foodsandflavors ~™ Yadkin Valley Wines The FIVE S’s of Wine Tasting...
See, Swirl, Smell, Sip & Savour By John Byrd, Yadkin Valley Wine Tours As we prepare to depart for each wine tour we always review the basics of wine tasting etiquette with everyone to ensure that all of our participants are ready to engage in a full day of wine tasting in the Yadkin Valley. We instruct participants to follow a simple format of 5 S’s as a guide to enjoying every sip of wine they will encounter.
1. See the Wine Wine will be poured into a glass and the first step will be to look into the wine in the glass as it is tilted at a 45 degree angle. We looking into the wine using a white paper as a background to detect flaws in color, consistency and more importantly anything in the wine that shouldn’t be there. It is never fun to swallow God’s creatures down our throats when they can be fished out prior to tasting.
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2. Swirl the Wine
April 14th Spring Bud Break Wine Tour
We then Swirl the wine using a slight wrist rotation. Swirling the wine ensures that we introduce the proper amount of oxygen back into the wine to release its bouquet. Remember, the wine has to been aging in an oxygen deprived environment for months and years. This will probably be the hardest part of tasting etiquette and will take some practice.
3. Smell the Wine After swirling, to capture the release of its bouquet, place your nose inside the rim of the glass. This might look a little funny to most but is the most effective technique. We are looking for those aromatic hints of what the wine might taste like. Enjoying the distinctive bouquet of the wine is often dismissed by novice wine tasters, but is actually one of the most important elements of any wine tasting experience. Marrying your sense of smell to your sense of taste is what wine tasting is all about.
4. Sip the Wine Notice it says Sip the wine (not guzzle, funnel, gulp). Follow the smelling of the wine with a Sip of the Wine. Most tasting rooms will pour a few ounces of wine into your glass and since you are tasting flights of wine we must sip the same wine a few times each. The first sip will be a palette cleanser to wash out the previous tasting of wine. The second sip will be a truer taste of the wine.
5. Savour the Wine Let the second sip reside in your mouth for a while moving it around your tongue where all those wonderful taste receptors are located. You will detect Tannins, Sweet or Sour, Alcohol content, Acidity, and the general body of the wine ( how thick or thin it is). Most people miss this part of wine tasting as the wine usually rushes to the back of the throat and misses the tongue altogether. There could be a sixth S – Spit the wine but we never waste wine on our wine tours and there is always someone in the group who will gladly be the designated “Dump Bucket” for everyone to discard the wine they don’t want to consume! Remember that tasting wine is an individual experience and everyone has different senses of smell and taste so just follow your 5 S’s and look like a professional the next time you visit a tasting room. Check out my video link and practice, practice, practice. youtube.com/watch?v=ds9dRrvOSUQ 38
Ya dk i n V al le y Magazine
John & Carrie Byrd
Grape vines are starting to show signs of life again and we do this tour to celebrate the beginning of the growing season. We start at Laurel Gray Vineyards with a tasting and a vineyard tour. Then on to Shiloh General Store to pick up lunch before we head to Lazy Elm for another tasting. Last stop is at Raylen Vineyards where we taste and do a winery tour. May 12th Mothers Celebration Wine Tour We take time to celebrate all Mothers this month with a wine tour starting at Westbend Vineyards where it all began— the pioneers of the Yadkin Valley. Lunch will be at Westbend; fingers crossed the new restaurant will be open. Next stop is Flint Hill Vineyards to taste wine and do a vineyard tour. Last stop we visit the beautiful Stony Knoll Vineyards with a winery tour and tasting. To book your tour or learn more: John or Carrie Byrd Yadkin Valley Wine Tours yadkinwinetours.com 336-408-3394 yad kin valley ma gaz ine.com