Tasting wine is a process which is not so difficult. This scientific process is simple for the beginners too but the basic knowledge is essential and counts a lot. Once you learn the entire process you will start praising wine and the wine-makers ofcourse. Wine is a duo of both taste and smell and this lets you to judge the flavor. Remember that the taste buds can recognize just four flavors; salty, sour, bitter and sweet and the nose can perceive over a thousand varieties of smell. It takes about 15 minutes to judge the quality of wine and here is the entire process that will help you in this regard.
1. Look: You need to look at the wine to check the clarity and color. For this, pour some wine into the wine glass and notice the color, intensity and color from all the sides of the glass. It is advisable to keep a white background while doing so as this helps you to enhance the color quality. Usually you observe red or white colors. For instance if itâs a red wine, what color do you see, ruby, purple or brown? In case of white wine, check if it is pale-yellow, clear, light green or golden.
Are you still gazing the same wine glass? Check the opacity of the wine. See if itâs transparent, opaque, dark or clear. Look for the sediment which includes bits of cork. The most peculiar property of fresh red wine is that it will have a few orange tinges when compared to the older one. Younger white wines are watery clear unlike older white wines which are dark in appearance.
2. Wine smell: Our nose is an important sense organ and plays a crucial role in referring different tastes. Pour some wine into the glass and then swirl it for a few seconds as swirling causes evaporation of alcohol thereby releasing fragrances. Take short sniffs to get the first impression of the wine.
Are you still smelling? Poke your nose in and now smell it carefully. Deeply inhale and find out if smells like berry, oak, citrus, vanilla, flowers or chocolate. This special aroma of the wine is the best indicator to judge the quality. Other unique features can also be found out by the aroma.
3. Wine taste: Proceed further and taste the wine. Our tongue is a delicate sensory organ that helps in detecting tastes of four kinds; sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Take small sips of the wine and detect its sweetness on the tip of your tongue. Acidity is felt on the sides of mouth. The three major stages of taste are:
a. The Attack Phase: When wine comes in contact with the palate, feel the impression that it sets-up. Alcohol content, residual sugar, acidity and tannin levels are molded together in such a way that the wine tastes soft or hard, creamy or crisp and heavy or light.
b. The Evolution Phase: Now the wine attacks your mid-palate and you come across the real taste of the wine. Red wine delivers sweet flavors of plum, berries or fig with a touch of spice like clove, pepper or cinnamon. White wine tastes like pear, citrus fruits, honey butter or apples.
c. The Finish: This is known as the âFinal Phaseâ; this is the time when aftertaste comes into action. Analyze a few questions like was it full-bodied or medium-bodied or light-bodies just as the taste of water? Did it last for longer duration or was it short-lived? Was it too bitter to taste or you would like to go for another sip?
4. Overall summary: Take your time to analyze the taste of the wine, there is no hurry. Do record all your observations and the impression that the wine had on you. Did you find the wine good? What taste was it, sweet, bitter or sour? Was the acidity well balanced? Are you going to have it once again? If you are satisfied in all these aspects, do remember to write down the name of the wine and ofcourse the producer of the same so that you donât have to repeat the process. Tasting the wine gives you the idea and opportunities to summarize wines in a good manner. Majority of wine shops, clubs and huge wineries have them. It becomes easier to compare the wines from two separate regions and also from one winery to the other.
