine. This will take us to the tasting portion which we have prepared for with the previous steps.

Taste:

The first sip of your wine should be small and linger in your mouth for a moment before swallowing and see the initial impression on your tongue. This then allows you to feel the structure of your wine as well as tasting the structure as you breathe out after swallowing. Notice whether the wine is sweet or dry, and if you don’t agree with either sweetness or dryness then you can select a different bottle for the next glass. The levels of acidity will change in your mouth as you taste the wine, it will change and release other flavors. Tannin is something that creates dryness in the mouth when drinking wine and is most commonly found in red wine. Observing the weight and texture in your mouth ranging from light to full-bodies wines. The weight can affect the flavors and see what fruits, herbs, and spices can be present in your wine. Aftertaste is very important in tasting, and it is commonly called the finish. Noticing how long the flavors stay in your mouth for and how they break down over time, and a longer finish indicates a higher-quality wine with complex flavors. By following these tasting steps, you can gain a comprehensive way to appreciate and dissect wine.

Savor:

After tasting, it is very important to pause and reflect on what you just experienced to fully appreciate what you’re doing. Balance in wine is how well every component meshes to make a unified product that satisfies all your senses. Having a wine that hits every component with the correct proportions enhances the drinking experience. Evaluating the wine’s complexity by noting all layers of each flavor is a great way to reveal a range of scents and different tastes all with the same bottle. Finding what you enjoy about wine is how you can have a personal relationship with wine and give it meaning when dissecting it. The finish is how we can truly appreciate the wine in its glory. We can pay attention to how long the flavors remain in your mouth even after swallowing to satisfy every part of your pallet. The finish will help you form a complete impression of the wine’s overall personality.

With all your learned knowledge on what to do at a wine tasting it is important to practice your tasting process. It doesn’t have to be an expensive or rare bottle, just make it something that you know you will enjoy. Now that you have the steps for tasting, experiencing, and appreciating wine you can continue to broaden your knowledge of this historical drink that just seems to get better with every sip!