Wine Tasting 101: Look Like You Know What You’re Doing
Have you ever been to a tasting or out to dinner with someone who appeared to know so much about wine, that it was intimidating? This need not be the case. Drinking wine should be fun and informative. The more you taste, the more developed your palate will become; but this is a subject of another post. Today, just the basics of tasting.
Upon opening the bottle, examine the cork. It should be firm, not mushy and should only have a wine stain on the base of the cork. If the cork is saturated with wine, it is not always a bad thing but it can indicated the bottle is “corked”, or spoiled. Most importantly, if you want to look like you know what you’re doing, do not smell the cork!
When tasting, you really do not want more than 1-2 ounces of wine poured in the glass. Don’t just swallow this taste of wine in one big gulp, examine the wine. What is the clarity of the wine? If possible, hold the glass in front of a white background (like a sheet of paper or your dinner menu). Is the wine brilliant or cloudy? How does the color look? Is it a light green white wine? Is it a buttery yellow? Is it a light burgundy or a deep purple? How does the color of the wine around the outside of the glass vary from the center of the glass?
Next swirl the wine in the glass. The best way to do this without making a mess, is to keep the base of the wine glass on the table. Swirl the glass around 2-3 times to release the bouquet. Once wine has a chance to breathe, it often tastes different than when you first open it. Now, stick your nose in the glass. Thats right. Your whole nose. And take a deep breath. This first time you smell the wine prepares your palate to taste it. Try to pick out scents you recognize, apple, lemon, vanilla, butter, cherry, plum, chocolate, tobacco and soil are all common scents that are paired in different ways in a variety of wines.
Next, taste the wine. Again, don’t gulp this seemingly small taste of wine down. This is the purest taste of wine you will incur, your first impressions of the wine are made here. Let the wine coat your mouth. The front of your tongue, the sides of your mouth and pay close attention to the feeling at the back of your mouth and in your throat as you swallow. Next take a deep breath, and think.
Now you have tasted the wine. What flavors did you pick up? Does it smell differently than it tastes? How does it feel? Do you like it?–Well that question is not always answerable upon the first taste. But you have begun a journey, one of learning, tasting and growing your palate.
The next tasting: Wine 101: What am I Really Tasting? A Description of Common Wine Varietals and Flavors
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