The Cork
When opening wine, inspect cork for any mildew, mold or possible damage that may affect the integrity of the wine. Many people believe that smelling the cork is the first step in wine tasting. If is considered a faux pas to do so. If the cork is damaged in anyway, you will be able to see it.
Seeing
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.
The color of wine comes from the skin of the grapes. The juice that comes from nearly every variety of grape when pressed is white or clear. This is true of red grapes as well as white wines. The color or pigments of red grapes are found in the skins of the grapes. In order to make a red wine from red grapes, it is necessary to leave the skins in contact with the juice during fermentation. When the skins are placed in the fermenting 'must', the pigments leech out of the skins and color the wine. When red grapes are pressed and the skins are kept out, the color of the wine remains white and is considered a 'blanc de noirs' (a white wine from red grapes).
White wine isn’t truly white. In fact, it’s a bit yellow. It can be made from any type of grape as long as the skin of the grape is removed before the fermenting process.
Brownish Wines: A brownish white wine can denote fermentation from partially dried grapes. Turning brown, however means the wine is oxidized and unhealthy.
Amber Green Wines: Typical of OLD dessert or wines made from partially dried grapes. An amber green tone is also the unhealthy shade of oxidized wine.
Yellow Brown Wines: It is true that aging a white wine takes on more brown, but it is also true that the wine can take on barrel color.
Gold Wines: A pale gold color is characteristic of great wines in their mature state.
Straw Wines: Straw yellow is a common shade of wines with moderate age.
Yellow Green Wines: Observing a pale straw color with a bit of green, suggests a very young wine.
Purple Red Wines: Purple-red is a common shade for young, often immature wines.
Ruby Red Wines: Ruby wines are a more evolved but still youthful shade.
Garnet Red Wines: Garnet is the color word for classic wines at the peak of their maturity.
Red Brown Wines: These shades are associated with older but still healthy wines.
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Mahogany Wines: Wines with a warm orange color at the rim of the glass during their prime maturation period.
Brown Wines: Dark brown colors indicate that the wine is past its prime, though some old red wines are still quite drinkable
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Swirl
When you swirl wine in the glass, as it makes contact with the sides, the alcohol is evaporating bringing out the more intense aroma 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. Myth: In the past it was thought the more legs on the wine the better the wine.
Sniff
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 why wines don't taste as good when you have a cold or allergy. Your nose 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. (Some people even hold one nostril closed and smell with the other.) 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.
The point behind this whole ritual of swirling and sniffing is that what you smell should be pleasurable, maybe even fascinating, and that you should have fun in the process.
Become a smeller. When it comes to smelling wine, many people are concerned that they aren't able to detect as many aromas as they think they should. Train your nose by smelling every ingredient when you cook, the foods you eat, the fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, and even the smells of your environment — like leather, wet earth, fresh road tar, grass, your wet dog, shoe polish, everything. Stuff your mental database with smells so that you'll have aroma memories at your disposal when you need to draw on them.
Smelling wine is really just a matter of practice and attention. If you start to pay more attention to smells in your normal activities, you'll get better at smelling wine.
Here are some major wines and some of their notable characteristics:
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WHITE WINES
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Major Wines Of The U.S. & France, From Lightest to Richest
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Chardonnay
(White Burgundy)
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A full-bodied, dry wine that can have notes of tart apple, lemon, pear, melon, vanilla and/or citrus. In warmer climates it can take on "tropical fruit" flavors such as pineapple and papaya.
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Chenin Blanc
(Savenières, Vouvray, Anjou, etc.)
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A crisp wine, typically featuring notes of apple/green apple, floral, honey and pear. Some Chenin Blancs can be very nutty.
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Fume Blanc
(Sauvignon Blanc)
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A medium-bodied wine with varied flavor profiles, including grapefruit, grassy and melony.
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Gewürztraminer
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A light- to medium-bodied, slightly sweet wine known for its lychee flavor and spices: clove, cinnamon, ginger, floral, white pepper. Along with Riesling, which is typically grown in the same area, it features slightly higher sugar and lower acidity: both have unique and exotic flavor profiles that are rarely mistaken for any other wine.
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Riesling
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A light yet complex wine, most noted for a pleasant petrol or diesel flavor and aroma, along with hints of honey, fruit (apple, pear, peach, melon) and/or floral. Unfortunately, some producer’s today work to eliminate the petrol quality to make their wines more palatable to the general public.
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Muscat
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A medium-bodied, sweet wine with a perfumy nose and flavors that can include berry, floral, fruit, lemon, musk and spices. It is typically lower in acid than other sweet wines.
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RED WINES
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Major Wines Of The U.S. and France, From Lightest to Richest
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Beaujolais
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A light-bodied, high-acid, simple wine that is low in alcohol and very fruity, with notes of cherry jam. Meant for immediate consumption, not aging.
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Pinot Noir
(Red Burgundy)
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A medium-bodied wine known for its lush fruit, Pinot Noir has notes of raspberry or cherry plus, earthiness and vanilla from oak barrel aging. A complex wine, it also can yield chocolate, leather and numerous other flavors.
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Merlot
(In Bordeaux blends)
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A soft, mellow and less tannic red wine featuring flavors of blackberry, plum, violet, and raisin. Merlots from some regions have vegetal notes. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, of the major blending grapes in Bordeaux.
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Syrah or Shiraz
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A medium-bodied, fruity wine with hints of blackberry, dark chocolate, licorice, mocha, pepper, raspberry and other spices.
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Zinfandel
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A powerful wine known for its pepper, spice and tannins. Other flavor notes can include berry, black raspberry, black cherry and nuttiness.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
(In Bordeaux blends)
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A robust, complex wine generally yielding rich dark fruit and a strong tannin backbone. Depending on origin it can have notes of black currant, blackberry, plum or cherry fruit; chocolate, green pepper, and mint; plus oak and vanilla from the barrels. bitter and woody flavors. Notes of cedar, leather, “meatiness” and smoke are common to the wines of Bordeaux.
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Port
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A rich, sweet, viscous wine for dessert for after-dinner, Port is a blend of several grapes. It is fortified with brandy, giving it the highest alcohol content among wines. Common flavor notes are nuts, pepper, fruit, black currant and/or smoke.
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Italy
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Major Wines
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Barbera or Barbera D’Alba
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With some flavor characteristics similar to Cabernet Sauvignon (but higher acid levels and lighter tannins), Barbera’s prominent flavors are blackcurrant, blackberry, cherry and raspberry, with spice and other complex notes.
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Barbaresco
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A medium- to full-bodied wine made from the Nebbiolo grape, with deep berry fruits and flavor accents ranging from licorice and mint to smoke and earth.
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Barolo
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A full-bodied wine made from the Nebbiolo grape. Classic Barolo flavors include roses, tar, truffles, minerals—some have a hint of balsamic, some can be earthy and chocolaty, depending on the part of the Piedmont in which the grapes were grown.
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Brunello
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A robust, long-lived wine with deep tannins and intense flavors of berry, cedar, plum and tobacco.
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Chianti
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A medium- to full-bodied wine made primarily of the Sangiovese grape. The nose can be floral (violets and iris) or berry (black cherry), with palate notes of black cherry, grape, plus vanilla from the barrel aging. Some chiantis have an earthy quality.
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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 is 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.
