Today you will learn the four steps to properly and successfully taste wine.
Look
The color of the wine is scientifically complex but fortunately a seasoned taster can learn to identify clues about a wine just from inspecting the color, intensity, opacity and viscosity. A pour of 3oz will be enough for a nice tasting size. Try to view the wine with natural light over a white surface, like a napkin or a table cloth. Angle the glass over the white background and inspect the color, intensity and hue at the rim of the wine. From the rim to the middle you will see small differences in color based on a few factors like variety, production and age. Swirl the wine to see the viscosity. Viscous wines have higher alcohol and residual sugar.
Smell
Hold your glass just under your nose and sniff once to “prime” your nose. Then swirl your wine and smell again, this time longer and slower but delicately at the same time. Move your nose around different positions around the rim of the glass. Rich fruit aromas are generally found on the lower lip and the floral aromas can be smelled on the upper lip of the glass.
Taste
Try coating your mouth with a larger sip of wine followed by several smaller sips so you can isolate and identify flavors. Always try to pick at least three fruits or flavors from the wine when you’re drinking. Identify where the wine hits in your palate. Sweetness is toward the front. Acidity makes your mouth water. Tannin is textural and dries your mouth out like a tea bag. You will find out that high quality wine might have two to three flavors profiles from beginning to end. The number one tip to improve your sense of taste is to spend more time smelling and identifying aromas.
Conclude
Now that you have tasted the wine you have to evaluate it. Remember that a wine that is out of balance will have characteristics that overpower other flavors in the wine. Take your time with wines that you enjoy. Identify what you prefer about them over other wines. You will be surprise that in no time you ‘ll be more articulate when seeking a new wine. Do you know how many taste buds are within the area of one-hole punch on your tongue? The average taster has from 15-30 of them. They can taste bitterness like tannins just fine but it doesn’t make you wince in pain. They’re capable of love almost any wine.
