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WINE TASTING EDUCATION
How to
Taste Wine
Step 3:
Tasting the Wine
After
looking, swirling, and sniffing, you're ready to drink the wine,
right? Well, not just yet. There is a correct form to tasting wine,
a technique designed to break the sip into flavor components that
you can identify, contemplate, and eventually recall. A ˝ to
one-ounce sip is typical for proper tasting, depending upon the size
of your mouth. Too much will force you to swallow, but too little
won't provide sufficient coverage in your mouth.
While
holding some of the wine on your tongue, purse you lips and draw in
air over the wine (think backwards whistling) to produce a slurping,
gurgling sound. While this technique may not make you popular at
dinner parties, it is crucial for vaporizing the volatile compounds
in the wine, Swirl, sniff, sip, and then swish the wine around your
mouth, much like mouthwash. "Chewing" the wine will further break
down the flavors and intensify them.
Keep the
wine in your mouth for about 10 to 12 seconds (less if its
offensive). Each area of your mouth recognizes different flavor
components. Tannin, the chemical in wine that causes a puckery
sensation in some wines, is most prominent on the inside of your
cheeks. Alcohol feels hottest at the back of your throat. These two
characteristics, along with viscosity, are key determinants of a
wine's body. Full bodied wines are intensely flavorful. Soft or
smooth wines are low in tannins and acid. "Mouth-feel" is a term
often used to describe how a wine "feels" in your mouth.
Wine
flavors, like aromas, are imparted by the berries (grapes), the
fermentation process, and aging. Flavors such as cherry, cassis,
chocolate, pepper, (common in red wines) and apple, pineapple,
grass, lemon (found in many white wines) are usually associated with
the grapes themselves. Fermentation can add flavors such as musk,
yeast, jam, and cherry pie. Smoke, oak, or sherry-like flavors often
result from cask or bottle aging. Aging also softens the tannins in
wine, making it smoother tasting.
Slowly
swallow the wine, then exhale gently through your mouth and nose.
The aromas will linger well beyond the swallow. Better wines will
have more complexity and their flavors will last longer. By
comparing flavors and texture, you will be able to differentiate
between varietals and vintages, and select better wines. That is the
true purpose of wine tasting.
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