The art of wine tasting empowers connoisseurs to enjoy the nuances of wine by teaching them to appraise different aspects of the beverage in their glass. Wine tasting is also a sensory experience so the techniques urge us to use the sense of sight, smell and taste to appreciate a wine.
Before we jump into wine tasting techniques let us first delve into getting our setting right. Here are some tips to help you:
1) Tasting Pour:
A standard tasting pour is 75 ml, which allows you to swirl the wine in your glass without worrying too much about spillage. This way, you can also pour for more people using just one bottle of wine.
2) The Right Setting:
Choose a well-lit room for wine tasting, preferably with natural light, so that you can observe the wine’s hue accurately. Also, make sure that the room is odour-free so that you can focus on the aromas in your wine without any distractions.
3) Spit it out:
You will taste multiple wines at a wine-tasting session. Spitting your wine once you swish it in your mouth will keep you from getting inebriated and losing control of your senses which can hamper your tasting experience.
Wine Tasting Techniques: The 5 S Method
Wine experts all over the world use the 5S method to taste wine which uses different sensory organs to analyse various aspects of the wine.
See:
Tilt the glass away from you and notice the colour of your wine- is it white, rosé or red? Also notice if the wine is clear or murky.
Swirl:
Move your glass in tight circles steadily to swirl the wine in it. Wine gets exposed to oxygen in the air due to swirling, which helps unlock its bouquet of aromas.
Sniff:
Bring the glass closer to your nose and sniff. A wine can have a wide range of aromas, from fruity ones like lemon, pineapple or blackberry and cherry or yeasty aromas like that of toasted bread, along with earthy notes of mushrooms, earth or leather. However, the main reason we sniff wine is to ensure that there are no faulty aromas like wet cardboard, vinegar, etc., which could indicate spoilage.
Sip:
A great wine offers a balance between acidity, tannins, sweetness and alcohol. So, take a small sip of your wine and see if all its aspects are in tandem with each other or not. And don’t forget to observe how the wine feels in your mouth- is it light-bodied, medium-bodied or full-bodied?
Savour:
A good wine is one whose flavours stay on your palate long after you have swallowed it. Such a wine will command you to pace your drink and savour every sip.
The art of wine tasting is like a vast ocean which gets deeper as you swim further in it. If you want to further explore the main types and styles of wine through sight, smell, and taste, while also gaining the basic skills to describe wines accurately and make food and wine pairings, enrol for WSET Level 1 Award in Wines at at Sonal Holland Wine Academy and learn from some of the best educators in the country.
