Drinking wine should be fun. Whether its purpose is to relax or revive you, wine exists to be enjoyed. “Wine is bottled poetry” states the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. But when it comes to really appreciating it, watching the wine ‘experts’ poking their noses into their frankly miserly serving, scrunching their faces up and announcing some far fetched bizarre sounding description of what they’ve just sampled can make such a simple and enjoyable process seem ridiculous and over elaborate, whilst making us mere mortals feel rather guilty at our own lack of sophistication and wholly unworthy of such a special drop.
It really doesn’t have to be that way however. Tasting wine may look like a complicated business, but the routine carried out by those on television is just a combination of a few simple steps that examine the wine’s taste, in essence, by simply seeing, sniffing and slurping. Once you learn these steps, and a few other things to look out for, you will see just how simple it is to fully appreciate the taste of your favourite white wine as well as discovering the pleasure of taking your time to really explore the taste.
Different white wines are best served at different temperatures, however chilling to 10-12˚C is fine. After pouring yourself roughly a third of a glass, the first thing to consider is the appearance of the wine. Characteristics such as the age of a white wine can be distinguished by looking closely at the colours in your glass, yellowy green showing a younger wine compared to a more golden tint.
One of the most important aspects of wine tasting is taking time to smell the wine, to notice its aromatic bouquet. This is crucial to your body’s perception of the taste of the wine, and indeed anything you consume, as the nerve cells that respond to different flavours are found in the olfactory area of the nose. To fully release the aromas, swirl the glass. The next step then is to get a good nose-full.
It is common to describe the bouquets of wine by comparing it to other substances. It may seem odd to hear experts noting a hint of honeysuckle and bizarrely even petrol in some cases, but this is because there are many compounds in wine that are found within many other objects, and describing the wine in such a way is the most clear way of defining such complex aromas.
Finally the time has come to take a mouthful. It is at this point during wine tasting programmes that you may have noticed the peculiar sight of the tasters scrunching up their faces after a sip. The actual reason for this is to ensure that the wine is exposed to all the different taste buds of the tongue. Taking in some air whilst the wine is still in your mouth will help increase the expression of flavour by passing the taste through the nasal passages as well. This is done by tilting back the head and gently sucking the air through pursed lips.
There are number of key considerations when tasting wine, including whether it is sweet or dry. This is a judgment based on the level of sugar in the wine. The acidity of a wine should also be looked at, noticeable through any sharp sensations on the sides of the tongue. The storage of wine can also be discerned through taste. A taste of vanilla or a sweet spice is an indicator of a white wine being stored in an oak barrel. It is also common to taste a number of different fruits within the wine. Of course the alcohol level becomes apparent when the wine is consumed and can be gauged by a feeling of hotness in the mouth when tasting. When considering these different aspects of taste, assess whether any characteristics were particularly strong or if there was a good balance between them all. When tasting the wine, as well as thinking about the flavours, it is worth considering the ‘mouthfeel’ attributes such as the wine texture and weight.
Most likely, this is the point when you can swallow the mouthful. However if your are attending a wine tasting event or are simply looking to try a few other samples, then it is perhaps wiser to spit it out somewhere appropriate.
So there you have it, the art of wine tasting broken down to its essence. A sequence of simple steps designed to further appreciate your glass of white. Picking up on your favourite attributes can also be handy when it comes to choosing a new bottle to try. The next time you’re faced with an oaky, appley Chardonnay or a lighter more acidic Sauvignon Blanc, you’ll know which one is right for you.
