Wine tasting guide

Step 1

Firstly, examine the appearance of the wine. Evaluate the purity, colour, and viscosity of the wine by sight. The wine should be clear, free of any opaque or cloudy tones. From the colour of the wine, you can tell its age, origin, variety, method of processing, as well as the ripeness of the grapes. The only way to objectively evaluate the wine quality is to hold the wine glass by its stem or base.

Step 2

Before smelling the wine, you should first give the glass a swirl. The swirling motion aerates the wine, increases the concentration of aromatic components in the glass, and shows the wine viscosity on the inner side of the glass. Viscosity mainly depends on the wine extract, alcohol, and residual sugar content.

Step 3

Now smell the wine. Smell is probably the most important sense when it comes to evaluating wine. When examining the aroma, you should put your nose deep into the glass. Breathe in through your nose once to inhale as much aromatic components as possible and try to identify them. The first impression is essential as your olfactory cells are most sensitive immediately after inhaling. Frequent sniffs reduce the sensitivity of your olfactory receptors. Every wine has its typical aromatic components given by the wine variety, fermentation, and ageing in barrels or bottles.

Step 4

Now is the time to taste the wine. Take a sip of the wine into your mouth, not more than one tablespoon, and examine several aspects. As soon as the wine is in your mouth, evaluate the intensity of the taste sensation. You should assess the taste purity, i.e. the presence or absence of spurious tones, the taste quality, i.e. the content and harmony, and the aftertaste, i.e. how long the taste remains after swallowing (or spitting out). The water that you drink with wine can substantially affect the overall taste impression. In order to taste the wine properly and to experience the complete taste spectrum, spring water of neutral flavour should be chosen instead of, for example, chemically treated tap water.

Step 5

Now, roll the wine in your mouth along the entire length of your tongue to allow the wine to reach all taste buds capable of detecting four basic tastes: sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness. Then, you can inhale some air into your mouth that will release additional aromatic components perceived by the nose. The wine should remain in your mouth for about 10 seconds.

Step 6

After evaluating all taste sensations, professional wine degustators usually spit out the content of their mouth into a bowl so that their concentration is not influenced by alcohol. However, there is nothing like swallowing fine wine and enjoying the taste experience to the very end. Once you have swallowed or spat out the wine, focus on the aftertaste and persistence. Do not forget to drink neutralizing spring water before taking another sip of wine.

How to Serve Wine Properly

When serving wine, you should not underestimate the choice of correct glassware. The right wine glass can further develop the taste of the selected wine variety. In order to emphasize the resultant taste, a wine glass should meet several basic criteria. It should be made of clear glass as otherwise it would not be possible to evaluate the colour and the purity of the wine. The glass should be as thin as possible because thick glass creates an obstacle between your mouth and the wine. Wine served in a thin glass will satiate your taste buds even more.

When selecting a glass, you should not neglect the length of the glass stem, which should be thin, and the stability of the glass base. When drinking wine, the glass should be held by the stem and never by the bowl because this warms up the wine.