Wine Tasting

Is wine tasting an art or just a load of meaningless words? The jury is probably out on that one, because with some wine tasters that is probably true, but with others there is some sense in what they say. The idea here is to give some sensible tips on wine tasting. If you like wine you will like this.

First and foremost the most important part of the wine is whether you like it or not, do you enjoy it? If so then that is a good wine for you, whilst it might not pass the test of the “Wine Taster”! So have fun tasting wine; it is what was made for. The Romans enjoyed it! It is good for you in moderation especially red wine, which is allegedly good for your blood and therefore you heart and hopefully long life.

Wine tasting needs a little preparation and one or two items to help you. First a bottle of wine and secondly a wine glass! Not too difficult?

You actually need a tulip shaped wine glass to get the best out of the tasting because you can swirl the wine around more easily without spilling it. Also it helps to contain the bouquet (aroma) better so you can smell it more easily.You must start by ensuring the wine is the right temperature for the wine you are going to taste, one of the most important points if you are to enjoy the wine at its best. Reds are usually at room temperature, which undoubtedly gives more flavour and body to the taste. Whites are usually served chilled; the refrigerator is the best place, unless it is a dessert wine (sweeter), which is again at room temperature.

 The Appearance of the Wine

Pour a little wine into the glass and look at it;- is it cloudy, are there bits floating in it? Hopefully none of that; a wine should be clear although a young red may be very dark and opaque. A few crystals sometimes form at the bottom of the bottle or on the cork, which are harmless, but they shouldn’t end up in the glass! With white wine the paler the colour is usually the less strong the flavour when you hold the glass at a 45% degree angle against a white-lit background you can see for yourself. Reds are darker the more full bodied they are. An interesting point with wine is with age Red wines lose their colour, as they get older, White wine, however, gains colour!

The smell (Aroma) of the wine

Key to enjoyment is the aroma (sometimes called “the nose”) of the wine. If you don’t agree try drinking it whilst holding your nose! To do this properly swirl the wine around the glass then sniff it with your nose in the glass to get the aroma quickly and note what you smell. Was it the scent of gooseberry? Strawberry or anything else? The younger the wine the more pronounced the primary aroma is. A neat trick to impress your friends is to look at the swirl marks left on the wine glass the more pronounced they are, the fuller the flavour.

The Taste of the Wine

Finally the taste of the wine! This is the more enjoyable if you have followed the initial steps properly. Take a mouthful (not too much!) and roll it around your mouth for a few moments noting the experiences, if you can, try and take in some air through your mouth at the same time; this enhances the flavour of the wine further still. Your tongue senses in different places sweet on the tip, salt just behind; the sides taste the acidity of the wine and the back of the tongue the bitterness. Understand the “attack” of the wine i.e. the initial taste and texture, then the aftertaste when you swallow.

 Impressions of your wine

The aftertaste will indicate your preference; a short aftertaste will usually be a young wine whilst a good wine will leave a longer lasting impression, and will be termed “long” by the professional wine taster.

Summary of your wine!

Take some notes if you enjoyed that experience, as this will enable you to compare wines you drink through the years. How often do we forget which wine we drank that we really liked? But most of all just drink to enjoy your wine. Drink that which you like, never mind what you are told to eat with certain wines. Experiment and have fun! Yiou can even take wine tasting holidays

 The Winos!