Tasting Wine
There’s no right and wrong when it comes to wine tasting. It’s all about having fun and appreciating the balance, tastes and flavours of wines you try and finding ones you enjoy in the process!
There are four senses that come into play when enjoying food or drink. These are Sight; how the wine looks, smell, detected by our nose, taste, detected by our tongue and feel, detected by our mouth and tongue.
We look at the wine in the glass and evaluate its clarity and brilliance, before we smell and taste the wine.
Wines contain over 200 compounds that are volatile at room temperature creating potentially 200 different aromas.
Aromas from the wine in the mouth pervade the upper airways, and it is sensations from the nasal receptors that we use to 'taste' the wine. Our tongue then detects taste, which include sweet (sugar), sour (acid), bitter (tannin) and salty (in food) sensations.
To get the most out of your taste buds, when wine tasting, swish the wine around your mouth, which will allow all of your taste buds (and your sense of smell) to participate in the detection of the delicate flavours of the wine.
Additional to the principal taste sensations, we also experience sensations of how a wine feels in your mouth, such as; Viscosity (the thickness of the wine, determined by the amount of alcohol and residual sugars levels); Hotness, from varying degree of alcohol levels in the wine and; Astringency, the mouth puckering sensation from the level of tannins in the wine.
| BRIEF SUMMARY OF EVALUATING WINE: |
| Look (Eye) Colour |
The colour can give you a clue as to the age of the wine.
Red wine tends to loose colour as they age, and white wines gain colour as they age.
- Red (Youthful): Pale red to vibrant dark Purple in colour throughout and at the rim of the wine.
- Red (Aging): Paler Ruby, Brick Red and Tawny hues starting to appear at the rim of the wine.
- Red (Matured): Fading to pale Ruby, Brick Red or Brown throughout.
- Red (Oxidised): Tawny and Brownish colour throughout and on the rim of the wine.
- White (Youthful): Opaque and pale light Straw & Onion, to green tinges throughout and at rim of wine.
- White (Aging): Developing deeper, Golden, amber and straw colours.
- White (Matured): Deep and rich Golden yellow and amber colours throughout.
- White (Oxidised): Brownish throughout
Appearance:
The appearance can yield a lot of information about the wine, so It is worth taking a good look at the wine.
- Clear & Brilliant
- Cloudy
- Transparent
- Opaque
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| Smell (Nose) |
AROMAS, NOSE, BOUQUET and FRAGRANCE
- Primary Aromas: Relating to the grape variety and may be enhanced by fermentation. Detected in Young wines. Often fruit related, and hence wines are described as smelling of blackcurrants, raspberries, fruity and so on.
- Secondary Aromas: Imparted from the winemaking process and maturation (Oak) and enhanced by bottle aging, giving rise to more complex, earthy and delicate aromas. Detected in aged wines.
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| Taste (Tongue) |
When we taste wine, it is important to realise that little of the flavour that can be sensed actually involves the tongue.
- Sweetness (Sugar): FRONT OF THE TONGUE
- Sourness (Acid): FRONT TO MIDDLE SIDES OF TONGUE
- Bitterness (Tannin): CENTRE, BACK OF TONGUE
- Saltiness (Food): MID FRONT OF TONGUE
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| Feel (Mouth & Tongue) |
- Viscosity (Alcohol and Residual Sugar) - Does it feel thin (like water) or thick like (milk)?
- Alcohol - Weight and texture of the wine.
- Heat (Alcohol) – Does it feel hot and warm in the mouth?
- Astringency (Tannin) – Mouth puckering sensation.
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| THE PROCESS OF TASTING & EVALUATING WINE: |
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If you are tasting several wines, start with the lightest (sparkling wines, roses, followed by light whites through to full-bodied whites), and progress to the heaviest (light reds through to more full-bodied reds followed by dessert wines).
Flavours are often as expected, following the detection of certain aromas!
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| Pour |
- Firstly get yourself some tasting glasses. The XL5 and XL6 standard international tasting glasses (i.e. the ones you get at wine festivals) are perhaps the best all round glass ware to use for tastings.
- Pour the wine into a clean tasting glass, less than half full is recommended.
- Pick the glass of wine up by the stem, and hold it up to the light to evaluate the clarity or brilliance of the wine.
- Evaluate the colour of the wine by placing the wine up against a white background (i.e. tablecloth, paper or napkin) to detect its youthfulness or maturity and in some cases oxidation of the wine.
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| Swirl |
- Swirl the glass in a circular motion to cover the sides of the glass with wine, thus increasing the surface area of wine in contact with the air, releasing and making the aromas more apparent.
- Taking care not literally let the aromas jump out of the glass and onto your-self, as has been done on numerous occasions.
- Swirling also allows you to visually observe the body of the wine i.e. “The Legs” (oily droplets) of a wine may indicate a thicker body and a higher alcohol content and/or sweetness level.
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| Sniff |
- Stick your nose in the glass a take a good sniff. What are your first impressions? What aromas are coming up from the glass?
- What are your second impressions? Take a good long sniff. Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics.
- The nose is at its best appreciating the smells and aromas of a wine so don’t go plunging it into the wine as it’s not a pleasant experience, especially in a crowded environment!
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| Taste |
- Finally!...Take a generous sip, letting the wine spread evenly across the tongue, from front to back and side to side before swallowing. Notice the flavours, texture and acidity of the wine, paying attention to the way the wine changes as you hold it in your mouth.
- There are three stages to enjoying the taste of wine
- Initial Taste (First Impression/Fore-Palate) - This is where the wine awakens your senses (your taste buds respond to sensations).
- Taste (Mid-End Palate) - Slosh the wine around and allow a small breath of air in through your lips to allow the wine to mingle with the air (called swirling). This will allow you to taste flavours more fully (even if you look or sound a bit funny in front of others). Examine the body and texture of the wine. Is it light or rich? Smooth or harsh?
- After Taste (Finish) - The taste that lingers in your mouth after you have swallowed the wine. How long did the taste last? Was it pleasant? The more length a wine has, the more time you have to enjoy it, and is a good indicator of the quality of the wine.
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After tasting the wine, take a moment to evaluate its overall flavour, balance and finish. The bottom line is that a good wine should always give pleasure. It should smell good, taste even better, and be smooth and satisfying on its own or with whatever you're eating.
Last of all, don't forget to spit. Not necessary most of the time, of course, but at large tastings it is accustomed to “swirl-sniff-sip-and-spit”, as it is the only way to stay upright, and long term, of course, protects the liver.
Even when spitting, some alcohol is absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth, and some through the small portion/s that are inevitably swallowed… Something to keep in mind!
Most importantly… Did You Enjoy It?