Blog

The art of wine tasting

Wine tasting has become a real art over time. There are even competitions in which sommeliers compete to recognise from the grape varieties used in wine tasting, to the methods of manufacture, the year of production or the aromas of the wine.
When we taste a wine senses like smell, taste, sight or hearing give us important information about its quality, place of provenance or flavors that individualize it.
Even if it takes a lot of exercise and native qualities to become a successful sommelier, that doesn't mean that an amateur can't learn a few tricks to impress his friends.

Preparing wine for tasting

In order to fully enjoy the aromas of a wine, you need to take into account the temperature at which you serve it and the shape of the glasses.

The right temperature of the wine

Temperature is a very important element when talking about wine tasting. A very cold wine will hide its attributes, but also its flaws. That's why very cheap rose wines are served this way.
Here are the temperatures at which the wines should be tasted:

Red wines

• Red, young wines – served at temperatures of 12-14°C;
• Simple red wines – served at temperatures of 14-16°C;
• Mature, complex red wines (Pinot Noir noble, 2-3 years old) – served at temperatures of 16-18°C;
• Mature red wines ( Cabernet Sauvignon noble, more than 3 years old) – are consumed at temperatures of 18-20°C.

Sparkling wines

– serve at temperatures of 6-10°C.

The right glass for tasting

White wines are poured into narrow glasses in the form of the letter "U". Red wines, on the other hand, are served in glasses with a larger base and narrow opening. There are tall glasses with a much bigger cup. These will allow multiple flavours to surface.

Avoiding foreign flavours and fragrances in the room

– avoid strong smells – perfume, aftershave, tobacco, etc. – when going to a wine tasting. They are olfactory elements that attract your attention and the other participants and prevent you from feeling the aroma of the wine.

Tasting technique

<!– –>

Assessment of the aroma of wine

Volatile and non-volatile compounds are the ones that give flavour to the wine. During fermentation, but also in the first months after manufacture, chemical reactions frequently occur between these compounds. The aroma of the wine can change quite a lot during this time because of this process.
Changes in flavour continue as the wine gets older, but the frequency of chemical reactions decreases.
Depending on the source of provenance, substances influencing the smell of wine are divided into several categories:

• Substances originating from grapes during the fermentation process;
• Substances that are formed during the fermentation of the wort;
• Substances resulting from yeast metabolism;
• Substances that form after fermentation, during the process of ageing the wine.

Most of the volatile compounds combine with the sugars in the wine. This results in some substances bearing the name of odorless glycosides. They turn into flavors. The nose may be trained to recognize these details, which can establish details of the age or the wine-making process.

• What is the bouquet of wine

  – includes different flavors of fruits, spices, herbs or flowers. Because each person is unique and has a unique sense of smell, different people can identify different flavors of the same wine. Because a quality wine is a complex collection of flavors, we recommend that you smell it several times. The experience will be an intense one every time;

• Defects of wine felt by smell

  – defects in the wine may occur when mistakes are made in the manufacturing process or when the harvest is not satisfactory. These defects can be identified even by an unknown. For example, wine with many sulfurous compounds has created a negative image of a drink that can negatively influence our health. But substances in this category, such as sulphur dioxide, are added to any wine. It has the role of stabilizing the drink and is harmless to health. But hydrogen sulfide or sulfuric acid occur during a wrong fermentation process and give the wine an unpleasant aroma;

• What it is and how you recognize a wine

  – is a wine that smells of wet cellar or wet cardboard. If the wine has such a smell, it means that the cork from which the cork was made was contaminated with certain types of microscopic fungi;

• What it is and how to recognize an oxidized wine

  – is the wine that has been exposed to too much oxygen and has lost its brightness, colour and flavour. Thus, red wines become orange or even brown, and the taste becomes bitter. White wines are most exposed to oxidation, because they are poorer in tannins, substances that prevent or delay oxidation. Oxidized wines have the smell and taste of the stricken apple;

• What it is and how you recognize a made-up wine

  – a made-up wine was exposed to heat at some point. It will turn brown and smell as if it had been cooked;

• Primary flavors

  – include floral or fruity notes derived directly from grapes;

• Secondary flavors

  – come from the wine production technique. The most common secondary flavors are those resulting from yeast fermentation. They are very recognizable in white wines. It can be flavors of cheese, nuts or stale beer;

• Tertiary aromas of wine

  – are those that result during the ageing process. This process can be done in bottles or oak barrels. Can be flavors of nuts, ripe hazelnuts, spices, vanilla, dried leaves, tobacco, skin, mushrooms etc.

Assessment of the taste of the wine

There are four basic tastes of wine: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. From their combinations come the most unusual flavors. The wine must be walked through the mouth, so that you can feel its fluidity, softness and smoothness.

• How to take the first sip

  – gently sorb from the glass, as if you were pulling from a straw. Let some air enter your mouth and walk the wine from side to side. It may seem unelegant, but only in this way will you be able to feel all the aromas specific to the wine, but also the elements related to its composition: density, strength, softness, higher or lower acidity. Depending on these characteristics, you will hear professional sommeliers describing wines in terms such as silky, svelt, alkaline, flat, angular, personalityless, anemic, etc.

• Robustness of wine

  – characteristic given by the amount of alcohol contained in wine, but also by glycerin. It is what professionals in the field call "the weight of wine". It is an important element, especially when choosing the dishes with which a particular wine can be combined. For example, a robust wine goes with food of the same category;

• Acidity of wine

  – the compound giving the wine freshness. Without this element, the wine would be flat and sour;

• Wine tannin

  – is the slightly bitter taste you feel and is given by the shell of the grapes. It is essential for a complete wine, especially in the red varieties. The taste can also have different notes: astringent, hard, dry and fine;

• Sweetness of wine

  – comes from the flavour of the fruit and the sugar left behind in fermentation. Dry wines lack sweet taste;

• How to recognize a young wine

  – a young wine is recognized by colour and flavours. In white wines the color is light and intense, from greenish-white to pale yellow, and in red wines the color is dark and intense, from dark red to indigo. At both the color is strongly translucent. At the same time, in young wines, the primary flavors are the ones that predominate. Strong notes, floral, grassy, fruity or mineral. Looked obliquely, in a glass, against a white background, the wine has a thin white ring/edge and an intense color towards the center. Rose wines are difficult to assess by colour, the most certain criterion being the bouquet, which must be intense, supported by the presence of primary flavors, but also a sufficient acidity to give the sensation of freshness;

• How to recognize a wine in the ageing phase

  – in these wines the colour becomes less translucent. In white wines the color evolves from bright yellow tones to honey yellow tones. Red wines open to color and brown tones appear. At the same time, the primary flavors become less pronounced. Instead, tertiary flavours are better highlighted: very ripe fruits, seeds, fermented dairy, spices, tobacco, leather, wood, dried leaves, mushrooms, etc.

The appearance of wine, part of the tasting and evaluation of a wine

The quality of the wine shall also be assessed according to the characteristics related to its appearance. Here's what you need to know:

• How to look at the wine. Color of wine

  – the color will tell you everything you need to know about the wine assortment, its age or the type of soil in which the vine is planted. A quality wine is clear, with no fine particles in suspension. To assess this quality, point the glass at the light. To observe the reflections and intensity of the color, put a sheet of white paper behind the glass. A white wine becomes golden by ageing, while red wine opens to colour;

• The limpidity of wine

  – can be seen in the light. A perfect wine will have a clarity with crystalline gloss. A shiny wine will not have any particulate matter, while a clear one is clear, but without a special sheen. A wine with particulate matter is opalescent. A cloudy wine is not at all transparent and also has larger particulate matter;

• How to identify a wine at the second fermentation

  – we are talking here about wines that are not sparkling or frothy. The second fermentation takes place in the glass, most often due to temperature variations. Sometimes the wine has a yeast smell and is easy to identify, because it has small fine bubbles, which should not exist.

Order of wine tasting

To truly feel the bouquet of each wine, you need to keep in mind a few essential rules:

• White wine before red wine – red wine has a much stronger aroma, which will ruin the taste of any white wine;
• Dry wine before sweet wine – the sweetness of sweet wine will cause acidity in dry wine;
• Easier wine before the most corpulent – it is much more difficult to feel the taste of a Pinot Noir after a Cabernet;
• Young wine before the old one – old wine has several shades, so it can influence the tasting of a younger wine;
• Anything before fortified wine – has a large amount of alcohol, which can "paralyze" including the sense of smell.

Wine tasting accessories

Any sommelier at the beginning of the road or any wine lover needs the following accessories for wine tasting:

• A set of special glasses – for all types of wine;
• A professional corkscrew – with which to quickly open any bottle;
• A wine basket – are made of wicker, wood or metal. It allows the wine to be transported in a slightly sloping position, which prevents the wine from stirring;
• Carafe for decanting – is very useful for the ventilation of the wine, which intensifies the aromas and reduces the hardness and bitterness of the tannin, forming a rich bouquet;
• Thermometer – for serving wine at the right temperature;
• Stopper plugs – close the bottle so as not to let the wine oxidize. This can also be used for later service;
• Frapiera – is the one that will keep white, pink and sparkling wines at a constant temperature during the meal;
• Wine trolley – used when available wines are presented.