Learning how to taste wines is a straightforward adventure that
will deepen your appreciation for both wines and winemakers. Look, smell, taste
- starting with your basic senses and expanding from there you will learn how
to taste wines like the pros in no time! Keep in mind that you can smell
thousands of unique scents, but your taste perception is limited to salty,
sweet, sour and bitter. It is the combination of smell and taste that allows
you to discern flavor.
Here's How:
1.
Look: Check out the Color and Clarity.
Pour a glass of wine into a suitable wine
glass. Then take a good look at the wine. Tilt the glass away from you and
check out the color of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of
the glass (it's helpful to have a white background - either paper, napkin or a
white tablecloth).What color is it? Look beyond red, white or
blush. If it's a red wine is the color maroon, purple, ruby, garnet, red,
brick or even brownish? If it's a white wine is it clear, pale yellow, straw-like, light
green, golden, amber or brown in appearance?
2.
Still
Looking. Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine watery or dark, translucent
or opaque, dull or brilliant, cloudy or clear? Can you see sediment? Tilt your
glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again, is there sediment, bits of
cork or any other floaters? An older red wine will often have more orange
tinges on the edges of color than younger red wines. Older white wines are
darker, than younger white wines when comparing the same varietal at different
ages.
3.
Smell:
Our
sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good
impression of your wine's aroma,
swirl your glass for a solid 10-12 seconds (this helps vaporize some of the
wine's alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick
whiff to gain a first impression.
4.
Still
Smelling. Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale
through your nose. What are your second impressions? Do you smell oak, berry,
flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its
quality and unique characteristics.Swirl the wine and let the aromas
mix and mingle, and sniff again.
5.
Taste:
Finally, take a taste. Start with a small sip
and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of taste: the Attack
phase, the Evolution phase and the Finish.
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