I have not run a article like this one for a long time but I thought it might be time so that any newcomers could get off to a good wine tasting start. For those of you who have read it you might want to refresh your memory.
There is a natural order to tasting wine: quite simply, sight, smell, and taste. When we pour a glass of wine for a tasting it should be 50ml. This allows for a look at the color while still having enough room to swirl the wine to release the wonderful bouquet.
Appearance:
You should always check the appearance in front of a well-lit white background. This allows for the proper color and clarity to be viewed. Clarity is of vital importance in a wine; cloudiness is a good indicator something is wrong. It could mean it is going through re-fermentation in the bottle or has bacterial problems. As well, old wine will be cloudy if not properly decanted.
Color:
To find the true color, hold the glass at a 45% angle away from your self and against a white background. Most likely this will reveal first the body color and then a rim color.
Red wines loose their color as they age; the bodies of red wines get paler as they get older. The rim color can range from purple, for a young wine, too ruby, through to russet, then to brown for a mature red. Other Color terminology is: tawny, garnet, and brick.
White wines can have a greenish tinge to their rim color when young then change to a deep yellow before aging to a gold. New oak can also give a golden tint to a young white wine. More color terminology is: pale straw, lemon.
Some people like to look at the "legs" of a wine. These are traces left on the side of a glass when swirled around. This usually is a good indicator of alcohol content or high levels of residual sugar. Legs are often referred to a "tears".
Nose:
This is where wine tasting becomes more of an individual art. After swirling the wine in the glass you should start to smell the bouquet with your nose to the glass. Your first smell should be one of caution. The second sniff should be done with great concentration. You must now take note of the intensity and certain aromas you receive. Some aromas are quite distinctive while others might need a minute to recognize. A word of caution - a musty smell might mean the wine is corked (off). Tasting the wine should confirm this.
There is a natural order to tasting wine: quite simply, sight, smell, and taste. When we pour a glass of wine for a tasting it should be 50ml. This allows for a look at the color while still having enough room to swirl the wine to release the wonderful bouquet.
Appearance:
You should always check the appearance in front of a well-lit white background. This allows for the proper color and clarity to be viewed. Clarity is of vital importance in a wine; cloudiness is a good indicator something is wrong. It could mean it is going through re-fermentation in the bottle or has bacterial problems. As well, old wine will be cloudy if not properly decanted.
Color:
To find the true color, hold the glass at a 45% angle away from your self and against a white background. Most likely this will reveal first the body color and then a rim color.
Red wines loose their color as they age; the bodies of red wines get paler as they get older. The rim color can range from purple, for a young wine, too ruby, through to russet, then to brown for a mature red. Other Color terminology is: tawny, garnet, and brick.
White wines can have a greenish tinge to their rim color when young then change to a deep yellow before aging to a gold. New oak can also give a golden tint to a young white wine. More color terminology is: pale straw, lemon.
Some people like to look at the "legs" of a wine. These are traces left on the side of a glass when swirled around. This usually is a good indicator of alcohol content or high levels of residual sugar. Legs are often referred to a "tears".
Nose:
This is where wine tasting becomes more of an individual art. After swirling the wine in the glass you should start to smell the bouquet with your nose to the glass. Your first smell should be one of caution. The second sniff should be done with great concentration. You must now take note of the intensity and certain aromas you receive. Some aromas are quite distinctive while others might need a minute to recognize. A word of caution - a musty smell might mean the wine is corked (off). Tasting the wine should confirm this.
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