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First Fruits: Wine Tasting DemystifiedSlow and Easy Does ItBy Denise Reynolds
Set the Mood Your first time can feel a bit awkward. Relax. This isn’t rocket science. The wine police aren’t going to come and take you away if you don’t do everything perfectly. The most important thing you can bring to the table is a respectful desire to learn. Think of it this way: That wine wasn’t just picked off the vine. It’s the end result of a long labor of love. Many people—vineyard workers and winemakers—have poured their heart and soul into producing this liquid jewel for your enjoyment. The least you can do is give it every opportunity to please you. Slow down. Take your time. There’s no prize for finishing first. Remember the Mirror
Eye It Let’s say you’re out to dinner with friends, the waiter tells you about their featured wine, and pours you a taste. Here’s what you do. Take it from the top. Begin with your eyes. Lift up the glass by its stem and tilt it toward you slightly. See how the lights in the room reflect off the top of the wine’s surface. Highly reflective wines are youthful and bright, older wines reflect less light. Tilt the glass away from you somewhat and view the color of the wine against a white background, if available, or hold it up to the light. While most people consider wines to be either red or white, there are actually many variations of each color. Whites can range from water white or pale yellow green to gold or caramel, while reds can range from dark pink or violet to brick red or amber brown. Ponder the color that you see; appreciate its beauty. Nose Around
Sip Slowly Now, bring the wine to your lips and take in enough of a mouthful to roll it around in your mouth a little before you swallow. Notice the flavors, the weight of the wine in your mouth, the lingering finish you sense as it makes its way down your throat. Acidity and sugar play a role, as do tannin and alcohol levels. Each of these qualities affects the way the wine tastes. You don’t have to be able to decipher them all. Savor the wine; appreciate its taste. Want More? There, you did it. How did it feel? Bask in the warm afterglow and credit yourself with your newfound abilities. As the last trace of wine leaves your lips your apprehensions have faded away. You came, you saw, you reveled in the full experience of the pleasures of the vine. Did you like the wine? Did it leave you wanting more? With this initial encounter under your belt perhaps you’ll want to sip around a bit to further develop your technique. Get together with an intimate group of friends and pull some corks. Or, if you subscribe to the theory that bigger is better, track down a large-scale wine tasting in your area and rub elbows with crowds of fellow wine aficionados. Here’s a sampling of annual wine events. For thousands of others, visit www.localwineevents.com. Cheers! Wine Tasting Events Aspen, CO: Food & Wine Magazine Classic Atlanta, GA: Wine South Boston, MA: Boston Wine Expo Chicago, IL: Chicago Wine & Food Festival Keystone, CO: Wine in the Pines Miami, FL: South Beach Wine & Food Festival Napa, CA: The Napa Valley Wine Auction Nashville, TN: L’Eté du Vin New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Wine and Food Experience Red Hook, NY: Hudson Valley Wine Fest San Antonio, TX: New World Wine & Food Festival Sonoma, CA: Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction Washington, D.C.: International Wine & Food Festival Woodinville, WA: Auction of Washington Wines Millwood, VA: Virginia Wine Festival |
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Drinking
wine without tasting is like having sex without foreplay. In your haste to
get to the goal line, you end up missing some of the best parts of the
experience. Taking a keen—or even a passing—interest in the subject at hand
will elevate your experience from a get-to-the-bottom-of-it endeavor to one
that rewards you with subtle discoveries and delights that pay tremendous
dividends. So before you dive in, take a few minutes to appreciate what is
to come.
Now
that you’re in the mood, you’ll want to make all the right moves. Let’s keep
this simple, shall we? Take a look in the mirror. Everything you need to
face wine tasting with confidence is staring back at you. What do you see?
Your eyes, your nose, and your mouth. Exactly. You have all the tools you
need to taste wine properly. Just start at the top and work your way down.
Don’t fret: No one’s going to ask you to Name That Grape. Your goal is
simply to take the pleasure you get from drinking wine and kick it up a
notch. Enhance your close encounters of the wine kind.
Next,
use your nose to distinguish familiar aromas. Gently swirling the wine in
the glass for a moment will release the aromatic components. Put your nose
in the glass and inhale deeply. You may smell flowers, fruits, spices,
herbs, or earthy components, which come from the grapes themselves. You may
pick up on other smells—like butter, coconut, or vanilla—that hint at the
winemaker’s style of fermenting or aging the wine. Your nose can sense over
2,000 aromas. Focus on a few that come to mind; appreciate its smell.