How to Taste Dessert Wine

Red dessert wines range in hue from garnet to near-black.

Properly tasting a dessert wine allows the taster to evaluate the wine's appearance, nose, body, mouth-feel, taste and finish, as well as any flaws introduced during production or aging. Properly tasting wine involves visually examining its color, smelling its aromatic compounds, identifying its complexities regarding taste and aroma, and how those complexities commingle. Although a wine glass approved by the International Organization for Standardization is ideal -- its shape prevents too much oxygen from diluting the wine's aroma during the smelling step -- many other narrow-mouthed glasses will suffice.

Things You'll Need

• International Organization for Standardization-approved wine glass

Instructions

1. Fill a clear International Organization for Standardization-approved wine glass with 2 oz. of dessert wine.

2. Hold the wine glass at a 45-degree angle against a white light, such as that of a standard light bulb. Alternatively, hold the glass against a white napkin.

3. Focus your gaze on the rim of the wine and notice its hue. White dessert wines usually range in color from pale-yellow to near-green. Reds range in color from garnet to near-black. Whites tend to deepen and darker with age, whereas reds usually fade.

4. Grasp the glass by the stem and swirl the wine three times. Notice the manner in which the wine travels back down the sides of the glass -- known as "legs," the streaks of wine settling to the bottom of the glass indicate the viscosity of the wine. The slower the legs run down the glass, the more body the wine has; the quicker the legs travel down the glass, the less body the wine has.

5. Inhale the wine deeply and allow it to rest in the nostrils for several seconds. Swirling the wine releases aromatic compounds through aeration, which allows the taster to detect elements of the wine's terroir, its background flavors, and, in the case of white dessert wines, how much time it spent in an oak barrel.

6. Drink approximately 1 oz. of the wine. Allow the wine to reach all areas of the mouth. Note the subtle nuances of flavor the wine carries with it. Pay attention to the wine's finish (if swallowing) -- it will indicate its tannic content, as well as how long it was stored in oak.

References

• "The Professional Chef 8th Edition"; The Culinary Institute of America; 2006
• Wines: Getting Started with Wine Tasting and Appreciation
• What's Cooking America: Taste Wine Like A Pro - Wine Tasting Basics - Photo Tutorial