Summary:
[[Image:TastewineMrTinDC.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Photo by Mr T in DC/[http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/3000950461 Flickr]/CC]]
If you've been around wine geeks that drop phrases like, "Ohhh, that?s tight," or "too flabby," you may already have some sense of this leisurely, sometimes snooty pursuit.
But once you get past all the silly jargon, wine tasting can give you a greater understanding of the different wine varieties available, and more importantly, will increase your pleasure as you drink them down.
Wine tasting is something like listening to music ? there are loud and soft notes, lots of information to absorb, and everyone has unique tastes, so "good" and "bad" is a subjective art. Once you decipher your tastes and preferences, you can use that knowledge to find other wines that you will enjoy. And like most things, the only way to get better at describing a wine is to practice. The goal is to develop a "wine vocabulary" of your own, and a history for your palette to build on so you can compare other wines down the line.
''Contributed by Christopher Jones''
''This article is part of '''a wiki anyone can edit.''' If you have advice to add about nosing, sipping and noting, log in and contribute.''
==Set up==
While you could surely find some wine glasses at a thrift store, it's a good idea to spend a few bucks on some decent glasses. At the bare minimum, a glass should be completely clear (no multicolored grape patterns or green frosting, mmmkay), so you can evaluate and appreciate a wine's color, and big enough to allow you to swirl wine around without spilling it. A stem is a good idea, too, so you don't warm up the wine by cupping the glass in your hand.
If you are doing a wine tasting with several bottles, start with lighter wines and work your way to the fuller-bodied ones. Otherwise, your palette can get too distorted early in the process. Many red wines, especially younger (newer) ones, will benefit from decanting, which involves opening them ahead of the tasting and pouring in a container. Decanting allows you to separate out the sediment lurking at the bottom, and also aerates the wine to release the aroma and flavor.
Keeping your palate clear before and during wine tasting is important, so don't eat a big Caesar Salad or smoke a stogie before you begin. And have some water, mild fruit, bread or crackers available to help cleanse your palate between wines.
==Taste==
To get the most out of a wine tasting, follow this process.
===Visualize it===
To evaluate the appearance and color of a wine, you need to look at it against a white surface under good, natural light. Some of the things to look for are its depth of color, hue, clarity, and viscosity, or "legs." The legs are the streaks of wine that crawl down the glass after you swirl it. Bigger wines, with more sugar and/or alcohol, will have more pronounced legs, but ultimately they don't tell you much about its taste or quality.
===Swirl it===
The most often-skipped step in tasting a wine is the swirl. With the glass flat on a table, grab the bottom of the stem and swirl it vigorously -- you want to increase the surface area of the wine and aerate it, which will release more of its aromas.
===Nose it===
Don't be afraid to get your nose down in the glass and take a good hard whiff.
The brain can distinguish about 10,000 different smells, so when you dip your beak into a glass of wine, you've got your work cut out. Our sense of taste is heavily influenced by our sense of smell, and no two people smell an odor the same way. Keep this in mind when the goober next to you starts commenting on the subtle teriyaki aromas and enticing snozzberry notes.
Think about the first smells that come to mind, no matter how far out, and write them down. It's OK to have a cheat sheet of wine descriptors, but don't rely too heavily on it. Again, use your own instincts. The common aroma wheel includes descriptors such as: fruity, woody, pungent, floral, spicy, nutty, and chemical. It takes your nose 20 or 30 seconds to reset and recover, so if you go in for another whiff, it pays to wait.
===Taste it===
After you've gotten some initial impressions of the wine, you're ready to taste it. Take another brief smell, then a small sip, and swirl it around in your mouth until it coats almost every part your tongue. This will also warm up and aerate the wine, and help release its flavors. If you're tasting a series of wines and really want to keep your senses at their best, you should spit out the wine after this step.
While you're swirling the wine around in your mouth, you will get a better sense of its structure, which is defined by both its flavor and texture.
===Profile it===
There are three broad categories used to describe a wine's taste: sweetness, acidity, and tannin. Sweetness and acidity are familiar tastes, and are related to the dryness of the wine. The acidity gives wine its lift, while the absence of it makes a wine taste flat or "flabby." Tannin comes from the skins, seeds and stems, and creates a dryness in the mouth in the finish (the lingering flavors after you swallow). Too much tannin can also create a bitter taste.
After you taste a wine, be sure to take some time before moving onto the next bottle, and contemplate the aromas, texture and flavor. Write down some initial impressions while they are fresh -? "enjoy the dryness combined with an earthy, peppery flavor..." and such. If you are tasting strong wines, be sure to clear your palette with some water and crackers, bread or fruit.
Of course, the point of tasting is not to get caught up in identifying every last aroma and flavor, so don't go overboard with your profiling. The more important goal is to figure out what you do and don't like about a wine, and allow your wine knowledge and vocabulary to evolve.
==Join a group==
If you want to get more serious about your tasting, start a wine tasting group with some friends or check in with local wine shops about upcoming wine tastings. Although tasting is subjective, it's always helpful to compare notes with other tasters (particularly more experienced ones) to get new perspectives and broaden your understanding of wines.
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Wine]]
If you've been around wine geeks that drop phrases like, "Ohhh, that?s tight," or "too flabby," you may already have some sense of this leisurely, sometimes snooty pursuit.
But once you get past all the silly jargon, wine tasting can give you a greater understanding of the different wine varieties available, and more importantly, will increase your pleasure as you drink them down.
Wine tasting is something like listening to music ? there are loud and soft notes, lots of information to absorb, and everyone has unique tastes, so "good" and "bad" is a subjective art. Once you decipher your tastes and preferences, you can use that knowledge to find other wines that you will enjoy. And like most things, the only way to get better at describing a wine is to practice. The goal is to develop a "wine vocabulary" of your own, and a history for your palette to build on so you can compare other wines down the line.
''Contributed by Christopher Jones''
''This article is part of '''a wiki anyone can edit.''' If you have advice to add about nosing, sipping and noting, log in and contribute.''
==Set up==
While you could surely find some wine glasses at a thrift store, it's a good idea to spend a few bucks on some decent glasses. At the bare minimum, a glass should be completely clear (no multicolored grape patterns or green frosting, mmmkay), so you can evaluate and appreciate a wine's color, and big enough to allow you to swirl wine around without spilling it. A stem is a good idea, too, so you don't warm up the wine by cupping the glass in your hand.
If you are doing a wine tasting with several bottles, start with lighter wines and work your way to the fuller-bodied ones. Otherwise, your palette can get too distorted early in the process. Many red wines, especially younger (newer) ones, will benefit from decanting, which involves opening them ahead of the tasting and pouring in a container. Decanting allows you to separate out the sediment lurking at the bottom, and also aerates the wine to release the aroma and flavor.
Keeping your palate clear before and during wine tasting is important, so don't eat a big Caesar Salad or smoke a stogie before you begin. And have some water, mild fruit, bread or crackers available to help cleanse your palate between wines.
==Taste==
To get the most out of a wine tasting, follow this process.
===Visualize it===
To evaluate the appearance and color of a wine, you need to look at it against a white surface under good, natural light. Some of the things to look for are its depth of color, hue, clarity, and viscosity, or "legs." The legs are the streaks of wine that crawl down the glass after you swirl it. Bigger wines, with more sugar and/or alcohol, will have more pronounced legs, but ultimately they don't tell you much about its taste or quality.
===Swirl it===
The most often-skipped step in tasting a wine is the swirl. With the glass flat on a table, grab the bottom of the stem and swirl it vigorously -- you want to increase the surface area of the wine and aerate it, which will release more of its aromas.
===Nose it===
Don't be afraid to get your nose down in the glass and take a good hard whiff.
The brain can distinguish about 10,000 different smells, so when you dip your beak into a glass of wine, you've got your work cut out. Our sense of taste is heavily influenced by our sense of smell, and no two people smell an odor the same way. Keep this in mind when the goober next to you starts commenting on the subtle teriyaki aromas and enticing snozzberry notes.
Think about the first smells that come to mind, no matter how far out, and write them down. It's OK to have a cheat sheet of wine descriptors, but don't rely too heavily on it. Again, use your own instincts. The common aroma wheel includes descriptors such as: fruity, woody, pungent, floral, spicy, nutty, and chemical. It takes your nose 20 or 30 seconds to reset and recover, so if you go in for another whiff, it pays to wait.
===Taste it===
After you've gotten some initial impressions of the wine, you're ready to taste it. Take another brief smell, then a small sip, and swirl it around in your mouth until it coats almost every part your tongue. This will also warm up and aerate the wine, and help release its flavors. If you're tasting a series of wines and really want to keep your senses at their best, you should spit out the wine after this step.
While you're swirling the wine around in your mouth, you will get a better sense of its structure, which is defined by both its flavor and texture.
===Profile it===
There are three broad categories used to describe a wine's taste: sweetness, acidity, and tannin. Sweetness and acidity are familiar tastes, and are related to the dryness of the wine. The acidity gives wine its lift, while the absence of it makes a wine taste flat or "flabby." Tannin comes from the skins, seeds and stems, and creates a dryness in the mouth in the finish (the lingering flavors after you swallow). Too much tannin can also create a bitter taste.
After you taste a wine, be sure to take some time before moving onto the next bottle, and contemplate the aromas, texture and flavor. Write down some initial impressions while they are fresh -? "enjoy the dryness combined with an earthy, peppery flavor..." and such. If you are tasting strong wines, be sure to clear your palette with some water and crackers, bread or fruit.
Of course, the point of tasting is not to get caught up in identifying every last aroma and flavor, so don't go overboard with your profiling. The more important goal is to figure out what you do and don't like about a wine, and allow your wine knowledge and vocabulary to evolve.
==Join a group==
If you want to get more serious about your tasting, start a wine tasting group with some friends or check in with local wine shops about upcoming wine tastings. Although tasting is subjective, it's always helpful to compare notes with other tasters (particularly more experienced ones) to get new perspectives and broaden your understanding of wines.
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Wine]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/wdEthl1ZSN8/Taste_Wine
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