EMPOWER YOUR SENSES!

Today, I want to get you better acquainted with the process of tasting wine, and the easiest way to do this is by following a few guidelines.

First, you should concentrate on the “color” and “appearance” of the wine, and if you are trying a white wine, look at the color. Is it pale yellow or a lemony shade? Experts say dry white wines are almost white to slightly yellow, and the younger the white wine the clearer the color. As they age they transform into a darker shade that resembles a golden yellow color. The color of red wine is important as well, and when red wine is young it tends to look berry red or almost purple, but as it ages the color lightens into a crimson red.

Second, pay attention to the wine’s “aroma”, and this should not be confused with the “bouquet” of a wine. The aroma describes the smell like fruity, spicy, earthy, nutty, etc., and it is the aroma that gives a wine its personality. A great aroma can evoke a place, a piece of land, or it can make you think of a perfume, fruit, or plant. As you may have heard, wines can have notes of flowers, berries, or even earthy tones, and if the acidity of a wine is high you can sense the aroma to be much sharper. The more you taste wines, the more you will be able to discover the type of oak in which it was aged. Generally, French oak is usually spicy, while American oak has more of a vanilla tone. The “bouquet” is the complex scent during the aging process that wine develops over time.

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Third, evaluate the “intensity of flavor”, and you will discover the flavors in a wine that determine its essence. The ways in which grapes are fermented, and kept in the cellar contribute to its flavor. White wines usually taste like tree fruits such as apple, peach, pear, pineapple, melon, or citrus fruits like orange, lime, and grapefruit. Red wines usually present a red berry fruit flavor from cherries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, or they could demonstrate some black fruit flavors such as plums, raisins, or blueberries. Red wines can also have non-fruit flavors of oak, spice, vanilla, pepper, chocolate, mushrooms, or even tobacco.

Last but not least, take a moment to discover “the finish” of a wine, which is the taste that stays on your palate after you have swallowed the wine. The length of a finish might be short and crisp like the one you might have while tasting Riesling, or a more extensive length like a California Chardonnay. The longest finishes tend to be found in red wines like Bordeaux and Burgundy as they are generally more complex and bold.

Next time you taste a new wine, empower your senses!

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