Wine Tasting- Have A Wine Tasting Party!

HOW TO TASTE WINE PROPERLY

Learning how to taste wines is a straight forward adventure. If done right it will come to deepen your appreciation of good wine.
What are we looking for--- Look, smell and taste? Its as simple as that.

You will be using your basic sense's. After some practice you will be taste wines like the pros ...

First Pour a glass of wine. Please use a proper wine glass. Now -- look at the wine? What color is it? Now look beyond just red, is it dark red, dark burgundy, pale red, purple, ruby, tea colored, you get the idea. If white, is it pale yellow, pale wheat, light green, perhaps its straw colored?

Now, look for opacity. Is it very clear, cloudy, opaque? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a swirl, are you picking up sediment or cloudiness? Tip; an older red wine will be very much translucent, than a young red.

Time to use your nose. Swirl the wine a bit then smell. The swirl will aid in bringing forth the aromas of the wine. Your first smell should be brief, a quick sniff. make a mental note, what smells did you pick up? Oak, berries, was it spicy? Now -- stick your nose into the glass breath in the aroma deeply. What's your second impression? Did you pick up the same aroma or have you picked up something different? Sometimes that second smell will give you a totally different experience. Did you pick up oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus odor's? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality. The aroma will tell you of the wines unique characteristics. Gently swirl the wine once more, let the aromas blend together, and sniff again. Just to make sure you have enjoyed the aroma, and see if you pick up any further aromas?

Its time to taste----There are three stages of taste: First, take a small sip into your mouth, let it roll around your tongue (don't gargle it)... After you have rolled the wine on your tongue, take a small breath of air into your mouth. Let the air mingle with the wine. (This maneuver is called swirling.) The air will help you really taste the wine. What do you taste? Are you picking up any of the oak, berry, citrus, such as you sensed with your smelling technique? Most often reds will taste woody, oak, with under tones of berry, even a bit like bell peppers. White's will have undertones of apple, citrus, and floral.

The Initial Taste - This is your first impression of the wine's components and flavors.
The Finish - The wine's finish is how long the flavor lasts after it has been swallowed. How long did the flavor last? Did it last several seconds or perhaps longer? Ask yourself, was the wine light-bodied, like water or full-bodied with a heavier consistency?
After you have taste your wine, you might want to ponder your impressions of the particular wine you tasted. Did you like the wine? Would you want to buy a bottle, and enjoy it again?

Wine tasting is easy... And what you might love, another might dislike. Its all in once own taste buds... There is no set rule for what tastes better in wine, it is objectively up to the individual taster. If your sense's were pleased with the tasting experience, its a good wine in your opinion..

 Please check out my other Lenses...To learn more about wine Under One Pergola !

I love wine, and have had so much fun writing, and building several  Squidoo lenses on the very subject. I wanted to make it easy, and convienent for my wine loving readers to have a look see at all my wine related sites, under one pergola - so to speak.  If you have stumbled into this page, and love wine?  I have put together some great informational lenses. So please stop in.

http://www.squidoo.com/sharswineinfo/

 HEY! scroll on down, I have just added a great bit on "Host A Wine Tasting Party!" Great step by step tutorial, wine sroring sheet, and so much more...  Do you know what the term legs means, when  refering to wine? see below