Lesson 2: How to taste wine?
Step 1: Swirl. When you have a glass of wine in your hand, the first step in tasting is to swirl and agitate the wine. The reason we do that is to oxygenate the wine, to release the aromas in order to better appreciate them, and better identify and interpret them.
Step 2: Look. We can start making associations between the color and the level of sweetness of the wine. Indeed, as a rule of thumb, the more pale, the more “diluted” your wine is, which means the softer it will be in your mouth. Also, the more sugar it contains, the more the substance will “stick” to the glass when you make it swirl, and form tears that slowly drop back.
Step 3: Smell. How to interpret your sensations of those smells?
Some experts have come up with a great way to identify the family of aromas. We all know it is extremely difficult to identify exactly the fruit it recalls, the year of production, and so on. That is the job of professionals, and we probably don't even want to get to that point.
What we want to do, is to appreciate the glass we have in our hand, identifying the basics of what the wine is releasing, in order to better enjoy it. And that is not as hard as you think!
In order to identify the acidity or sweetness of the wine,
Then, to evaluate the age of the wine, according to the aroma you have perceived, you should concentrate on 2 types of sensations:
1. It smells like Spring
2. It smells like Autumn
Indeed, when you are wandering in a forest, there are odors, ambiances, which we associate to one or to another season of the year.
Spring is defined by freshness. The fruits and flowers are fresh, not ripe; the atmosphere is light, the air is pure.
On the other hand, Autumn offers us an impression of being down on Earth. We can smell the soil, the ground, the undergrowth, the mushroom, the mold. The atmosphere has a different smell, a bit heavier than usual.
Well, all this also defines a degree of evolution of your wine. The lighter, fresher atmosphere perceived, is certainly linked to a younger wine, whereas a smell of more ground-based product represents a more mature wine.
Of course, the speed of evolution also depends on the wine itself. Some wines have a potential of 5 years to drink, when others can be opened after up to 50 years! But as a rule of thumb, an everyday wine should be conserved no longer than 5 years, and a good wine can be kept 10-15 years.
Another element you should be able to identify by its smell, is the way the wine has been kept before being bottled. Stainless Steel or Oak barrel? The ageing of the wine also largely depends on the type of barrel chosen. If you smell hints of exterior, of vegetali, of light, then the wine was most likely aged in a Stainless Steel barrel. If you smell notes of interior, such as a cigar box, wax, wood, or feel darkness, then it was probably aged in an oak barrel. Stainless steel barrels bring absolutely nothing to the content of the wine that is inside; it is a good way to age wines who are already complex enough, with a wide range of aromas. Oak barrels will provide micro-oxygenation to the wine itself, making it breathe, and letting the oak slowly sink in the juice. That is why you may feel a scent of woody, of vanilla, of leather added to your wine in some cases. This does not come from the raisin, but from the ageing of the wine in an oak barrel.
Step 4: Taste. Obviously the most crucial element of your tasting experience. Once you are fully into your tasting atmosphere thanks to the visual and olfactory aspects, you may proceed to the drinking. Try to grasp the 3 elements we previously talked about: Balance, Depth and Length. Your tongue should be giving you keys to your judgment: is the tip of your tongue being solicited? Is it too rough? Which families of aromas are you able to detect? How long does it stay in aftertaste? And most importantly, ARE YOU ENJOYING? Most people tend to think too much about what they are drinking, and forget to enjoy the tasting!
