Tasting Wine — in five easy steps
Pour, Smell, Swirl, Sip, Savor
To be a wine expert it takes years of training, study, tasting and practice to become a master sommelier, but you don’t have to work that hard just to get more pleasure from a glass of wine. A few simple steps will help heighten your senses and get the most enjoyment from every sip.
Pour:
It might seem natural to fill a glass with wine the way we do with other beverages, but that robs us a chance to appreciate the aromas and color. In reality, the perfect pour (usually about 4 to 5 ounces of table wine) leaves about twice as much open space as there is wine. This allows the wine to breathe and reach its full flavor potential. Now you also know why the best wine glasses are a lot bigger than you might think they need to be!
Smell, swirl, repeat:
Now that you have the perfect amount of wine in your glass, give it a swirl or two. This ‘aerates’ the wine and helps release its aromas. Next, bring the glass to your nose and take a deep ‘sniff’; your sense of smell is the most receptive with the first try, so take a moment and identify the aromas in the wine. Your mind will catalogue the aromas, which has more to do with our perception of flavor than our sense of taste. Forget about smelling the cork – the wine is much more fun, and besides, it will probably just smell like a cork soaked in wine.
Sip:
Good wine grabs your taste buds from the first sip. Now that it’s captured your attention, the body of the wine picks up where the first taste stops. The body can be light, medium or full, depending on the varietal (type of wine grape or grapes used), origin, and style; in other words, what the winemaker did to bring out his idea of the best attributes of the wine.
Savor:
Wine, especially red wine, is a very complex beverage, so take a moment before you swallow to let the wine fill your mouth. Pucker your lips and inhale to bring more air through your mouth and carry the aromas and flavors to the back of your throat; let your taste buds search for flavors and textures. Sometimes the difference between just drinking wine and truly enjoying it is just that brief moment when we let ourselves become aware of what’s in our glass and how it’s affecting our palate.
After each taste, take a moment to recall your impressions of the wine, its specific features, and file these away in your ‘taste memory.’ As this taste memory grows, so will your ability to evaluate and enjoy wine.
