What To Look For When Tasting Wine

Okay....here's the scenario.

You're in the wine shop looking for that "perfect" wine to serve at dinner or at a party. Before you walked in, you had at least an idea of what you wanted, but now, as you scan the shelves, you're overwhelmed. Sound familiar? the truth is, this is a very common thing, but it doesn't have to be that way Skippy! Knowing a few basics and just "tasting" a lot of wine, will turn you into someone that has a great grasp on wine and the difference between a good wine, and a great one!

First of all wine falls into one of three catagories:

Table wine 8-15% alcohol
Sparkling Wine 8-12% alcohol + CO2
Fortified Wine 17-22% alcohol

All wines fall into these 3 catagories.We'll talk about varietals in another blog. Now, what do you look for when you are at a wine tasting?

Remember CSST which stands for Color, Swirl, Smell and Taste.

Color:
the best way to get an idea on the color of the wine is to get a white background- a na;kin or linen tablecloth- and hold the glass of wine in front of it. The range of color that you may see depends of course on whether you're tasting a white or red wine.


Swirl

Why do we swirl wine? To allow enough oxygen to get into the wine : swirling releases the esters, ethers, and aldehydes that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. In other words, swirling aerates the wine and gives you a better smell.

Smell
This is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF WINE TASTING!!!!!!!! You can only perceive 4 tastes; sweet, sour, bitter and salt but the average person can smell over 2000 different scents, and wine has over 200 of it's own. ALWAYS smell the wine at least 3 times. What does it smell like? what type of nose does it have? Most people don't spend enough time at this stage and they forget that the palate has a memory just like the mind. Your palate can be trained to remember the taste of a great Cabernet or Chardonnay. It just takes a little time and some basic technique.

Kevin Zraly in his "Windows on the World" wine course says "many people ask me what a wine smells like. I ask these people to describe what steak and onions smell like. They answer, "like steak and onions" See what I mean? " Pinpointing the nose of a wine helps you identify certain characteristics.

Taste

To many people, tasting wine means taking a sip and swallowing immediately, but, this isn't tasting. tasting is something you do with you taste buds. You have taste buds all over your tongue, on both sides, underneath on the tip and extending to the back of the throat. Don't gulp. Don't bypass all those friendly little taste buds that only get a whiff and feel all left out and lonely! Take time, roll it over your tongue...be sexy with this! You are into this wine tasting for the fruit...don't forget that! Your entire tongue will help your palate to remember!

Now go get em and be careful not to spill any on that nice shirt and that beautiful dress!