How to : Taste Wine (Wine Tasting 101)

A Simple Approach To Wine (Wine Tasting 101)

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wine
• Wine Glass

1. 

   Keep your expectations for wine tasting simple: 1.) Smell the wine. Breath deeply with your nose in the glass. See if you can find particular “notes” or flavors wafting up.

2. 

   2.) Swirl the wine. Holding the stem of the glass, make “O’s” with the glass faster and faster until the wine resembles a little whirlpool. Smell the wine again. It should now be MUCH more fragrant! (“On swirl”)

3. 

   3.) Taste the wine. Sip a small amount and let it roll around on your tongue. How is the “mouth feel”? Is it super dry? (“Too tannic”) Not dry enough? (“Flabby”)
   
   What are some of the flavors you taste? Are there hints of black or blueberry? Can you taste grass? How about leather, pencil lead or vanilla?
   
   You may taste nothing but wine for months until one day you will smell and taste that flavor that everyone is talking about. Don’t be hard on yourself. You can’t learn French in just one class! You shouldn’t expect to pin point flavors right away either.

4. 

   4.) Swallow the wine. Is it a lasting flavor? Is it lingering after sixty seconds for a “Long finish” or did it disappear right away? Which do you prefer?
   
   
   Those are 4 simple steps to stick with. I would add that you should look at your wine as well. Holding your glass up to the light or a cocktail napkin may seem like an affectation at first but whether you are buying one bottle of wine for yourself or cases to stock your restaurant, you want to know everything about your purchase. Young red wines, those with recent vintage years 2002-2007, will be more opulent and colorful. Some young white wines are vibrant and brilliant, some almost colorless! Older vintages will start to “show” their age. Red wines start to loose that fire and have a more mellow tone. With age they will slowly exhibit a browner hue. Whites too will mellow in color and “show” some orange/brown tones rather than vibrant yellows.

Tips & Warnings

• During the process of looking at your wine (which you can do before or after any of the above steps) you should also look at the “legs.” To do this simple tilt your glass on it’s side to let the wine roll almost to the lip of the glass. Next just let the wine fall back to the bottom of the glass. Holding it again to the light you want to see where the wine has been. Is there still wine clinging to the glass, slowly coming down? (Medium to “full bodied” wines do this.) Or did the wine sheet right down and back to the bottom of the glass, leaving virtually no trace on the side? (Light bodied wines do this.) My simple approach to wine: Know what you like. Describe what you smell and taste. The rest will take care of it’s self. LeeAnne Homsey Silver Platter Parties Exciting Wine Events! LeeAnne Homsey Silver Platter Parties Website: http://silverplatternyc.com E-mail: [e-mail] Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]