Wine tasters judge the look of the wine in the glass, the perfume [...]]]> Wine tasting is the art of assessing wines. Learning the way to correctly taste wine will give you a bigger appreciation for the wine itself and the winemakers. When wine tasting you employ the sensory of sight smell and taste.

Wine tasters judge the look of the wine in the glass, the perfume of the wine and the flavor of the wine. There’s also the “finish” of the wine or the after-taste. The art of wine tasting is like this; color, swirl, smell, taste and savor. A wine taster must look for clearness.

The wine taster is taking a look at the elements of the wine to ascertain whether the wine is balanced.

Another thing a taster looks for is the standard of the wine or the clearness of the flavor.

“The Look of the Wine”

Here the wine taster is attempting to find the color and lucidity of the wine. When distinguishing this it is always best to have a white background like a bit of paper of fabric behind the glass.

Lean your poured cup of wine away from you and keep an eye open for the color of the wine from the edge to the middle of the glass. If it is a red wine define if the color is red, brownish, purple, ruby, brick or maroon colored. With white wines you are looking to work out if it’s obvious, greenish, yellow, golden, amber or brownish.

For lucidity the wine taster is figuring out if the wine looks watery or dark. Is it opaque or see though. Older red wines have a tendency to be more transparent than younger red wines. Is the wine lifeless or brilliant, cloud or clear.

“The hint of The Wine”

The smell of a wine is a sign of both its quality and its unique traits. Smell is urgent in researching a wine. The correct process in smelling a wine is to first gradually swirl your tumbler of wine and then take a fast whiff to get a first impression. The swirling of the wine is crucial to vaporize the alcohol and release the wine’s natural aromas. After your initial whiff, stick your nose down into the glass of wine and breathe thru your nose.

Does it smell citrus, elaborate, okay, or like berries or flowers? This 2nd impression smell is vital.

“The flavor of the Wine”

You are eventually prepared to sample the wine. There are 3 phases to the tasting process. There’s the assault phase, the evolution phase, and as we mentioned earlier the finish phase. In tasting you would like to first begin with a small sip and let the wine roll on your tongue. What’s your first impression of the wine? This is the assault phase and it involves the astringency, alcohol content, tannin levels and residual sugar. Ideally these 4 items will meld together so that one isn’t more intense than the other. In this attack phase you will get impressions of the power, whether the wine is light or heavy, if it is soft or firm, dry or sweet, and creamy or crisp.

The evolution phase is what the wine’s tangible taste is on your palate. Here you are deciding the flavor profile of the wine. If it is a white wine are you tasting apples, pears, or is it more floral in nature? Perhaps it consists more of honey or a buttery taste. With red wines you can start noting fruits like berry, plum, figs or prunes. Most likely the wine tastes spicy or cinamony or perhaps has a woody flavor such as oak or cedar. In this phase you are outlining more on the flavor of the wine. The finish phase is just as we said…the wine’s aftertaste phase. How long does the flavor of the wine last after you have swallowed it? Do you taste the remains of the wine in the back of your mouth? Is the taste determined or short lived? Do you would like another sip or was the wine itself too sour at the end? It’s usually a good concept to take notes of your impressions of the wines you taste, particularly if it is a wine you would like to buy again. Write down the wine’s name, producer and vintage year for your own future reference and to be used in hosting your own wine tasting parties and functions. When wine tasting the order of the tasting should be with the sparkling wines, the light wines, and then the heavy whites and heavy reds.

Heavy wines have a deep color to them while the sweeter wines are thick and usually leave streaks called “legs” on the side of the glass when it is swirled. Wine tasters can taste many wines at one tasting. This being the situation, the tasters don’t really drink the wines since they’re alcohol. When tasting the wines the taster holds the wine in his mouth to get the flavor in his tastes then wine tasters sometimes spit out the wine after testing. There are many wineries across the world where one can visit and taste different wines. Some wineries will charge a tiny fee to cover the price of the tours.