Wine Tasting Step 3: Tasting Wine

by Werner Els

Now that you went through Step 1: Evaluating the colour of wine as well as Step 2: Smelling wine, now it is time to taste the wine.

There are 5 taste receptors situated on the tongue: Sweet, Sour, Salt, Bitter and Umami (savoury or meaty)

What to do:
Take a small sip of wine and swirl in around in your mouth. Think of the texture of the wine. Is the wine light and zesty or full bodied and heavy? If you taste a red wine think on the tannins structures.
Take another sip and aerate the wine in your mouth by sucking in a bit of air. This will enhance the flavours by releasing the characters of the wine so that it will reach the olfactory receptors situated at the back of the sinuses and throat.

Think of the flavours, the tannins, acidity and the alcohol that you have experienced.
Does the combination of characters remind you of citrus fruit, berries or tropical fruits? Was the wine fresh or creamy ( malolactic fermentation )
Do you taste the oak, tobacco or vanilla characters from the barrel maturation?
Try and create a mental picture of the flavours that you have experienced.

Lastly and most importantly: Did you enjoy the wine? Wine should be above all else be enjoyed!

Cheers!


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