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Wine tasting is an art. It refers to
the process whereby a person analyses
all aspects of the wine in order to
form an opinion about it. One should
do this with every wine one drinks.
Essentially, it is a very subjective
process, and that the same wine will
taste different when from a different
cellar or bottle, or when served at
a different temperature, or in the presence
of different people!
-
Take your glass by the stem. Hold
it up to a light, or against a white
wall / background. Red wines tend
to start life as deep purple wines,
although it is important to consider
grape variety when judging color intensity.
Pinot Noir tends to be pale, for instance,
whereas ripe Shiraz would be expected
to be an inky purple-black. With time,
however, red wines tend to lose their
colour intensity, and take on a tawny,
brick red hue. Initially this appears
at the rim of the wine, but as the
years go by the whole wine will take
on this colour. For white wine, deeper
hues of gold tend to indicate fuller
body and flavor.
- This
little used tasting term refers to
the oily droplets of wine that run
down the inside of the glass after
the wine has been swirled. Slowly
forming, oily legs, reflects high
alcohol content and also imply the
full-bodiness of the wine. Fuller-bodied
wines generally have slower dripping
legs.
Don't fill the glass too full
- in fact around one third (max. 50
ml.) is recommended. Swirl the wine
in your glass by rotating your wrist.
This releases molecules in the wine
allowing you to smell the aroma, also
called the bouquet or nose. Take
a good first sniff at the wine. Pause,
and take a longer second sniff.
Take your time when sniffing that
glass of wine-and awaken your sense
of smell.
Grape variety provides a general
attribute for the wine's aroma. The
additional layers of aromas come from
its fermentation and aging process.
The more intense the nose, the more
likely that the grapes were grown
in a hot climate and the level of
sugar and alcohol is higher. Fruity,
floral, woody, spicy and herbal smells
are all characteristics of different
wine styles. Many mature quality wines
tend to smell more savoury and spicy
and less of fruit. Some grape varieties
have very distinctive bouquets.
Take a sip of wine and hold it
for a moment. Pay attention, also,
to the way the wine changes as you
hold it in the mouth. First impressions
on taking the wine into the mouth
may be referred to as the forepalate,
followed by the mid and hindpalate.
Roll it over your tongue for several
seconds before swallowing. Exhale
through your nose as you swallow.
Your taste buds and sense of smell
will work together. Finally, the sensations
derived from swallowing the wine are
referred to as the finish. It will
often be different to how the wine
came across on the palate, so take
note.
There are a number of basic elements
to look for in a wine.
Tannins are derived from pips and
stalks, and give structure and backbone
to the wine. They can be sensed by
a furring of the teeth, or puckering
of the gums, They are of importance
in red wines rather than white. Wines
shred tannins as they age, becoming
softer in texture and more complex
in flavor. A level of tannins that
is sufficient to provide structure,
but not so obvious as to dominate
the palate, is the ideal when a wine
is ready for drinking.
Acids, derived from the grapes, give
a refreshing lift to the wine. Acidity
can be detected by the sharpness of
the wine in the mouth, or clarity
of the flavours. Without sufficient
acidity, the wine will seem flabby
and dull. Too much, and the wine will
be sharp, harsh and undrinkable. Higher
acidity denotes a cooler region of
origin, such as Northern France, England
or New Zealand. Low acid wines come
from countries with warmer weather,
such as Australia, where acidity in
the harvested grapes is often low
enough to warrant chemical acidification.
Many people cannot differentiate
tannic from acidic. Tannic is the
taste of a highly concentrated tea
- bitter and puckering. Acidic is
the salivating taste that comes from
a sour lemon.
How sweet is the wine. Even dry wines
have some degree of residual sugar,
as a bone dry, completely sugarless
wine would be quite unpleasant to
drink.
Assess the weight of the wine on the
palate. A thick, chewy wine would
be described as full bodied, whereas
a thinner wine would be medium or
light bodied.
Certain grape varieties taste of certain
flavours. It could be gooseberry or
green apples in a Sauvignon, tropical
fruits like pineapple in a ripe Chardonnay,
soft blackberry and cedar in a mature
Cabernet.
A good sign of quality is balance.
A wine is balanced when all of the
wine's components (sweetness, acidity,
and tannins) blend together. A wine
is mature when it has achieved optimal
balance.
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