Have you ever wondered why tasting wine looks so ritualistic? There is actually meaning behind the madness. This wine-tasting primer will tell you some of the whys and hows of tasting wine.
Pour the Wine
Use a crystal-clear, clean wine glass. The top of the glass should curve slightly inwards to help capture aromas and to help prevent spills during swirlings. Do not fill up the glass more than half full. Always handle your wine glass by the stem to prevent your hands from affecting the temperature of the wine.
Look at the Wine
Tasting wine does not just include the taste buds on your tongue. Tasting wine is an experience that appeals to several of your senses, including sight.
Place your wine glass against a white background so that you can examine the color of the wine easily. You don't have to use anything extravagant. A white napkin will do. Hold the wine up to light as well. Study the clarity, or clearness, of the wine.
Look at the color of the wine. As you become more experienced, you will start to associate colors with both the age of the wine and the grape that was used to make the wine, particularly with red wines. For example, young red wines tend to be a deeper red and pale as they age.
Smell the Wine
The reason that you only fill the glass up to half full is because of swirling. Swirling your wine increases the mix of air into wine, helping to release the wine's aromas, or bouquet. If you have more than half a glass of wine, you will not get enough swirl to release all of the wonderful smells of your wine.
Swirl your wine gently so that the wine reaches up towards the lip of the glass without spilling over. If you are having trouble, set your glass on the table and move it circularly a few times.
Stick your nose in and take a whiff. Wait a couple of seconds before taking a second sniff.
As you smell your wine, try to relate the aroma to other smells with which you are familiar. Often different types of fruits come to mind, such as raspberries or strawberries. This impression is called primary aromas and is associated with the types of grapes used to make the wine.
As wines age, they become more complex. So do their aromas. You may notice secondary aromas that develops as a wine ages. These smells tend to be earthier than primary aromas.
Many experts enjoy smelling wine even more than tasting wine.
Taste the Wine
When you taste your wine, you will not be just taking a sip. You will be savoring a moment.
To continue to aerate the wine, breathe in and out through your nose or breathe over the wine as the wine runs over your tongue. Roll the wine throughout your mouth. Again, you might want to associate the tastes that you encounter with other, familiar tastes.
Keep in mind that the taste of the wine is going to change as it goes through your mouth. The process ends with the finish, or the taste that remains in your mouth after you have swallowed or spit out your wine. The longer that the taste lingers, called the length, the more time that you will enjoy the wine before you take your next taste.
Take notes as you taste different wines. This will help you remember what you like or dislike about a given wine.
Learning how to taste wines is in many ways similar to learning how to read. The more that you taste, the more wine nuances you will discover. In addition, as your palate becomes more sophisticated, your opinions of different wines may actually change.
Tasting a Number of Wines
If you are planning on tasting different types of wines, the order that you taste them is important. Trying a heavier wine before a lighter wine will blast out your nose and your mouth.
In general, the order goes from lightest to heaviest as follows:
Within each category, start with the youngest wine and end with the oldest. After that, arrange the wines from the driest to the sweetest.
In addition, you can sip water between tastes to clean your palate.
Spitting
Tasting wine is one of the few occasions that you will encounter where spitting is not only completely acceptable but actually wise. All of those mouthfuls of wine can lead to inebriation. Even when you spit, there is still a residue of alcohol in your mouth that your body can absorb. Therefore, spit happily and swallow responsibly.
Remember that there are no rights or wrongs when tasting wines. You may hate a wine that almost everyone that you know loves. This is quite all right. After all, not everyone likes chocolate.
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