Cellar Tastings

Formal wine tastings should be done in neutral settings with plenty of light. Tasting involves 3 of the 5 senses, sight, smell, and taste. Remember to clear your palate with water in between tastings to prevent mixing tastes. Notes should be taken throughout the process to cross check impressions of wines and possible future tastings. Do not wear perfumes; this could intrude on the bouquet.

Tasting Preparations

Using a glass with a wide bowl and a narrow mouth concentrates aromas in the glass while still allowing it to breathe. Pour the wine about one third of the glass.

Appearance

Hold the glass at an angle in front of a white piece of paper or a neutral background. Look at the color and clarity of the wine. The intensity, and depth of the color give a clue to the grape variety and maturity and age of wine. Clarity of the wine can be brighter in young wines. Cloudiness can indicated sediment or a fault in the wine.

Here you are looking for 3 characteristics

1. Look at the clarity of the wine. Is it cloudy? This could indicated a re-fermented wine or bacterial problems.

2. Look at the intensity and color of the wine. Hold the glass at a 45° angle against a neutral colored surface. Notice that wines may often have two colors. This is called the rim, the outer color, and the core, the base color. The rim and the core indicate age. Red wines begin to lighten and turn tawny color with age and a light rim can show the first signs of this process. Whites will have a watery edge with a greenish colored core.

3. After swirling your wine around in the glass, the ‘tears’ or ‘legs’ that run down the sides of the glass can indicate the level of alcohol in the wine. Pronounced legs are said to indicate high levels of alcohol. This may also indicate increased residual sugar levels in the wine.

White Wines

White wines can range from colorless and water-like to a deep gold color. Whites darken with age, but the paler colors usually indicate a cooler region and darker colors a warm region. Exceptions to this rule can be some sweet wines which have been oak aged.

Red Wines

Reds are slightly more complex. The color range goes from pink to a dark purple or black color. The colors are usually a direct resultant of the type of grape used in the wine, but is also effected by the amount of aging and region of origin. Reds lighten with age. The browner and paler the rim appears the longer the wine has been aged. A darker color could mean a warmer climate of origin and a lighter climate would produce a paler red.

Nose (Smell)

Here you will be looking at 4 characteristics

1. Condition or cleanliness of the wine in the aroma. The wine can be tainted in a few ways but the most common include: a. Corkiness: musty smell, obtained by a tainted cork. (not if there is a piece of cork in the wine) b. Sulpher Dioxide: Sulphur smell, common in cheap whites. c. Acetic: smells of vinegar, caused by bacteria as a result of poor winery practices d. Oxidation: smells burnt, and will visually be a brownish color.

2. Intensity of aroma indicates a weak or strong wine. A closed or dumb nose means that there is hardly any aroma at all. Pronounced aromas and bouquets are good signs of quality.

3. Development of character includes the youthful smells of the grape varieties versus the aging softening of the blends. a. Aroma is the term used for young wine indicating the smell of the fruit itself. b. Bouquet is the term used for a more complex older wine.

4. Fruit character is important but personal. Wine smells like many things to many different people. Through experience, these characteristics become paired with regions. Descriptions can include fruity, floral, vegetal, spicy, and other types of comparisons.

Palate (Taste)

Different parts of the mouth will indicate certain characteristics of the wine.

1. Sweetness is indicated by a reaction felt at the tip of the tongue. This is often confused with the fruity character, which does not produce this reaction. If nothing is felt at the tip of the tongue the wine is considered dry.

2. Acidity is indicated by a reaction or feeling on the sides of the tongue toward the back of the mouth. Strong acidity will make your mouth actually water. If salty, which is very rare, the sides toward the front of the tongue will react. If bitter the middle of the tongue will elicit a reaction.

3. Tannin is indicated by the drying effect it has on the gums and tongue. It is very high in young reds before aging.

4. Body is distinguished by the impression of the weight of the wine in your mouth. Light wines are referred to as light-bodied and heavy wines as full-bodied.

5. Alcohol can actually be tasted by a warming sensation at the rear of the mouth.

6. Fruit character and intensity should affirm the reaction in the nose.

7. Length of the wine is judged by how long the flavor remains on the palate after the wine has been spit out of the mouth.

As wine is traditionally drunk with meals for its complementary flavors, it has also been proven to “open the appetite”, restore nutritional balance, and act as a mild euphoric agent. Nutritional contents of wine are minimal, providing no fat, cholesterol, or dietary fiber in any wine. In 1624 a London Physician, Peter Shaw was proving the healthful and hygienic values of wine. Today California’s king of Botox, Dr. Brandt uses grape seeds to decrease signs of aging as well as other treatments. Wine’s antioxidant properties can stop or prevent signs of aging.

Tasting Conclusion

Conclusions about a wine relate to the overall quality in comparison to the price paid for the wine, value for money. Conclusions also include the level of quality, maturity, and potential development, which will come over time as more and more wines are tasted and a log is kept. We hope this feature will help you with your at your next Wine Tasting