| Imagine that you are in a beautiful garden looking | | | | The aromas of a wine are part of its identity and |
| at an amazing red rose. At the beginning you | | | | in many cases the most important part. In order |
| admire its beauty from afar for a few moments. | | | | to appreciate a wine's aromas we bring the wine |
| Then you carefully get closer to it and touch it, | | | | to the entrance of our nostrils and take a steady |
| enjoying the silky feel of its petals in your fingers. | | | | breath in order to create a flow of air that will |
| With veneration, you bend down towards the | | | | lead the wine's aromas from the glass to the |
| flower and its surrounding nature that created it in | | | | heart of our smell and in this way we will |
| order to enjoy the highlight of its beauty, its | | | | recognise aromas that our memories can identify |
| intoxicating smell. For a little while you close your | | | | such as the rose above. On many occasions the |
| eyes and try to capture the moment, committing | | | | aromas appear to be weak. In order to |
| it to your memory. Every time that you see a | | | | strengthen them we can lay our glass on a flat |
| rose, this harmonious show of smell and picture | | | | surface and swirl the glass in a circular movement |
| will come to your mind. | | | | two or three times and then repeat the first step. |
| I am sure that anyone who can smell a rose and | | | | You will now discover that the wine's aromas are |
| hold on to these pictures is able to enjoy a wine. | | | | much stronger. This happens because the air |
| The process of tasting a wine is made up of | | | | circulating inside the glass helps the aromas to |
| nothing more than coded steps. For a professional | | | | open up more easily. |
| it is a tool for the evaluation of a wine whilst for | | | | Following this we take a sip, which should always |
| a well-read consumer it is a tool for deciding which | | | | be of the same amount, and allow the wine to |
| wine to drink with a meal. For all of us it is a way | | | | spread across the entire surface of our tongue. |
| of judging whether we actual like a wine or not | | | | To start with we should concentrate on the |
| and then leads us to the enjoyment of all the | | | | texture of the wine, whether it is silky like a rose, |
| delights it has to offer us. | | | | velvety, or rich and soft. This is the equivalent of |
| The ideal partner for tasting a wine is simplicity. A | | | | the feeling we have in our fingers. The basic |
| glass without patterns or engravings allows us to | | | | elements that can be understood are the four |
| enjoy the colour of a wine in all its glory. It is | | | | tastes that our taste buds can recognise: sweet |
| advisable for the glass to be separated in two | | | | tastes which is our first impression as the taste |
| parts - the "stem" and "bowl" of the glass. Hold | | | | buds that recognise sweetness are at the tip of |
| the glass by its 'stem' and bring the "bowl" to a | | | | the tongue, then sour tastes as these taste buds |
| 45° angle over a white surface to enjoy the | | | | are at the side of the tongue, followed by salty |
| colour of the wine. | | | | tastes whose taste buds are in between the sour |
| The following step involves a movement that | | | | ones and behind the sweet ones, and finally bitter |
| many of us do not normally do. Imagine looking at | | | | tastes whose taste buds are at the back of the |
| a rose, touching it, but not smelling it. The next | | | | tongue. |
| time you are in a restaurant make note of the | | | | If all of these steps result in satisfaction then the |
| number of people around you who just drink their | | | | wine is sure to be to your liking. And as we |
| wine without smelling it at all. It's like watching the | | | | Greeks are true merry-makers and love to have |
| final of the World Cup with the sound turned off | | | | a good time, we raise our glasses and drink to |
| so that you can't hear the commentary. God help | | | | our good health. |
| us!!! | | | | |