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Wine Information
Tasting – The Five S’s
The point of wine tasting is simply to find wines that you will thoroughly enjoy. There's no right and wrong when it comes to wine tasting. That said, here are some basic tips that will help you evaluate a new wine to see if it suits your taste.
See
Notice the color of the wine. It often helps to hold the glass up to light or hold it against a white background, like a white napkin. The color can give you a clue as to the age of the wine. White wines generally gain color as they age. Red wines lose color. That is, young red wines are more red or burgundy while older wines tend to show a hint of tawny brown around the rim. Regardless of age, the colors of wine are just fun to see, ranging from pale yellow-green to ruby red to brick red-brown.
Legs – how quickly the wine goes down the side of the glass indicates the richness of the wine.
Swirl
Swirl the wine a couple of times by moving the glass in a circular motion. Holding the glass by its stem, instead of the bowl, allows you to swirl more easily. Swirling is done to aerate the wine and release vapors, evaporating from the sides of the glass.
Smell
The nose knows: nose, bouquet, aroma, or fragrance. Then put your nose right over the rim of the wine glass and breathe in.
What's the difference between aroma and bouquet? Aroma is present in the grapes and in the wine from the time it is first made. Bouquet is an additional, pleasant characteristic that develops only in the bottle, many months or years after bottling.
These are all terms that describe how the wine smells to you. Does it remind you of a flower scent? Then it can be called "floral". It may be "grassy" like a freshly mown lawn. Or it may come across as fruity, like a cherry or strawberry or melon might smell. Imagine yourself in nature and see if the scent is something growing around you, like eucalyptus. Or imagine yourself in the produce section of your local supermarket. Does the wine make you feel like you're standing near a bushel of pears or oranges? Or does it take you somewhere else in the grocery store, i.e. reminding you of nuts, chocolate, coffee or butterscotch? Or it may just smell like grapes! Write down whatever associations, if any, you sense. If it helps to write down "Smells like vinyl car seats on a hot day" then write that down. The basic idea is to help you remember the scent.
Sip
Take a sip, letting the wine spread across the tongue from front to back and side to side before swallowing. Notice the flavors and acidity of the wine. How silky or rough does the wine feel?
- Sweetness - The first thing you will probably notice is the relative sweetness or dryness of the wine. This is determined by the amount of natural sugar in the wine.
- Acidity – the tartness or acidity of the wine. Just think of the difference between grapefuit juice and water. Acid may sound harsh but it is very important in making wine taste crispand fresh. If there is too much acid, the wine will taste bitter and unpleasently sharp. If there is not enough acid, the wine will taste flabby and flat, like day-old beer in a glass.
- Tannin - red wines. It tastes astringent and "mouth-drying", and makes your mouth "pucker". There are many kinds of tannin. Some tannins taste bitter. Tannins are most noticeable in young red wines. Over time, as wines age, tannins "soften" and give the wine a certain full-bodied weightiness that is very enjoyable.
- Fruit and Varietal Characteristics - Young wines are often "fruity". Fruit flavors are usually considered a positive component in the quality of the wine. If you can't smell some kind of fruit in the wine (cherry, raspberry, peach, melon, mango, pineapple or whatever), then it is not a fruity wine.
- Fruit is often confused with sweetness but they are not even related. Sweetness in wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar left in the wine after fermentation. Dry wines with very low levels of residual sugar and no discernable sweetness can taste very fruity. Sweet wines can taste fruity or not. That is, 'fruit' may be present or absent but it has nothing to do with the sweetness of the wine.
- Tasting for Body - Body is a tasting term referring to viscosity, thickness, consistency, or texture. A wine with "body" often has higher alcohol or sugar content than other wines. Tannin, also, is a major component of what we call "body" in wine.
- Tasting for Aftertaste - This is the sensation that lingers in your mouth just after swallowing a sip of wine. Aftertaste is important in wine tasting because it can reveal an extra attribute or a fault. Sometimes certain flavors become noticeable in the aftertaste, i.e. chocolate "in the finish". A long, pleasant aftertaste, where all the components of the wine are in balance is a sign of quality. On the other hand, an aftertaste is undesirable in sparkling wines and champagne which, ideally, should be crisp and clean with no lingering aftertaste at all.
- Overall Assessment - When the aftertaste is gone, ask yourself what your general impression is of the wine. Do you like it? Do all the components seem to be in balance? If you think the wine (especially young red wine) is too astringent, consider that it might improve and mellow or "open up" with age. Or is the wine ready to drink now? What kinds of food might go nicely with this wine? If you want to assign it a score of your own choosing, go ahead.
Spit (or Swallow)
Swallow a small amount if you wish to note any lingering "finish". But if you are tasting a number of wines, go ahead and spitit out.
HEALTH - ANTI-CANCER & CORONARY BENEFITS
Research has shown that moderate consumption of red wine on a regular basis may be a preventative against coronary disease and some forms of cancer. The chemical components thought to be responsible are catechins orflavanoids. Catechins are believed to function as anti-oxidants, preventing molecules known as "free-radicals" from doing cellular damage. There are also compounds in grapes and wine called resveratrol and quercetin. Clinical and statistical evidence and laboratory studies have shown these to boost the immune system, block cancer formation, and possibly protect against heart disease and even prolong life. Additional evidence suggests that wine dilates the small blood vessels and helps to prevent angina and clotting. The alcohol in wine additionally helps balance cholesterol towards the good type. Recently some research has shown that white wines also have some anti-oxidant benefits that were believed to only to be in red wine.
