Wine Tasting 🍷

Guideline to the art of Wine Tasting 

In the past, wine tastings were associated with the upper class of society who attended exclusive events. The event was formal and they would take sips of a collection of expensive wines and then spit into buckets. 

Today, we are moving away from that trend. Wine tasting are more relaxed and casual social events for all who want to learn more about the different types of wine available. Wine tasting is not meant to be intimidating. You can choose to spit in a bucket or not. There are many wines for different taste buds. The fact is that everyone will taste wine differently from one another.

The art of wine tasting is sensory examination.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your wine tasting experience.

Gather a pen and notepad. Usually the host will provide writing material with a description of the wine displayed at the wine tasting.

1. Visual evaluation - observe the wine in your glass under light, preferably natural light. Take notes of the color. This can provide information of the type of wine and the age of the wine. A dark purple, opaque wine could indicate a Syrah, while a light ruby color could indicate a Pinot Noir. In addition, a golden colored wine could indicate a Chardonnay, while a pale, straw-colored wine with a hint of green could indicate a Riesling. As wine ages, the colors change. Red wines become more lighter over time and appear to be brick red or orange tinge. While white wines become darker as they age. 

2. Aroma evaluation - bring the glass of wine up to your nose to capture the aromas of the wine before swirling the wine in the glass and after. Aromas can help identify the type of wine. Fruit aromas such as cherry, strawberry, black currant, raspberry and blackberry are associated with red wines, while apple, pear, peach, pineapple and guava are associated with white wines. Non-fruit aromas can be in the form of floral scents, spices, vanilla or coconut.

3. Taste evaluation - the wine should be swished around in the mouth to ensure that all the taste buds on the tongue are engaged. While the wine is in your mouth, draw in air through the mouth allowing it to pass over the wine and then expel the air out through the nostrils. This allows the aromas associated with the wine to be processed by the brain. Tasting the ripeness of the flavors of the wine can help determine the area of origin. Under-ripe flavors such as green apple or sour cherry can be associated with cooler temperature regions, whereas ripe flavors in a wine can be associated with warmer temperature regions. Also, you can assess the levels of acidity, the amount of alcohol and tannins by tasting wine. White wines and lighter red wines tend to have a higher acid level. In addition to grapes grown in cooler temperature regions. Wines that have been fermented and grapes grown in warmer climate regions (where sugar levels are higher) tend to have higher alcohol levels.

Basically, wine tasting is the fundamentals of wine appreciation for the novice or expert.

And for the most part, the person hosting the wine tasting is looking for an answer.