The right steps for wine tasting
Look, smell, taste, and remember
1、Wine skirt
① Turbidity
If the wine is cloudy, it means that the wine may have gone bad. However, it should be noted that most of the solid precipitates that occasionally appear at the bottom of the bottle are tartaric acid, which is a normal phenomenon and not the same as turbidity in the whole wine.
② Expected concentration
The depth of color of the skirt is an important indicator of the grape variety. Burgundy’s Pinot Noir is known for its lightness, while France’s Calor’s Malbec has a long history of being said to be a “black wine”.
③Color
The color of the wine, especially the color of the disque on the line between the liquid and the glass (tilt the glass 45 degrees to see the top and bottom more clearly, that’s where the Van Gogh comes from), can tell you the age of the wine.
The color of the wine fades over time: deep purple – ruby – red brick – reddish brown
White wines thicken: almost transparent color – pale yellow-green – straw – golden yellow – amber – brown.
In addition, you can observe the hanging glass: viscous wine will stick to the walls of the glass and slowly fall down, like tears. The higher the alcohol or sugar content of the wine, the more viscous the wine is and the slower it falls (please note that hanging glasses have nothing to do with the quality of the wine).
2. Smell the aroma
The first way to smell a wine is to put your nose close to the glass when it is still and smell the static aroma. The second method is to gently shake the glass a few times to mix the wine with the air in the glass and oxidize it, releasing a more intense and clearer aroma.
①Status of Aroma
Is the aroma normal? Does it smell rotten? The turbidity that is reflected in front of you will allow you to determine whether the wine is ready to drink.
②Strength of flavor
Good wine is not afraid of the alleyway, and good wine will spill out. Therefore, the concentration of aromas is also an indicator.
③ Flavor and sweetness
When you taste wine, you should take small sips, taste carefully, and then taste more, because sometimes first impressions are not accurate and wines change over time in the glass or bottle. The sugar content of dry white and dry red is so low that I can’t taste it, but the sweetness of sweet wines is obvious.
3、Acidity
Acidity affects grape variety and vintage. It is an important indicator for blind products. For example, Sangiovese in Italy is known for its acidity, while Bordeaux wines with more rain in 2007 are usually more acidic than 2003 wines. Acidity is also an indicator of aging ability.
4. Take notes
After seeing, smelling and tasting a wine, you may have a basic judgment about it. Is it fit to drink? Or is it too early? How is the wine? What is the estimated price? All of these things need to be written down, along with notes from observation, smelling and tasting, for your tasting notebook.
If you drink the same wine in the future, or if others drink the same wine, you can compare them. Tasting wine is an interesting part of the process, seeing how different times tasted, how different people tasted, and the differences.
8. Tasting wine and paying attention to temperature
Temperature has the greatest impact on the aroma and taste of a wine. Secondly, the taste buds perceive the wine differently at different temperatures.
When the temperature is higher (16℃~18℃), the active flavor substances in the wine are more likely to be released. When tasting aromatic wines (such as complex wines or older wines), higher drinking temperatures can be used.
However, once the temperature rises above 20°C, the alcohol in the wine will evaporate strongly, showing a distinct alcoholic flavor in the aroma and affecting the balance of the wine in the mouth. Therefore, in subtropical regions, most of the time wine needs to be served on ice.
Guiding principles.
Red and pink wines are full-bodied with high tannin content at 15-18°C and medium-bodied at 12.5-15°C.
Soft and light red and pink wines 10~12℃
White wines compounded with dry white wine level 12~16℃
Light white wine 7~10℃
Sparkling wine 4.5~7℃
9、How do I keep my wine?
What if I can’t drink it all after I open the bottle?
First, don’t drink too much to avoid wastage
Insert the plug back into the refrigerator
Be careful to keep the bottle upright to reduce the contact surface between the wine and the air and to prevent the wine from touching the cork again when it is exposed to the outside environment.
When you take the wine out of the refrigerator to drink, remember to bring it back to the proper serving temperature. Although the refrigerator is cold, it is not a good place to store wine for very long.
② Vacuum storage methods usually use an evacuation valve and a vacuum stopper
Wines stored in the refrigerator under vacuum can be stored for a longer period of time. If a good vacuuming tool is chosen, it can be kept for 3-4 days. However, the degree of sealing of such tools is usually mixed and sometimes may not be as effective as corking directly back into the cork.
③ Replace the small bottle
Pour the rest of the wine into a smaller container and fill it with seals to minimize contact with air areas. Of course, it should also end up in the refrigerator.
The most convenient way to do this is to use a small mineral water bottle as such a container. Once filled, screw on the cap and drink the whole bottle at once. The method is simple, low cost and not bad for preservation.
