Step 1: Find
It is important to have a good look at the wine. If the wine is not good May you not want to drink. Make sure you have good light, a white background and clean glassware.
White wine must be clear and sparkling without sediment or haze. The color of wine will be affected by the grape variety, whether or not aged in oak, sugar content and the ageing of the bottle. But generally as it ages, the wine becomes darker in color; evolution of straw, yellow, yellow to dark, to gold.
The color of red wine varies depending on the variety. It will also depend on the quality of grapes, length of time the wine was fermented with the skins and the ageing of the bottle. The young red wine is usually a dynamic “purple” colour and as it ages will change the color of plum, cherry, red brick, tawny.
Step 2: Smell
The smell of a wine can be very interesting and can be almost as enjoyable as drinking wine!
When you pour a glass of wine, only fill the glass a third. The best wine glasses are those who close up to trap the aroma. Hold the glass by the stem, and give the wine a whirl of the layer of glass of wine. This will be the full release of aromas. Then, keep the nose in the glass, breathe and concentrate on what you can feel.
When you start to do so, May you want to compare what you smell the wine with the description on the label. It is interesting to note that you can really smell the aroma as described by the winemaker, such as “dark cherries and fresh plum, spice, white pepper and liquorice.”
Step 3: Taste
Enjoy your wine. Keep it in your mouth for a moment, then swallow. Look for:
– Gourmet fruit or other recognizable tastes
– Wood flavors - the wine was fermented in oak?
– Nutty flavors - aging yeast
– Acid tastes - which contributes to the sharpness of the finish
– Palais length - the great taste early, then fall below the mid-palate? Or is this long and persistent?
– Astringence - can you detect unintentional “puckering” of your mouth as tannins hit your taste buds?