tips_wine-tasting

Learn How to Taste Wine

Look

Hold glass at base & tip 45 degree angle Take lighting and background into consideration – white background best Swirling – mainly to release aromas and smells. See the legs (more legs more alcohol & sugar).

White: Clean & bright, no cloudiness or crystals. Deep gold – ice wines Clear & Pale – German style Sunny Yellow – Chardonnay Brownish – not a good sign

Red: Color give insight age, quality,best to have white background to compare deep purple to brick red tawny means over the hill the more mature – paler and browner at rim can indicate tannins and oak

Smell

After swirling – put your nose down in to the glass & sniff (cleansing sniff)

Swirl a 2nd time and put nose in further and take a deeper sniff.

Now interpret and use your senses

You are smelling volatiles that may remind you of black currants, peaches, licorice, vanilla, lemongrass, flowers

Aromas should be pleasant and attractive

Bad smells may be musty, moldy, vinegar, oxidized, H2S (rotten eggs)

No smell at all referred to as the dumb phase in young wines

Taste

Take a generous sip, but not so much that you are forced to swallow

Roll the wine around in your mouth so that it hits every taste bud

Now aerate (slurp)

Roll the wine around again and swallow

Count how long the aftertaste lingers on your palette (the finish)

You are evaluating the balance, length of flavor, taste/aroma match, overall sensation

Front of tongue – sugar

Sides of tongue – acid

Back of tongue – bitterness (tannins)

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