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How to Get the Most from Your Wine-Tasting Experience

© Alan Boehmer

So much has already been written about wine tasting, I hesitate to try to add to what others have said. But since tasting wine is not quite like savoring a pork chop, perhaps some reminders are in order.

Eating food, no matter how tasty and engaging, is mono-dimensional compared to the wine experience. Drinking wine is much more like listening to music than eating food. You don't get the full value of the wine experience without paying very close attention. The kind of attention you might pay to a physics lecture on which you will shortly be examined.

You can eat your tasty steak while conversing with others, laughing and carrying on all the while. A dessert course of tasty Pont l'Eveque might divert your attention for a moment, but your dinner companions will surely think you daft if you pore over the intricacies of the mold used, or wax eloquent over the exquisite balance between ripeness and fecality.

So how should we approach the wine experience? First, shed all pretense and outmoded formalities. Think of wine as you would a cut gemstone or complex piece of music. Do whatever you can to foster an understanding of what is there to be noticed or appreciated. Here are some thoughts:

1. The glass does count. It should be clear, thin, uncut stemware with a bowl that allows you to swirl the wine without getting it all over your neighbors. Swirling the wine aerates it and allows it to release its esters. Put your nose into the bowl and take in a deep whiff. Enjoy the perfume of the wine.

2. A proper glass will also allow you to see the beautiful color of the wine. Red wines take on a warmer, redder color as they age. Take note of any "legs" or "tears" which form on the inside of the glass after you have swirled. Wine which flows down the inside of the bowl in sheets is probably young or undistinguished. Wines with texture or age will often "tear." Such wines will also be silky on the palate. Notice how it feels in your mouth.

3. Note the specific flavors of the wine. More than a hundred distinct flavors have been identified in wine. An excellent source of aroma and flavor descriptors is the Wine Aroma Wheel. In fine wines the flavor components are often found to be "layered." If the wine is ten or more years old, you will find flavors and aromas not often found in young wines: tea, tobacco, cedar, butterscotch, caramel, and dried fruits. Look for them.

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