Wine Tasting
by Christian Jensen
in 3 easy steps
Try as many wines as you can. Your nose and palate are your best guides.
Are You a Novice at Wine Tasting? Don’t be intimidated by people who seem so knowledgeable remember, after all, that they were once novices, too. If you are asked what you think of a wine, be honest and ask questions. That’s the best way to learn.
They’ll let you know when something is wrong or off. Also, don’t feel you must drain your glass at each tasting – use the dump bucket. If you’re out
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for a day of wine tasting,
How Does the Wine Look?
you don’t want to be
Hold the glass up and at an angle so you can clearly see where the wine and glass touch. Red wines start off purple when they are young, and slowly mature to red. Note the clarity of the wine. Is it bright or cloudy? Are there any suspended solids?
Another essential for
overwhelmed.
wine tasting is to cleanse your palate so that your perception of each new wine will be fresh. Consider
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drinking water or eating
How Does the Wine Smell?
cheese and crackers
Wine’s smell is called its “nose”. Swirl the wine in the glass to help mix in oxygen, which brings out the wine’s aromas. This can be tricky because some wines are reluctant to release their aromas. When the aromas do present themselves, are they pleasant? Are they intense? Describing what you smell can be difficult, but with practice you’ll become better at it.
between sample sips. All wines have common characteristics that can be used to describe them during tastings, including sweetness or dryness, acidity, tannin, weight or
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body, and fruit. The more
How Does the Wine Taste? The taste of a wine is the ultimate determination of how good it is. Looks and smells can be deceiving. Take a small sip. Roll the wine around in your mouth. Different taste buds identify different flavors. Is the wine pleasing on the palate? Aerate the wine by pulling air into your mouth and through the wine, and exhaling through your nose. How does this change the flavor?
you experience, the more confident you’ll be in using such terms to describe a wine.
W i n e Ta s t i n g i n 3 E a s y S t e p s |
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