Have you always wanted to become a wine drinker?
If so, welcome to the club! Learning to appreciate wine is a life-long journey. It’s important to understand that everyone’s experience is different. After all, wine is a complex substance and wine flavors vary from varietal from vineyard to vineyard and country to country. The key is to understand a few basic wine tasting tips that will help you fully appreciate what you’re drinking.
Fortunately, this article can help. Here we take a look at tips for understanding a menu wine selection and a few important wine tasting terms. Keep reading to take your knowledge of wine to the next level.
1. Learn About the Different Wine Varietals
Let’s start by talking about varietals. When you’re new to the world of wine tasting terms, this is a term that refers to the different types of grapes that are grown throughout the planet.
Keep in mind that every type of wine grape is different. Each one possesses unique qualities and wine flavors not found in any other varietal. There are many varietals in the world, including pinot noir, Burgundy, shiraz, and cabernet, just to name a few.
Once you start experimenting with different varietals and studying the individual flavor profiles and color characteristics, you’ll soon start developing favorites and understanding what exactly makes each varietal stand apart.
Learning the different wine varieties during a tasting event can be your first step toward becoming a sommelier or a wine expert who wants to work in restaurants and other businesses in the wine industry. But if you want to be a certified expert in wine service, it’s best to get a sommelier certification from a reputable provider. When you’re a certified sommelier, you can get to work in fine restaurants and other establishments needing a trained and knowledgeable wine professional.
2. Visual Exam the Wine In Your Glass
When a glass of wine is poured at a wine tasting event, don’t taste it immediately. Instead, start by examining the wine in your wine glass. Hold it up in the light to examine how light filters through the wine, how it clings to the edge of the glass, and the colors the light brings out in the wine.
You’ll quickly discover that visually inspecting each glass of wine will help you understand many of the differences between quality wine and bad wine.
3. Assess the Bouquet
The way a particular glass of wine smells is known as the bouquet. You can learn a lot about a specific varietal by the way it smells.
What do you notice when you smell it? It might be floral or fruity. It might be sharp or tangy. The key is to pay close attention to every aspect of the smell to determine where the grapes were grown, the age of the bottle, and the type of soil where the vineyard was planted.
Learning about how to fully appreciate a wine’s bouquet is one of the most enjoyable parts of finding your favorite wine flavors.
Be sure to check out this resource where you can learn about wine preservation.
4. Swirl Wine
You should also swirl the wine in your glass and then smell it again. Every time you swirl the wine, it will help aerate it and release new aromas. This will add to both the smell and the flavor.
Wine swirling can also help remove unwanted compounds such as sulfites and sulfides. It can also help you take your time with your glass before sipping. It slows the entire tasting process, making the experience more fun and rewarding.
However, you should know how to swirl the wine properly to maximize your tasting experience. For example, ensure your glass has plenty of room at the top to prevent wine from spilling. Put your forefinger and thumb at the bottom of the glass’s stem and swirl it for approximately 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Take Small Sips
Anytime you’re at a wine tasting event, never take long drinks from your glass. The best strategy for appreciating any varietal of wine is to take small sips.
Keep in mind that drinking fast will typically lead to getting drunk, and getting buzzed is definitely not conducive to truly enjoying the experience or developing a thorough knowledge of wine.
Take a small sip, hold it in your mouth, then swish it around your mouth before swallowing. This will give you the chance to study the nuances of the grapes, assess the individual characteristics, and discover each detail that makes each varietal special.
6. Small Pours
It’s important to enjoy the entire wine selection at any wine tasting event. That means you’ve got to keep moving. Thus the key is to focus on small pours so that you can enjoy as many different varietals as possible.
Don’t worry, you’re going to have the chance to drink plenty of wine, just try not to focus on only drinking your favorite wines. So pour a small amount in your glass, drink it slowly, and then pour a small amount of something else.
7. Cleans Your Palate
Wine is an extremely flavorful type of drink. Thus you will probably notice that the various flavors begin to run together after a short time.
The key to fully enjoying the wide range of varietals at a wine tasting event is to remember to cleanse your palate between glasses.
The most common way of cleansing your palate is by drinking water. It doesn’t take much, but sipping a bit of water between glasses of wine will help keep your taste buds sharp so that you can enjoy the special characteristics offered by each individual winery.
8. Don’t Take It Too Seriously
Many newbies make the mistake of taking the wine-drinking experience far too seriously. They want to learn everything as quickly as possible and want to become a wine expert as fast as possible. But this can actually rob you of the fun of simply drinking delicious wine.
Try to keep in mind that drinking wine should always be treated as a leisurely pastime rather than as a serious topic that demands total respect. So just relax and have a great time while you make new friends.
9. Ask Lots of Questions
Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions at a wine tasting event. You might be afraid of looking silly, but everyone started out where you are now, so they totally understand. Plus, most experienced wine drinkers thoroughly enjoy sharing their knowledge with newbies.
Some common questions you might want to ask during a wine-tasting event include:
- What’s the history of the winery or vineyard?
- Which grapes are used for the wines?
- How long has the wine been fermented?
- Are any of these wines a blend of two or more grapes?
- Which wines have the highest percentage of alcohol?
- What food is best paired with wines?
- What is the shelf life of the wines?
- What is the recommended serving temperature of the wines?
By asking these questions, you’ll learn more about the wines, which is crucial to having a wine-tasting experience.
A Newbie’s Guide to Wine Tasting
When it comes to relaxing and enjoying life to the fullest, there’s really nothing better than a great glass of wine. That’s why going to a wine tasting event is still the perfect way to spend your time. Fortunately, this guide to wine tasting will help beginners have the best experience possible every time they open a bottle.
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