As your palate matures, so do the wine options available to you and your companions. Being able to identify flavor components, certain tastes and aromas will enable you to shop the local wine merchant with confidence while adding that final compliment to your next cocktail or dinner party. But above all, your primary goal at any wine event should be to have fun!
There are a number of industry ground rules to keep in mind, but they should never influence the way you sample.
1) Hold your wine glass by the stem rather than the bowl. You’ll be able to clearly see the wine, and your body temperature won’t warm the wine and change its characteristics.
2) It’s generally not necessary to rinse your glass after each taste, except when changing from white to red or sweet wines.
3) Make simple notes of each wine. Your comments will be a great asset as your palate grows and changes direction.
4) Don’t allow an unpleasant style or type influence your final impression on that varietal or category. Chances are you’ll find another similar wine that is spectacular.
You will be evaluating three basics as you sample: The Look, The Nose & The Taste of each wine.
The Look
A wine’s color will tell volumes about a wine. Red wines start out bright ruby red in color, will become dark red as they age and take on a brown tint as they reach the end of their life cycle. White wines generally start out as clear to straw, golden-yellow in color and take on an amber tint as they travel past maturity.
The Nose
Your first sniff will most likely be the lasting impression. Again, keep it simple. Concentrate on identifiers such as fruits and florals. With experience comes more complex conclusions. Before long you’ll begin to recognize aromas of vanilla, caramel, toasted oak and licorice, which signal barrel fermented and aged wines.
The Taste
No gulping allowed. Take in a small amount of wine. Allow it to mix with air and coat the entire inside of your mouth. You will notice the aromas more once the wine is in your mouth because your smell receptors are included in your nasal cavity. The aromas and taste of the wine should match up, confirming a well-balanced wine.
White wines will have a fresh acidity with smooth, low-alcohol characters and will vary from citrus to buttery-rich in flavor. Red wine flavor components typically include tannin, which gives you that pucker to go along with rich current or berry flavors.
Whether red or white, a well-made wine is one whose qualities blend harmoniously rather than being the dominant component.
The one constant in tasting wines is that each wine is a dramatically different product. So, keep an open mind, throw tradition to the wind, and sample a wine you may not have considered. You may finally find that perfect match for your favorite snack, entrée or dessert!
For more information, please visit www.winemerchant.com.
