How to taste wine
Is there a right way, or a wrong way taste wine? Is the tasting ritual seen at wine shows and formal tastings mere showmanship, or how does it contribute to getting the most out of a wine? Like with most things, the more you put in – the more you’ll get out. And the same applies with wine. A little knowledge and preparation can go a long way to enhancing your enjoyment of wine, and the good news is, just sticking to a few guidelines will get you off to a flying start.
Where do I start?
Firstly, good glassware is one of the easiest ways to get the most out of your glass of wine; the size, shape and type of glasses used in a wine tasting can dramatically affect your appreciation of the wines. Generally speaking, you should look for a stemmed, tulip-shaped glass, in which you can easily swirl a small sample of wine. Serving the wine at the correct temperature will also ensure you’re allowing the wine to show its best. In fact, more flavour is released from a wine served slightly warmer, than cooler – so don’t be tempted to over chill your whites. Don’t fill the glass to the brim, around a half a glass allows the aroma of a wine to fill the glass, and will give you the important first impression when you taste wine. (It also stops you from spraying the room as you swirl your wine.)
Take a good look
Hold the glass up, if you can, hold the wine against a white background such as a table cloth or tasting mat. The colour and appearance of a wine tells many helpful things about how the wine will taste. The grape variety, the winemaking process and the age of the wine can all affect the colour of the wine. How deep is the colour of the wine? White wines will range in colour from transparent, to pale greens, then light straw through to golden yellows. Red wines range from thin brick red to the deep opaque bluish-purples usually associated with younger wines. Next assess the clarity of the wine, the wine should not appear cloudy. White wines will darken as they grow older while red wines tend to lose their colour turning more brownish and may develop sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Swirl the wine around your glass and take note of the wine's 'viscosity' - the long strands that cling to the side of the glass. These are referred to as 'legs' and can indicate a wine with a relatively higher alcohol content.
That all important first sniff
Our sense of taste is not only located in the mouth. In fact 90% of taste is actually through the ‘olfactory’ or upper nasal passages. As an experiment, try pinching your nose when you taste wine and discover how little taste you detect. We actually smell tastes, rather than just through tastebuds in our mouths. So before you actually taste a wine, sniff it. Swirl the wine around in the glass first to aerate the wine and release those aromas. Then place your nose right into the rim and the glass and inhale. What flavours can you detect; what sort of fruits, are there floral or confectionary flavours perhaps? While the aroma doesn’t always guarantee it will be a great tasting wine, the aroma can provide that first all important preview when you taste wine.
Then, take a mouthful; move the wine all around your mouth and allow it to coat your tongue and mouth, feel all the sensations of the wine. When you taste wine, sweetness gives a warm feeling on the tip of your tongue, acids cause a sharp ‘pulling’ feeling on the sides of the tongue towards the front. Tannin grips the side of the tongue at the back, while the alcohol content presents itself as a hot feeling at the rear of your mouth near the throat and back of the tongue.
Identify the key flavours. When you taste wine, think about all the different flavour components in your mouth. These can also be important cues when it comes to wine and food matching. The taste of a wine may reveal saltiness or sweetness, fruit flavours like blackcurrant or berries, perhaps citrus, melon or tropical fruit. Think carefully about the flavours, and identify what other foods or sensations come to mind when you taste wine. Also take notice of the ‘texture’ or viscosity as you taste. Is it thick and does it coat the mouth indicating a high glycerol content, or is the wine thin and feeling ‘watered down’? Finer red wines like fine Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz often have a thicker texture, while lower quality or certain white wines may feel thinner. Above all, have fun. There are no right or wrong answers, your own opinion is everything. The opportunity to taste wine is something we all have the opportunity to do (if you’re over 18, of course!). Enjoy.
Components of a wine
Just like a great meal, wine is made up of a medley of different components; flavours, chemical elements and compounds. Chances are, even with your first sip, you may well be able to identify some of these key elements of a wine.
Breaking down the components of a wine
Perhaps the most noticeable component of a wine is the flavour components, or ‘palate’. Rather than being just one flavour, the palate is made up of a combination of influences, for example a range of fruit flavours, sometimes floral or herbal notes which contribute to its personality and enjoyment. Yeast can also play a role in the palate, especially with Champagne and other sparkling wines produced by ‘methode champenoise’. In these wines the yeast imparts a bread-like flavour to the palate. The mineral composition of a wine, comprising salts and other elements, is another important component of a wine. Just like salt flavour in food, minerals help to balance out the flavour. While the palate is perhaps the heart of a wine’s enjoyment, many components of a wine work together to create balance and complexity, just like a great food recipe.
The acid test
One component of a wine that contributes to a wine’s crispness and zesty mouth-feel is the acid content. There are several different types of acids. The main ones are malic, tartaric and citric acid. Lactic acid is found in a buttery chardonnay that has undergone ‘malo-lactic’ fermentation. (converting the tarter malic acids to softer lactics). Acidity is expressed as the ‘pH’ balance or content of a wine. Each acid presents a different feeling in the mouth and is generally felt as a sharp, pulling sensation along the sides of you tongue towards the front. One acid we wouldn’t want to discover is acetic acid or ‘Volatile Acidity’ indicating that the wine is turning to vinegar.
Alcohol in wine
It goes without saying that alcohol is another key component of a wine, however the actual content can vary from around 9 – 14% depending on sugar levels of the original grapes and the winemaking process itself. Alcohol can be identified as a hot feeling at the back of the mouth, when you taste a wine.
The influence of sugar
Residual sugar, ie sugar which remains in the wine once fermentation is complete, can be detected on the tip of the tongue. A small amount of sugar can often balance out the flavour of a wine without necessarily making it taste too sweet; complementing the acids, salt, tannins and fruit flavours.
What is ‘tannin’?
Tannin is contributed by the skins, pips and stalks of the grape itself. When you taste a wine, you’ll notice the tannin as a gripping sensation at the back of your tongue and along the sides. Tannin is more obvious in younger red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, less so in softer reds and white wines. Tannins are important in contributing to the aging capabilities of a wine as they are a wine’s natural preservative. As a wine ages, the tannins diminish making red wines more appealing and feel softer in the mouth.
The different flavours and aromas of wine
When you first taste wine there are potentially many complex flavours and aromas that contribute to its appeal. At first a wine may appear to contain just one or two dominant flavours. But then as you probe deeper, you’ll detect more and more layers of flavour and aromas which add complexity. This is what separates great wines from the good.
Identifying the aroma
Why should you first sniff a wine? That first sniff is important because the aroma is indicative of the flavours you’ll most likely find when you taste it.
Aromas can tell you a lot about the wine and can provide insights into the grape varietal that made the wine; its ripeness, soil and climate conditions. The aroma may also reveal the presence of botrytis, a wine’s age and oxidation, the use of oak during winemaking and even the presence of cork taint. To release the flavours and aromas, swirl the wine in the glass and get some air into the wine. Then take a good sniff, the more it is aerated the more the aroma will be revealed. In addition to the actual flavours and aromas, there may be a certain character or personality about the aroma. Could it be described as floral, or toasty? Is it aged and musty, or fresh and fruity?
How to describe the flavour
Try to identify flavours and aromas using terms you know and understand, rather than trying to describe them with words you may have read in the wine columns. There are not too many of us who know about the aroma of ‘sweaty saddles’ or ‘cat’s pee’, et we’ve all tasted green apples, ripe peaches butterscotch and toffee. As a wine ages, the flavours and aromas change. For instance a Riesling that displayed citrus and lime characters while young, can transform to reveal flavours and aromas of kerosene, honey and cloves as the wine matures in the bottle.
Flavour characteristics of individual grape varietals
Specific grapes have particular flavours and aromas which they impart to the finished wine. In addition, the climate, region and winemaking technique can all affect the nose, or palate of a particular grape varietal. So a Riesling from the Clare Valley for instance will probably taste quite different from one grown in Margaret River or Germany’s Rhine valley.
Nevertheless, here are a few key flavours and aromas you may identify in some of the popular grape varietals.
RIESLING: Green apple, lemon, lime, citrus, musk, passionfruit, rose petal.
SAUVIGNON BLANC: Gooseberry, capsicum, lemon, grapefruit, passionfruit, asparagus, lime, melon.
CHARDONNAY: Rockmelon, mango, nectarine, butterscotch, burnt caramel, cashew, toast.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON: Blackcurrant, plum, peppermint, cedar, berries, tobacco leaf,
MERLOT: Violets, raspberry, blackberry, musk, cinnamon, stewed plums
SHIRAZ: Pepper, black cherry, blueberry, aniseed, liquorice
