The three main steps for wine tasting

Step1:

We lift our glass up and swirl it. We observe, from above at first, and then, we rotate our glass at an angle of 45 degrees in front of a white background, in bright light.

From the look of the wine, we can get a clue about the age of it. For example, a young red wine will be having mauve hues while an older wine, white or red, we observe amber and dark brown hue respectively.

Also, the “tears” that are being formed in the walls of the glass, we can have a first impression about the alcohol percentage of the wine, meaning that the more intensified they are, the higher the alcohol percentage in them.

Step 2:

We swirl our glass lightly in order to assist the concentration of the aromas in the center of the glass and to proceed with the identification of the aromas. In white wines, there exist more intense white fruit aromas (white-flesh peach, banana, pear, melon), tropical (kiwi, lychee, mango, pineapple, passion fruit), citrusy (lemon, lime, citrus, bergamot), herbal (green pepper, grass), and botanical (mint, basil).

Then we look for secondary indications of flowers (lemon blossom, jasmine, rose), spices (white pepper), as well as earthy notes (mushroom).

In red wines we find aromas of red and black fruits (cherry, sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, bilberry), dark flowers (evening primrose, violet), herbal (mint, eucalyptus, rosemary, thyme), ripe, valerian oak, cream, and butter).

Step 3:

We move the wine around our mouth and we try to identify the level of sweetness that characterises a wine as dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet, as well as the level of acidity, which is described as a pinching on the sides of the tongue. Then, we concentrate on the body of the wine; whether it’s light, medium, or full. Light is the one that is similar to water on the mouth, whilst full the one that seems like whole milk. A really important thing to keep in mind while tasting is the level of tannins, which cause an astringent feeling. Next, we try to confirm the presence of the aromas we identified, on our tongue. Do we identify fruits? If yes, which are clearer? How complicated is the wine in your mouth? Is it simple, one-sided? Or it is full of different tastes?

Finally, we focus on the duration of the after-taste. The taste and the aromas are lost immediately, or are they noticeable for some more seconds? How was the general impression that the wine leaves us with?

Do not forget, enjoy Responsibly!