| Wine Tasting Component I: Look | | | | If you know the wine, compare what you know |
| | | | with what you see: maybe the wine has a very |
| The first step you have to undertake in wine | | | | full color and the yield has been bad this |
| tasting is visual. | | | | speaks of a good wine-making technique; or |
| | | | maybe the wine is too pale for its age this |
| 1. Fill up the glass up to 1/3 of its volume; | | | | speaks for undeveloped grape or poor |
| never fill it more than half; | | | | wine-making technique. |
| | | | |
| 2. Hold the glass by the stem. Initially you | | | | Wine Tasting Component II: Smell |
| may find this too pretentious but there are | | | | |
| good reasons for it: | | | | The second wine tasting component is smelling |
| | | | and inhaling the wines aroma. |
| ) by doing it this way you can actually | | | | |
| observe the wine in it;b) this will keep your | | | | Concentrate as much as you can and smell the |
| fingerprints off the bowl; | | | | wine, swirl the glass, and smell once again. |
| | | | |
| ) the heat from your palm will not change the | | | | The stronger the aromas, the stronger the |
| temperature of the wine. | | | | impression. Most of the wines, especially the |
| | | | more delicate and the older ones develop |
| Theres a good saying by one of the greatest | | | | their aromas only after being walked around |
| French wine lovers, Emil Painot: Offer | | | | the glass. |
| someone a glass of wine and you can | | | | |
| immediately tell whether he/she is a | | | | There is no consensus as to the exact |
| connoisseur by the way they hold the glass. | | | | technique of whiffing. Some say do two or |
| Even though you may not think of yourself as | | | | three quick whiffs, others prefer one single |
| a connoisseur, you could still learn how to | | | | deep whiff. |
| hold the wine glass. | | | | |
| | | | The goal of whiffing is to inhale the aroma |
| 3. Focus on the color intensity and the | | | | as deeply as possible so that it gets into |
| transparency of the liquid.a) the color of | | | | contact with our sensory nerve and hence, |
| the wine, and more specifically its nuances, | | | | with the part of the brain that is |
| are best observed on a white background. | | | | responsible for registering, storing, and |
| | | | deciphering sensations. The spot where that |
| ) the wines intensity is best judged by | | | | takes place is extremely sensitive: a cold or |
| holding the glass without slanting it and | | | | an allergy might completely block even the |
| looking at the liquid from above; | | | | most intense aromas. With enough practice and |
| | | | concentration, youll learn how to extract the |
| 4. Next comes the swirling of the glass. This | | | | maximum from different aromas and how to |
| can also seem too pretentious or even | | | | interpret them. |
| dangerous if you have a full glass or a white | | | | |
| top. But this movement is important since it | | | | The vivid connoisseurs love to concoct |
| prepares you for the next step in wine | | | | different aromas. Dark chocolate! says one. |
| tasting the Taste. The easiest way to swirl | | | | No, thats more like pepper, claims another. |
| the glass is to place it on a table or other | | | | Tea leaves, tobacco, and mushrooms, adds |
| even surface, and to swirl your hand while | | | | third. Are they joking?? |
| holding the glass by the stem. Swirl hard and | | | | |
| have the wine almost touch the rim of the | | | | Probably we dont quite realize it but |
| glass. Then stop. The wine leaves tiny traces | | | | nowadays we are exposed to so many different |
| with irregular shapes on the inside of the | | | | smells that we find it difficult to find |
| glass. Some experts then read them with as | | | | words to describe all the complex aromas that |
| much zeal as coffee-tellers. The truth is | | | | a glass of wine can offer. |
| however, that they are just an indicator for | | | | |
| the quality of the wine the more alcohol a | | | | Like color, a wines aroma can tell us a lot |
| wine has, the more wine traces it forms. | | | | about its character, origin, and its history. |
| | | | Since our sense of taste is limited to only 4 |
| What does the color of the wine tell us? The | | | | categories (sweet, sour, bitter, and salt), |
| wines color tells us many things about its | | | | the wines aroma is the most informative part |
| character. | | | | of our sensory experience. So take your time, |
| | | | sit back and contemplate the aroma! Like the |
| First, the color shows the grape variety. | | | | perfume of a loved one or the smell of |
| Lets take two popular varieties as examples | | | | freshly baked bread, a wines aroma can evoke |
| cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. Cabernets | | | | memories of times and places that we cherish. |
| grapes are smaller, with a thicker and darker | | | | |
| skin than those of pinot noir. As a result, | | | | Wine Tasting Component III: Taste |
| the color of wines made from cabernet | | | | |
| sauvignon is usually described as violet to | | | | This is the best part of wine-tasting. You |
| dark while the color of wines made from pinot | | | | might be enchanted by wines sparkling color |
| noir is associated with ruby. | | | | or mesmerized by its aroma but its actually |
| | | | drinking the wine that the whole thing is |
| Second, the color is influenced by the | | | | about. |
| climatic conditions. A hot summer and dry | | | | |
| fall result in ripe grapes, with a dark, | | | | Maybe you are thinking that drinking is the |
| intense color. A cold summer and rainy fall | | | | easiest part after all we start drinking |
| will produce undeveloped grapes with a | | | | from a glass from a very young age and we |
| lighter color. | | | | keep practicing for a lifetime. However, |
| | | | theres a real difference between just |
| Third, wine-making practices also have an | | | | swallowing liquid and conscious tasting. |
| influence on the color of wine. For red wine, | | | | Here, just like in all good things in life, |
| the grapes are fermented with the skin. Since | | | | the difference is in the right technique. The |
| the coloring agents are in the grape skin, | | | | appropriate technique can make sure we get |
| and not in the juice, the longer the process | | | | the best out of the whole experience. |
| of maceration, i.e. the longer the skin stays | | | | |
| with the juice, the darker the wine color | | | | 1. Still under the influence of the aromas |
| will be. | | | | youve inhaled in step II, take a sip of the |
| | | | wine. Dont make it too big or too small. You |
| Fourth, the process of wine aging also has an | | | | need just enough to walk the wine in your |
| influence on the color of wine. The young red | | | | mouth and not have to swallow it just yet. |
| wines are rich in coloring agents and that | | | | Let wine uncover its secrets. For reference, |
| makes their color denser and fuller. In the | | | | you may keep good wine in your mouth for 10 |
| course of time chemical reactions take place | | | | 15 seconds, sometimes even more. |
| in the bottle and a sediment is formed at the | | | | |
| bottom. The wines color gets lighter and is | | | | 2. Walk the wine very well in your mouth, |
| often described as brick or amber. | | | | ensuring it touches each part of it. This is |
| | | | important because our tongue, palate, the |
| Lets go through an example: you pour yourself | | | | inside of the mouth and our throat each |
| a glass of red wine and after carefully | | | | detect different aspects of the wine. |
| observing it, you notice a full granite | | | | |
| color, good density, and not so good | | | | For many years, it was believed that the |
| transparency. What conclusions can you draw? | | | | tongue has different areas each of which is |
| | | | sensitive to a particular taste sweet for |
| Well, you can safely say that the wine is: | | | | the tip of the tongue, sour for the sides, |
| | | | bitter for the back and salty for the whole |
| - from cabernet sauvignon grapes; | | | | tongue. Today we know that all the tastes can |
| | | | be felt with the whole tongue, only theres a |
| - from a Southern region; | | | | blind spot in the middle of it which is not |
| | | | sensitive to any taste. |
| - relatively young; | | | | |
| | | | Another important step in wine tasting is |
| - from a good yield; | | | | being able to tell ones impressions of the |
| | | | wine. Astringent, elegant, fruity, flat, |
| - that the wine-maker has gone for a good | | | | young are only a few words of the wine |
| long maceration. | | | | vocabulary youll need to amass. |
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