When it comes to wine, there is a lot more to it than just drinking what you like. To get the most out of your wine drinking experience, you need to know how to taste wine like a pro.
It’s no secret that wine tasting is a complex art. Wine Sommeliers are a breed of their own. They take wine seriously and know how to taste wine like no one else. Wine tasting is all about observing, smelling, and sipping the wine in order to assess its quality.
The first step to tasting a wine is to set the scene for it so you can have a calm, relaxing time while enjoying your glass of wine. Before you start tasting, think about how you’re going to assess the wine. The right environment for wine tasting is far different from your average dinner party, where drinks are just one part of the meal and conversation roars as loudly as a fireworks display over Long Island.
A glass of great wine requires some privacy and silence – not an easy task in today’s social media world, but it is doable if you set some parameters upfront. If you’re going out to a restaurant or winery, make sure to leave yourself plenty of travel time and get there early enough so that when it’s go-time, you’re not rushing from being late.
Pour yourself a glass of water before getting started because tasting anything with an empty stomach can be overwhelming and potentially cause illness. Make sure your glassware is clean and smells nice—this means no perfume or other strong scents in the vicinity.
While some people like to listen to music during their wine tastings, it’s not necessary and can actually make your senses more distracted. Instead, focus on what you want to smell and taste in the wine with as few outside distractions as possible.
The next step in learning how to taste wine like a sommelier is to look at the wine’s color. If it’s red, consider whether or not there are hints of orange or brick-red hues. If it’s white, note if the color is more amber, golden or straw-like. The length of time that the wine has aged will also affect its coloring—the older the wine, generally speaking, the darker its color will be because tannins have time to build up and react with the liquid.
Once you’re set up and ready to go, take out your first glass of wine and look at it closely under bright light (or no light). Try bringing it right up to your face so that you can really see what it looks like. Is the wine the color of a burnt sienna crayon? Or is it more of a dark purple or brown? Use your hand to block out the light and get an even better sense of what this liquid looks like in its natural state.
By bringing it up close, you’ll start to get an idea about whether there are any visual patterns that you should look out for when tasting. This step also allows for quick determination between wines that have clouded over and those that remain clear and vibrant. If yours isn’t clear, then read our article on cloudy wine.
The third step to tasting a wine is to swirl it around in its glass so that some air can come into contact with it as you smell or “nose” the wine. Once you’ve gotten a preliminary sense of your drink’s color, move on to swirling it around in its glass.
If you don’t have a grapefruit spoon for this step, just swirl your glass lightly until it’s coated on all sides with a thin film of liquid. Take a big whiff of the bouquet–the term used to describe a wine’s scent–and try to detect any scents that remind you of freshly baked bread or perhaps even ripe fruit like oranges or grapes.
Don’t be scared if there are unfamiliar aromas to you—there might not be anything you can pinpoint at first, but don’t worry: it all comes with experience and tasting more wines. Even if it feels like you’re not doing much, this step is absolutely crucial for aerating your wine and allowing the flavor to come through clearly. Experiment with a few different holding positions and see what works best for you.
The fourth step in learning how to taste wine like a sommelier is to smell the wine again and see if there are any other aromas that you can pick up on beneath what you smelled previously. Scents associated with red wines include strawberry jam, cocoa powder, dried fruits such as figs or raisins, pencil shavings, or even cedarwood.
Whites can sometimes smell like fresh-cut grass or wet leaves, and rosés may remind you of red berries such as raspberries or strawberries. Swirling a drink creates bubbles that help release aromas from inside a glass. Now that your wine has been properly aerated, bring it right up to your nose and take a good hard whiff.
By bringing wine all the way up to your face, you’ll be able to sense even slight odors. What do the aromas remind you of? What kind of fruit can you recognize? How about spices or nuts? Keep in mind that most wines will have a dominant aroma and some smaller subtler ones, so look out for those as well.
The final step in learning how to taste wine like a sommelier is to try taking a small sip of your wine and letting its flavors roll around in your mouth so that you can taste it better than only smelling the liquid itself.
Take note if any alcohol tastes burn your tongue–this usually will happen when there’s too much alcohol content for someone who isn’t used to drinking these types of wines, but it should become more subtle as you continue tasting various different alcoholic beverages.
Some wines can taste like sour apples or maybe even black tea, and others may taste more bitter and remind you of nuts such as pine nuts or peanuts. Now it’s time for the real test. You’ve given your wine all sorts of air; bringing it up close has helped with color differentiation, and now is when all of this work pays off.
Wine tasting can be an incredibly fun and informative experience, but it’s important to do it the right way. Wine is meant to be enjoyed, and with a little practice, you can learn how to taste wine like a pro.
So, now that you know the 5 S’s of wine tasting get out there and start practicing. You may never be able to taste as well as a professional sommelier, but with a little bit of practice, you can certainly improve your wine tasting skills.
