Most of us are used to drinking our wine with meals, usually in a relaxed setting. The thought of joining the professional wine-tasters as they sip, spit and talk about bouquets and aromas may be a bit off-putting but mastering the art of tasting is essential in order to get the most out of your wine drinking.
The ideal conditions for wine tasting is easy - a quiet room and good lighting. The glasses should be clean and of the correct shape to allow you to indulge fully in both the aroma and taste of the wines.
Here are some easy tips to becoming a wine connoisseur.
1. Appearance
Hold the glass at the stem and raise it to the light to evaluate its color and clarity. Holding the glass this way will prevent blurring the wine color as well as altering the temperature of the wine. Ideally, the wine glass should be tilted and looked at against a white background. The color will vary according to the type of wine. Red wines vary greatly in color. A Merlot, for example, will usually be an intense ruby red while a Cabernet Sauvignon will be a darker, deeper red. As a red wine age further, you will see hints of reddish-brown around the edges. White wines become more golden as they age. With light shining sideways through the glass, you will be able to see if the wine is brilliantly clear or cloudy with particles.
2. Aroma
Swirl the glass until the wine coats the inside of the glass. The swirling motion intensifies the wine’s aroma and bouquet. As the wine settles back to the bottom of the glass, a transparent film will appear on the inside of the glass. Place your nose over the glass and inhale gently. As the wine on the inner sides of the glass evaporates rapidly, it releases its fruity smell and the fragrance developed through aging. There are hundreds of adjectives that can describe the essence of a wine. A wine's fruit component (aroma and flavor) may be of tropical fruits (melon, pineapple), berries (blackberry, blackcurrant), dried fruits (fig, strawberry jam) or tree fruit (apple, peach). Often a wine will have other characteristics described as nutty (almond, hazelnut), spicy (black pepper, currant), vegetative (green pepper, cut grass), floral (violet, orange blossom) or caramelized (chocolate, butterscotch). In general, a young white wine should taste fresh, fruity and crisp, while red wines will have more complex berry flavours.
3. Taste
An experienced wine taster may inhale (slurp) some air while sipping to aerate the wine and bring out the wine's more complex flavours. Let the wine stand in your mouth for a moment. The texture and weight of the wine tells you what sort of “body” it has. A full-bodied wine will feel rich and heavy in your mouth, while a thin wine will feel somewhat diluted. Generally, wines with less alcohol are light-bodies, while those with higher alcohol are medium to full-bodied. Upon swallowing the wine, notice the different finishes and lasting flavors that the wine leaves on your palate. A long, flavorful finish is a sign of a quality wine. There are certain properties that can only be evaluated by sense of taste: the amount of sweetness (usually associated with white wines or late harvest reds) as well as acidic or bitter qualities. Tannins, the astringent, puckery sensation usually found in red wines is a primary factor in determining a wine's aging potential and will soften with age.
4. Balance
Although wine is alcoholic, the alcohol taste should not be noticeable in a quality wine. The way in which each of these individual wine elements interact with each other is called balance. A well-balanced wine will have a harmonious combination of fruit, acid, sugar (in white wines), tannin and alcohol - of which none will overpower another. Finally, a wine of perfect balance and style that combines multiple aroma and flavour elements in a harmonious relationship is considered complex. Complexity is the quality that most winemakers strive for and it is what separates a good wine from a great one.
5. Order of Tasting
The wine host usually arranges the order of tasting wines. The normal order of tasting is dry whites to medium whites, light reds to full-bodied reds, sweet whites followed by dessert and fortified wines. It is common to rinse the residual wine from your tasting glass between wines or between types of wine (whites, reds, etc.) and many wine hosts provide bland crackers or pretzels which you can use to "clear" your palate between tastes.
Conclusion
After sampling a wine with your eyes, nose and mouth, you can then make your assessments. Is it simple and easy to drink or is it complex, with many different layers of flavours that will reveal themselves over time? Is it ready for drinking now or should you keep it for a while? Does it offer value for money? Most importantly, do you enjoy it?
A wine that gives immediate pleasure and doesn't have any tannins that need to soften is ready to drink. If a red has a lot of tannin, then it may well need several years to soften and to show its best. A wine that feels closed or tight at the back of the palate will generally improve with time. Some young wines that taste very oaky, especially if the oak and the fruit seem separate, may just need time for these elements to marry together.
One of the continuing fascinations of wine lies in determining when it will be ready to drink. The optimum moment depends upon the individual drinker - some enjoy their wines young, when the fruit is to the fore, others prefer to wait until the wine has developed the richness that is characteristic of age.