Wine Tasting Pointers
Wine tasting is an exercise of the human senses. Here are a few pointers:
Don't eat spicy or aromatic food, don't drink or smoke while drinking wine. We rinse the glasses with the wine we are going to taste, not water.
Between wines you can have a piece of white bread or a few soup crackers, and a sip of mineral water. The temperature is very important for tasting. To get the most taste out of your wine, chill it to the low to mid 50 degree (F) range. Precise temperatures vary for each wine. Remember that wine stored in the refrigerator will be nearly 20 degrees cooler than the ideal serving temperatures.
As a general rule serve white before red, young before old and keep the good wine until last. If you hold the bottle by the base and give your wrist a slight twist as you finish pouring you will avoid the dribble factor. Try it!
We use thin, smaller glasses and fill only half full. Pick up the glass in front of your eyes and slowly swirl the wine around in the glass. This will free the aromatic bouquet from the wine.
Note the visual aspects like clarity, richness and color. Hold the glass to you nose and inhale. Is it woody or fruity, comfortable or not. Take a sip and let it cover your tongue. What do you taste? Is it sweet or dry? Does it have an after taste? Is it to your liking?
Most of the enjoyment that comes from drinking wine involves its aroma. Taste has only four aspects - sweet, sour, salty, acid. The nose does the rest. Vapors are created as wine warms up, so the wine needs to be a few degrees below its ideal drinking temperature for this to work
More about the art of wine tasting
A wine legend
