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Wine tasting isn't rocket science, but a bit of knowledge can make it more enjoyable.

I have two hard rules that have always served me well: A wine should smell good and taste good.

If it does, then I know I'm going to like it. I advise others to follow that advice and not to let a so-called expert change their opinions about a wine.

Professional opinions can be a good guide, but in the end, the buyer should be the judge.

We all have a few built-in biases on wine. Some of us like only red wine. Others like only sweeter white wines. And others like only certain kinds of wine, say chardonnay or merlot.

I'd have to say I'm like a pig - omnivorous - because I like all wines, if they are well made.

I taste most wines double blind, which means I don't know the variety or maker. That assures fairness during judging. When I taste wines in other settings, like everyone else, I see the label, know the variety and don't try to judge the wine other than to consider whether I like it.

According to Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine, a 1088-page tome on everything about wine, tasting is really smelling.

"Most of what is commonly called the sense of taste is in fact the sense of smell," she wrote.

Consider, for example, that when you have a cold, wine is much less enjoyable. The nose can sense thousands of different aromas. It takes practice - and I mean sniffing lots of wines - to learn to recognize many of the different components.

Our taste buds, however, can generally distinguish only four flavors - sweet, bitter, sour and salty.

If we experience a flavor of blackberries in a wine, it's because of our sense of smell that recognizes the berry aroma.

Some advice before you set out to taste a wine: Choose a larger wine glass, which will make it easier to swirl the wine and better reveal its aromas.

All wine should have a bright, clear color. A white wine shouldn't have too much amber, and a red wine shouldn't look like an old brick.

White wines generally should be served at between 45 and 50 degrees, red wines between 60 and 70 degrees. Champagnes should be at refrigerator temperature in the low 40s.

Fill the glass only about a third full. Smell the wine after you swirl it and take a moment to consider its aromas. Sometimes the cork can spoil it. If the wine smells like a damp cardboard box, it's generally "corked" - spoiled by a chemical with a particular affinity for corks. At times, bacterial agents get into the wine and also can create a spoiled aroma.

Next, sip the wine and roll it around your tongue a bit before swallowing. You should be able to expand on what your sense of smell tells you and also get a sense of its body and aftertaste - what wine writers call "finish." Take a moment to look for familiar flavors and aromas.

Don't expect to smell and taste an array of flavors and scents instantly. It takes time for wine to open itself on your palate and perhaps several sips. Even then, practice will help.

To get to know wines better, attend an event where several kinds and styles are being poured, such as the Tri-City Wine Festival, or join a wine-tasting group. Take what you hear from others with a grain of salt, for their tastes may well not match yours. Even so, you still may learn from others. And make notes as you taste and compare them next time you taste a similar wine.

That's not rocket science, but give yourself credit. It is research.

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These wines were tasted by a Wine Press Northwest magazine panel. The tasters did not know the winery nor the type of wine. A wine must receive a unanimous vote to gain an outstanding rating.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2000 sauvignon blanc, Columbia Valley, $14 - Outstanding. Peach and stone fruit underpinning leads to apples, vanilla and a touch of minerals. Tasty lingering flavors make this a very satisfying wine. Great with shellfish.

Fox Estate 2001 riesling, Columbia Valley, $10 - Outstanding. Engaging sweet tropical fruit, citrus, good acids, tasty, nice balance, fresh apples, rich and clean, with low alcohol levels.

Colvin Vineyards 1999 syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $22 - Another new red from the Walla Walla region. Smoky and earthy aromas. Flavors of black raspberries with a perfume powder background.

Chatter Creek 2000 syrah, Lonesome Springs Vineyard, Washington, $20 - Outstanding. A big, rich oaky syrah, nice balance, succulent fruit with bittersweet chocolate kick. A long, satisfying finish.

E.B. Foote 1999 merlot, Columbia Valley, $16 - Outstanding. This Burien-based winery has been around a long time and new owners are really hitting it on the mark. Smoky oak, big cedar, opulent flavors including currants and blackberry jam, heavy tannins for body and longevity.

E.B. Foote 1999 cabernet sauvignon, cellar reserve, Columbia Valley, $35 - Outstanding. Spice and toast lead to wonderful dark cherry, blackberry jam flavors. Other components include leather, oak and currants.

Tamarack Cellars 1999 cabernet sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $30 - Outstanding. It's getting to be a habit for this Walla Walla Airport winery to produce outstanding wine. This one is loaded with complex components beginning with tobacco and cedar aromas, followed by tastes of mocha, rich black fruit jam and a clean, toasty finish.

J.M. Cellars 1999 Tre Fanciulli red table wine, Columbia Valley, $28 - Outstanding wine from a new Woodinville winery. Loaded with rich raspberry and cherry flavors with licorice and coffee aromas. Big and chewy and a memorable long, clean finish.

Bob Woehler has been writing about grapes and wines of the Pacific Northwest since 1978. His columns appear twice monthly in the Tri-City Herald in Tri-Cities, Wash. and in Wine Press Northwest.

Send e-mail to Bob Woehler

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