How To Taste Wine

How to Taste Wine

First and foremost, make sure you begin with a clean glass. Actually take a moment and inspect the glasses you will be using for your tasting. This may sound crazy but smell each glass you will be using. Stick your nose over the glass and sniff. What are you sniffing for? Well, the smell of detergent. Most people now wash their glasses in a dishwasher. This tends to leave a lingering smell within the bowl of the glass. Detergent smell and wine simply have no place together in my book.  Next, if your glasses have been stored in your cabinets for awhile make sure there is no musty smell or dust hiding in them.  What type of glasses should I use? Do they have to be expensive? I prefer stem-less glasses when I do a tasting simply because of the number of beautiful handcrafted stemware that has met an untimely demise during such events. 

Once you have uncorked the wine and have given it sufficient and respectful time to breath, fill the glass about a third full, why? Filling the glass fuller simply isn’t necessary and filling it a 1/3 full allows the flavors to unfold in the glass. Also, sorry I am a clean freak, it is less likely to spill all over my table and floors.

Ok, so you are saying, Now what? I have a glass of wine that has just been handed to me and I am totally lost other than to drink it down and ask for another.

 Take your glass, tilt it slightly on an angle and take a look at the color, what do you see? Is it dark, clear, does it have any bubbles? Actually spend a few moments getting to know the wine visually.  Next, bring your glass and your nose together in a potentially wonderful moment and smell the wine. Give it a good sniff. Trust me it’s OK and totally what is expected. No one is going to look at your oddly from the corner of their eye.  Now, swirl the wine around in your glass, gently now, no need to slosh it around or shake it.  Why are you swirling it around in your glass? This is to aerate it, to pull oxygen into the wine, now smell it again. What do you notice that may be different? It’s all about becoming familiar with the wine you are tasting.

You may be saying, when do I get to actually enjoy my glass of wine? Do I ever get to actually taste it? In time, it’s coming shortly. Very well, go ahead, take a taste. Some of us slurp the wine, you don’t have to do that, it’s something we do now and then. We slurp, pull it through our teeth and put the wine through a dance in our mouths.
For now, just take a mouthful. Pay attention to what you are tasting, experiencing. Does it taste, clean? Fresh?  Are there any acid flavors, tannins?- that sandy or gritty feeling that sits on your gums. How does it fill your mouth? I do not mean the volume but is it light or does it sit full in your mouth?  Does it have fruit? Do you pick up the tastes of cherry,maybe raspberries?  How about licorice, spices, maybe vanilla? Pay close attention to how long these linger after you have swallowed. Last but not least, is the wine balanced? Do all the elements and complexities come together in a delightful worthwhile experience?

Wine tasting should be enjoyable, a time to come together with family and friends. There is no worry, no one will be grading you on how you enjoy your wine.

I suggest you spend some time getting familiar with the terms I have used in this article. It’s as easy as looking for an on-line wine dictionary or glossary.

…Marcus Padulchick