By Chloe Alster
There are more types of wine than we can count and how on earth are we to choose one when faced with a huge bank of bottles. Educating yourself in the wines you like is quite easy if you just make a few notes following a set pattern so that you can compare the wines you have drunk to find the ones you like best. Tasting wine is as much an art as a science and there is no right and no wrong way to do it. There is only one thing that matters – do you like that type of wine? I use a few basic pointers to help me remember the wines, for me there are four principal elements to tasting a wine, appearance, aroma, taste and overall impression.
Appearance falls into three subsections, clarity, colour and ‘legs’. Clarity - the appearance is important. Whatever its age it should look clean and not cloudy or murky. Very young reds from rich vintages can often look opaque but they should still be clear and not have bits floating around. Occasionally you can find a few tartrate crystals in the wine, red or white but this does not affect the wine and is not a fault. Colour - tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle against a white background which will show graduations of colour – the rim colour indicates age and maturity better than the centre. The colour gives clues to the vintage, generally speaking with reds, the lighter the colour the more lively the taste, fuller and more concentrated colour indicates a weightier wine. Whites gain colour with age and reds lose it so a young Beaujolais with be purple with a pinkish rim whilst an older claret will be more subdued with Mahogany tints. ‘Legs’ - you can get a hint of the body and sweetness of a wine from its viscosity. Swirl the wine in the glass and let it settle – watch the ‘legs’ on the side of the glass. The more pronounced the fuller (and possibly more alcoholic) the wine and vice versa.
The Aroma, Bouquet or ‘Nose’ of a wine is a very personal thing but should never be neglected. Always take a few seconds to smell a wine and appreciate the variety of scents that will change as the wine warms and develops in the glass. Smell is the most important element in judging a wine as the palate can only pick up sweet or sour and an impression of body. Flavours are perceived by nose and taste buds together. Swirl the wine to release the aromas and stick your nose deep into the glass taking a few short sniffs to get an overall impression, too much will kill the sensitivity of your nose. Young wines will be fruity and floral but an older wine will have more of a ‘bouquet’ sense of mixed fruits and spices – perhaps with a hint of vanilla, especially if it has been aged in American rather than French oak.
Taste is combination of the senses and will change as the wine lingers in your mouth. The tongue can only distinguish four flavours, sweet on the tip, salt just behind the tip, acidity on the sides and bitterness at the back. These can be changed by temperature, weight and texture. You may think it looks silly but ‘chew’ the wine for a few seconds taking in a little air which allows the nose and palate to work as one, hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds to get an overall impression and only then swallow. Some wines will attack your taste buds - the first impression, and then follow through after swallowing. Some, particularly New World wines are very up front, while others have an almost oily texture (Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer) as they have low acidity. With reds you will pick up tannins (dependent on the oak barrels as well as the grape) on the back of the tongue. If the wine is young and tannic it will feel like your teeth have been coated. Tannins help the wine age well but can sometimes be a bit harsh unless the wine is well balanced.
Overall impression and aftertaste are often not given enough importance by the some of the Wine ‘gurus’ – for the rest of us it is what matters most! Cheaper or younger wines will not linger on the palate, the pleasure is ‘now’ but over quickly. A fine mature wine should leave a clear impression that persists for a while before fading gently. More important still is balance, one that has enough fruit to balance the oakey flavours for example, or enough acidity to balance the sweet fruits so the wine tastes fresh. Equally a wine which is very tannic with no fruit to back it up as it ages is unbalanced.
The most important thing, however, is to enjoy a wine. A few seconds spent tasting a wine before diving into the bottle can greatly enhance your pleasure – and you will have some idea of what you are drinking and what types of wine you to look for when you go shopping!
About the Author: Brought up in a family of Wine Lovers Chloe Alster has a broad ranging interest in many types of wine, it’s cultivation, and history as well as the more social aspect of wine appreciation. Her views and opinions are well respected within the ranks of fellow enthusiasts. She writes extensively on Wine related topics at Wine And Bottle
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Preferring wine for occasions is not a matter of point. With consideration to the taste of wine, most of the people will prefer to have wine as per the requirement. Wine is a wonderful hot beverage which comes in different taste, color and ingredients. Tasting more and more of wines will make people aware of taste and preferences required in particular flavor. Tasting wine is a sequence of event that enhances the enjoyment of having a good wine. The taste of wine differs with regards to the flavors and ingredients added in it. Wine comes in different taste and some of the kinds of wine taste are
Sweetness
Sweetness is the other kind of wine taste. When people taste a wine, the sweetness or dryness of the wine can be flavored. People can feel the taste due to the fruit flavor and fermented grape sugars added in the wine. Generally, most of the beginners prefer their wine with sweetness taste. The sweetness of the wine can be determined by the amount of fermented sugar and fruit added in it.
Acidity
The next flavor tasted in wine is the feel of acidity. The acid taste can be felt to create taste and freshness in the flavor established. The taste of acidity creates freshness, crispy and zest in a balanced manner. Most of the drinkers prefer acidity taste of wine to come up with the purpose of having the wine. It helps the people to enjoy the taste and make it meaningful. The characteristic of wine differs in each kind of taste and flavor mixed.
Alcohol
Though wine comes in different flavors like sweetness, acidity, the other unique flavor most tasted by people is alcoholic. The alcoholic taste of wine comes in different portraits and in some portraits it tastes sweet and some cases sensitive. Generally, all kinds of wine contain alcohol. The moderate amount of alcohol added in wine will creates sweetness.
Fruitiness
Wine comes up with different taste, under that fruitiness taste is the other unique service preferred. The fruitiness can be tasted more in wine, because it is product which extracted from rich grapy fruits. It comes in crispy, freshly and tasty flavors.
People like to have wine only when they taste the richness of different kinds of wines. The taste of wine differs from each kind of things selected. So, taste the wine perfectly which satisfies the taste and preference of the customer. The prices for each kind of wines will differ from each sort of wine preferred. The characteristic of flavor plays the dominant role in preferring wine for their occasions.
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About the Author:
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