The Five S's of Wine Tasting
See
When seeing your wine, it is best to tilt the glass toward the table at a 45 degree angle. It is easiest to observe the color on a white background. Many restaurants will have a white table cloth, or just placing a piece of white paper on the table will work. When seeing the wine, you will be looking for sediment, color, any cork or debris. A young red wine will be very deep red in color, as the wine ages the color starts to fade and sediment will start to appear in the bottle, a more mature wine may have a more brownish tone for this reason.
Swirl
When you swirl wine in the glass, as it makes contact with the sides, the alcohol is evaporating bringing out the more intense aromas of the wine. Look at sides of glass after it is swirled you will see what are called legs or tears (wine running down side of glass) the heavier the wine (higher alcohol content) the more you will notice the legs. This is not an indicator of the quality of the wine.
Smell
The tongue can only really taste four flavors - salty, sour, sweet, and bitter. However, all of the delicate shades of a wine - pepper, violet, mint, and cantaloupe - can't be deduced with a tongue. Those all come from your nose, which is the key to truly tasting a wine well.
After swirling, quickly bring the glass to your nose, stick your nose right into the airspace of the glass where the aromas are captured, and smell the wine. Try different techniques of sniffing. Some people like to take short, quick sniffs, while others like to inhale a deep whiff of the wine's smell. Keeping your mouth open a bit while you inhale can help you perceive aromas. Think of what the aroma brings to mind. Is the aroma fruity, woodsy, fresh, cooked, intense, light? Your nose tires quickly, but it recovers quickly, too. Wait just a moment and try again. Listen to your friends' comments and try to find the same things they find in the smell.
Sip
When sipping the wine get just enough in the mouth to cover your entire palate. Quality stemware will deliver the wine to the correct area of the palate. To enhance the flavor, try the placing the tip of your tongue on the back of your bottom teeth and inhaling slightly across your tongue. (Too much wine on your tongue may cause you to choke...practice first). Draw some air into your mouth and exhale through your nose. This liberates the aromas for the wine and allows them to reach your nose where they can be detected. The nose is the only place where you can detect a wine's aromas. Roll the wine around in your mouth exposing it to all of your taste buds. You will only be able to detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (think: meaty or savory). Pay attention to the texture and other tactile sensations such as an apparent sense of weight or body.
Think of the body of the wine as compared to milk. A light bodied wine is similar to skim milk (Pinot Grigio or Pinot Noir). A Medium body wine is similar to whole milk (Riesling or a Merlot). A Full bodied wine is similar to a cream (chardonnay or a Cabernet).
Savor
After you swallow the wine try counting how long the flavor lasts.......this is called the finish and can be a good indicator of the quality of the wine. At this point try to identify some of the distinct flavors. It is helpful it use the wine tasting guide to assist you with words to identify the flavors you taste. Introducing a food item with the wine can change the flavor of the wine significantly.
