|
 How
to Taste Wine
By Andrew B. Campbell
Become a pro, judge wine with the snobbiest of
wine critics…and learn the secrets of why a wine is good! Do you
know how to properly drink a wine? Here are the secrets of the
professionals: Sight, Swirl, Smell, Sip and Savor.
Sight
The tools for this first secret is a glass with wine in it and a
neutral, preferably white background. Hold your wine in front of the
background. What do you see? In a red wine, is the color a deep,
dark bluish purple, or is it brick red? In a white wine, is the
color pale yellow-green, gold, and even brown? There are many
reasons we look at sight first. By looking at the wines, we can tell
whether or not the wine is older (whites get darker, reds get
lighter when aged), see what kind of wine it is (different grapes
equal different colors…Chardonnay usually is more gold than
Riesling) and in whites, see if the wine was aged in wood (again, if
it’s darker in color, oak was probably used.). There are no absolute
right and wrong answers…remember judging wine is somebody’s opinion.
Swirl
Why is this so important? It allows oxygen to invade the wine and
“aerate” it. This gives it a better and more open smell. Some think
swirling is to show off the “legs” of the wine. We somewhat agree at
WineSquire.com, but “legs”, or the length of residual wine slowly
descending down the glass after swirling supposedly determines
concentration of wine. Great “legs” are great “legs”. If the wine
has them, great, if it doesn’t, don’t be too critical. A well made
concentrated wine that should have great legs might not because of
the detergent that is used to clean the glass. Swirling is why
tasters only usually pour two ounces or less in the tasting glass;
if there’s more in it then you might not be able to taste it because
it might be on your shirt!
Smell
This is the most important thing to do when judging a wine. After
swirling, stick your nose as close to the wine as possible inside
the glass. The first thing to smell for is if there is anything
“off”, or bad smelling. If the wine smells like vinegar, mold, must,
sulfur or sherry, then the wine has some major flaws in it and is
either past its prime or is “corked”.
 A
corked wine can and should be returned to the retailer you purchased
the wine from (we recommend keeping your wine receipts). They
usually will exchange the bottle for a fresh one off the shelf.
After deciding whether or not the wine has any flaws in the smell,
then decide what the wine smells like. Remember, judging a wine is
an opinion; there is no right or wrong answers. If you can’t
describe what the wine smells like, please reference our
Wine
Terminology article. This will lead you step by step to what you
are smelling and tasting. Soon, after practice, scents will be
immediately recognizable and you’ll be showing off to your friends
on what your nose can pick up in a wine.
Sip
This isn’t as simple as it sounds. Take in some wine in your mouth,
not a mouthful, but enough to coat the four sections of you tongue.
There are only four tastes anyone has: sweet, sour, bitter and salt.
Don’t just pound the wine past your taste buds and swallow it before
you have a chance to experience every aspect of it. When holding the
wine in your mouth, swish it around to get wine in all parts of it.
While you swallow the wine, breath in from your mouth through your
teeth. This causes a suction sound, but is very important because
you actually taste what you smell! Decide the following: is it
sweet? Is the wine fruity? What kind of fruit? Is it tart, or
acidic? Is the wine tannic, or the sensation of drinking tea without
a creamer that makes your mouth dry without any fruit tastes (it’s
not a taste, but a feeling)? Is the aftertaste, or finish, balanced,
smooth and long lasting? The longer the aftertaste, the better the
wine!
Savor
Savor the wine. Take a few moments to realize what you just
experienced. Was the wine full or light bodied? Is the wine
balanced, or does one of the four tastes (bitter, sour, salt, sweet)
outdo the others? How long does the finish last? Does the wine need
more cellar time (strong tannins) or is it ready to drink now? What
kind of food will it match up too? The last and most important thing
to realize: is the wine worth the price paid?
 How
do you know if a wine is good or not? A wine is good if you enjoy
it, bad if you don’t!
Use these secrets the professionals use to start judging your own
wine. It’ll make your wine experience more interesting and enjoyable
in the wide world of wine.
Cheers! |
|
