What is a Wine Tasting?

Series Summary

No other alcoholic beverage has made quite the cultural impact on history as wine. Granted, some of those that enjoy the taste of hops might argue that beer is the alcoholic drink of champions. However, if any wine enthusiast described the time, knowledge, and process of making a bottle of fine wine, our friends in the local brewery might have to concede. Wine's history is thought to date back over 8,000 years. As the millennia have passed, the knowledge of making wine has also progressed. Those that make wine are part of an elite few, and understanding their grand creations takes a good bit social and sensual knowledge. For instance, if you have been to a wine tasting, you will hear discussions filled with a intimidating vocabulary: tannin, legs, tears, body, harmony, and more! Most of us may not have a clue for deciphering their meanings. However, don't be discouraged. Luckily, there are many connoisseurs of wine that love talking about the beverage. You just have to take the time to absorb it all. If you have felt the inner-desire to become a wine sommelier, this free video series will give you just the start you need to join the cultural wine club.

Let our expert, Jane Nickles, show you how to taste wine in this free video series. Jane is extremely knowledgeable about wines, and she discusses everything you need to know to ace your next wine tasting. Learn the process of wine tastings. Learn how to smell wines and observe their colors. Also, Jane shows you how to pick out wine aromas, and she shows you how to identify the body of a wine. Learn how to taste tannin and other wine specific flavors. So, what are you waiting for? Join the wine tasting party today!

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm going to tell you about wine tasting. You've probably been invited to a wine tasting party, or know someone that loves to go wine tasting in the wine country; but really, what is wine tasting? Tasting is different from drinking. I'd like you to know that of course, I approve of both activities, tasting and drinking, but they're very separate. Drinking, I know you know what that is. It's what you're going to do tonight, with your friends, or when you're sitting alone with a bottle of wine; fine enough. Tasting; on the other hand, is a much more directed activity. Tasting involves all your senses, not just taste. Tasting involves paying attention to what you're doing, and the most important part of tasting is taking your impressions of the wine, which are very personal and subjective, and they don't have to match other people's impressions of the wine. What you're doing is you should take your impressions of the wine and try to put it into words. When you put it into words, you can communicate with other people, and you can really talk about wine tasting, and enjoy it. So remember that wine tasting is using all of your senses, and it's paying attention. You're paying attention to the tastes, flavors, smells, aromas, impressions of the wine. I actually wrote a textbook, and I have a textbook definition of wine tasting. The textbook definition of wine tasting is the use of the senses in a systematic, disciplined way, to learn about the chemical and physical properties of wine. It might not sound like as much fun as pounding it down, but it's a good way to spend an evening, and you can learn a lot from wine tasting."