How to Smell Wine from the Middle of the Glass

A nice, robust glass of wine is the perfect relaxing ending to an indulgent evening. But if you’re sipping your wine as soon as you pour your glass rather than sniffing it first, you’re missing out on a crucial part of the overall experience. Smelling offers a preview of what you might taste in the wine, not just at the first sip, but also if you let the wine sit for a while and open up. Moreover, smell and taste have been intricately linked in the brain, and much of the taste of wine is lost without the smell.There are a few different ways to smell wine and you don’t have to be a wine enthusiast to master them. You can smell form the bottom of the glass, the top of the glass and the middle of the glass. Here are a few simple steps to walk you through smelling wine from the middle of the glass:

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A glass of wine

How to Smell Wine from the Middle of the Glass

1. Hold the wine glass in your hand and gently tilt the glass back and forth to move move the wine in a circular motion inside the glass.

2. Swirl the wine gently, as this exposes the liquid to the air and releases the wine’s aromas. Make sure the glass is no more than half full or you may have a mess on your hands.

3. Put your face directly over the wine glass and put your nose as far down in the glass as it will go.

4. Take a few short, quick sniffs. Some sommeliers inhale long and deeply. This is smelling from the middle of the glass. Do this after the wine has come to a rest from swirling it.

5. Take in and try to identify all the different aromas you may smell. You may smell a woodsy scent, or perhaps berries. There are many aromas that may come to mind. This is the fun part.

6. Write down your observations so that you become knowledgeable about smelling the wine from the middle of the glass.

Tips & Warnings

• The earthy aromas of a wine come from the middle of the glass. You may smell wet dirt or dry leaves; or if there are any wood derived aromas like oak, pine or cedar, you will smell those from the middle of the glass.
• You can also detect if a wine is spoiled by smelling it. If you get a whiff of damp cardboard or gym socks, the wine may be tainted with cork. When these tastes are evident the wine is said to be “corked.”
• After you’ve swirled and smelled your glass of wine, you may want to ask your server for a decanter -- which helps aerate the wine and filters out sediment in older wines – rather than drink it immediately.

Resources

• Check out the Food and Wine column in USA Today for more great info and helpful hints on everything wine.

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