 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Tips |
|
|
The Wine Tasting Process
|
The first step in wine tasting is to open your mind - try to forget your worries, if possible. We have witnessed many situations where people are so caught up with other things that they cannot taste a wine, only drink it. Making sure you are in the right place is very important. Next, the easiest part of tasting - the first thing you can judge after the wine is poured - the color. Your first wines won't tell you much, but try to take a mental picture of that wine and store that in your memory next to the vintage. Then when you taste other wines from that vintage you will be able to compare which one seems to be deeper or lighter, more purple, red or orange. The next step is to smell the wine. For this the type of glass you use will be very important. You want to have a glass that will have a larger bowl at the bottom, closing toward the top. This allows you to spin the wine in the glass and concentrate the aromas at your nose. You can try to identify some of the aromas (we will be posting some vocabulary shortly) but that is not the most important thing. You just need to ask yourself if you like the smell, and, once again, take a mental picture of the smell and file it into your memory along with the vintage - for future comparison. |
   |
And now - yes, we have finally arrived - you taste. There are no secrets to tasting - the most important, once again, is to ask yourself if you like it. You can also try to judge the length of the wine. This indicates the level of concentration, and, therefore the quality. Another aspect you can try to identify is the tannins in red wines. When you move the wine around in your mouth you will sometimes feel something that seems to dry out your gums. This is an indication of the level of tannins - or the aging potential of the wine. If you don't feel many tannins and the wine is relatively soft, you may want to drink it quickly. On the other hand, if you feel a very drying aspect to the wine, it can be a sign of strong tannins and a long future for the wine. And don't forget the mental picture and memory file with the vintage. Now you may have noticed that good tasting skill is based on a good memory. So if your memory is not great (or, as I say, my disk is sometimes full!) you may want to take notes for reference. In any case, taste, taste, taste! The more you taste the better a taster you will be! |
