How to Taste Wine… or so they say!
- See – Look at the wine, backlit by a light or white background. Tasting room pouring staff will often lay the glass down and roll it back and forth. What do you see? Color? Texture?
- Swirl – Aerate the wine by drawing air into the vortex you create when you rotate your glass around in a circle. Do you see any legs as the wine drips down the insides of the glass?
- Sniff – Now the wine is opening up and releasing its scent. Hold the glass up to your face and get your nose deep inside the glass, and inhale deeply through your nose to experience the aroma of the wine and its characteristics. What do you smell?
- Taste – The best for last… finally, after engaging your other senses your taste buds are primed to receive the wine and evaluate its taste and texture, from the front of your mouth, to the sides and the back, from the front-end of the wine to its finish. What is the wine’s tasting profile? What is its mouth-feel like?
