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How-To Guide On How To Taste Wine

A beginner’s guide to wine tasting. 🍷👯‍♀️

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Tasting wine is one of the most important parts of the wine tasting process. It’s where you’ll get a sense of the wine’s aroma, flavor, and overall quality. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to taste wine when you’re wine tasting.

Start with a clean palate: Make sure your mouth is clean and free of any strong flavors, such as toothpaste or cigarettes, before you start tasting wine. Drinking water and eating a plain cracker can help to cleanse your palate.
Look at the wine: Before you taste the wine, take a moment to look at its appearance. The color, clarity, and intensity of the wine can give you important clues about its age, quality, and origin.
Smell the wine: Swirl the wine in the glass to release its aroma, then take a deep sniff. Try to identify different scents, such as fruits, spices, or flowers. Pay attention to the wine’s primary, secondary, and tertiary aroma. The primary aroma is the smell of the grape variety, secondary aroma is the smell of the winemaking process, and tertiary aroma is the smell that has developed over time.
Taste the wine: Take a small sip of the wine and let it sit in your mouth for a moment. Pay attention to the wine’s taste, texture, and finish. Try to identify different flavors, such as fruits, spices, or minerals. Notice the acidity, tannins, sweetness, and alcohol level.
Evaluate the wine: Consider the wine’s balance, complexity, and overall quality. Think about whether you enjoy the wine and whether it’s worth its price.
Spit or swallow: If you’re at a formal wine tasting, it’s usually appropriate to spit the wine out into a spittoon to avoid getting too drunk. If you’re tasting wine at home or with friends, you can swallow it.
Keep notes: Keep a journal of wine you’ve tasted, and make note of what you liked and didn’t like about each one. This will help you remember the wines you’ve tried and develop your palate over time.

Remember, tasting wine is a skill that takes practice. Don’t be afraid to try different wines and hone your palate over time. Also, always keep in mind that taste is subjective, so trust your own preferences and don’t feel pressured to like or dislike a certain type of wine. Have fun and enjoy the process of discovering new wines.