Human taste buds are distributed on the surface of the tongue, sweet taste buds are distributed on the tip of the tongue, bitter taste buds are distributed near the throat, and sour taste buds are distributed on both sides of the tongue, so when we taste a good wine, we should roll our tongue into a circle so that we can avoid the sour taste on both sides and let the wine hover between the sweet and bitter taste. Many people ask why we should use a special wine glass for wine tasting. Today’s post is about learning the conventions of wine tasting and discovering the secrets that wine contains, and learning to taste wine properly in order to enjoy it.
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When you get a wine, don’t be too busy shaking the glass or tasting it. First look at the appearance of the wine.
Tilt the glass at 45°, with the base facing you and your mouth facing out. It is best to place a piece of white paper underneath the glass to observe. In this step, we will focus on color, clarity and luster.
1) Color
The color of a wine includes hue and chroma, i.e. the temperature and depth of the color. Observe the color of the wine’s liquid rim to infer the vintage and maturity of the wine.
The colors of white wines are: near colorless, light yellow, straw yellow, yellow-green, dark yellow, golden yellow, red-golden yellow, amber yellow, and dark amber. Fresh white wines are usually lighter in color and gradually darken in storage due to the oxidation of polyphenols to quinones in white wines, which polymerize to form yellow-brown macromolecules.
Red wines are black-red, purple-red, rosé, ruby-red, and then have new degree adverbs, such as dark, light, pale, and thick. Fresh white wines are usually darker in color, with a purple tint, and gradually lighten during storage. This is caused by the polymerization of anthocyanins and the oxidation of other polyphenols in red wines, which causes the color to turn yellow.
2) Clarity
A good wine should be clear and transparent. If a white wine is cloudy, it should be noted that this is usually caused by microbial disease, enzymatic deterioration or metallic deterioration, and will reduce the quality of the wine. Here we need to distinguish between two concepts: turbidity and sedimentation. Sedimentation is usually the precipitation of pigments or tartar in the wine and does not usually affect the quality of the wine.
3) Luster
The level of a healthy wine should have a luster. If the level is dark, the wine is said to have a “loss of luster”. If the surface of the liquid is evenly distributed with fine dust, it may be infected with microbial diseases. If there is iridescence on the surface of the liquid, it is due to the oxidation of pigment substances by the action of enzymes. If the liquid level has a blue luster, there is a possibility of metal deterioration.
4) Liquidity and alcohol tearing
Tilt or shake the glass so that the wine is evenly distributed on the inner walls of the glass. After resting, a colorless column of wine can be observed on the inner wall of the glass, i.e. the “hanging” phenomenon. Usually, we call this column “tears” or “feet”, which is caused by alcohol, glycerin and reducing sugar. The thinner the liquor, the denser the distribution and the slower the rate of descent, the better the quality of the liquor, commonly known as “thin, dense and slow”.
5) Bubbling
Sparkling is the characteristic of bubbles in wine. Generally speaking, a wine without carbon dioxide gas is called a still wine. If a wine has bubbles or foam, it has too much carbon dioxide in the wine.
Sparkling is one of the most important indicators of the quality of sparkling wine. Similarly, “fine, dense and slow” is used to describe the sparkling characteristics of a good sparkling wine, i.e. fine, dense, slow to rise and long in duration.
Aromas
Smelling is the second step in wine tasting. Through the nose, you can sense the differences between wines and identify any flaws in the wine.
1) Static Aromas
Take a glass of wine and, after observing the appearance of the wine, tilt the glass, put your nostrils close to the edge of the glass, inhale and smell.
At this point, the aroma is very light, as only the most diffuse part of the aroma is present.
2) Shake the glass and smell the aroma
Place the glass on the table or empty it. Shake it and smell it immediately. Shake and smell again. In the process of shaking the glass, the aroma can fully contact with the oxygen, thus promoting the release of the aroma. After shaking the glass, the inside of the glass is moistened by the wine and the upper part is filled with volatile substances. The aromas are gradually released through the interactive rotation of the glass and the still glass. Vigorous shaking will release unpleasant or flawed aromas from the wine.
3) There are many different postures and methods of smelling a wine, and you can choose according to your personal habits
There are two postures for sniffing
○ 1 Tilting the glass, with the nostrils close to the inside of the lower rim of the glass, near the surface of the wine, you can smell the strong wine.
○ 2 Tilting the glass, with the nostrils close to the upper edge of the glass, you can smell a relatively light, elegant and delicate scent.
There are three ways to smell a wine.
○ 1 A short, clean inhalation through the nose, which is a way to feel or identify defects in the wine in a short period of time, such as excessive sulfur dioxide.
o 2 A long, deep inhalation can give a strong sense of the initial scent, but excessive use of this method can lead to frustration.
o 3 Short, mild aromas usually make the aromas fade, but this is the most comfortable way.
Sometimes you may smell for a long time and find that you can’t smell it anymore, which means you are tired of the smell and need to give your nose a rest. Just take a breath of fresh air and relax.
4) Pay attention to the types of wine aromas during the sniffing process
Wine aromas can be classified as Type I, Type II and Type III aromas.
The first type of aroma, also known as varietal aroma, is the aroma of the grape fruit itself, such as rose, cherry, passion fruit, black currant, and green pepper.
The second type of aroma, also known as fermentation aroma, is the aroma formed during the fermentation process of the wine, which is mainly the mellow aroma of the wine.
The third aroma, also known as aging aroma, is the aroma formed during the aging process of the wine, such as licorice, pepper, butter, and smoke from the oak barrels.
Different types of aromas are distributed differently in the glass, and different types of wines have different ratios of the three types of aromas. If you stand still and shake the glass repeatedly, you will find different aromas.
The product
The tasting process is often the most important. You can tell if a wine is good by tasting it. We should pay attention to the sensation of the mouth, the layering of flavors in the mouth and the persistence of the aftertaste.
Lift the glass and slowly bring the wine into the mouth, so that the wine is evenly distributed on the surface of the tongue, then slowly stir the wine with the tongue, control the wine in front of the mouth, slightly open the mouth in the shape of an “O” and gently inhale inward to promote the aroma of the wine to be perceived through the nasopharyngeal channel, swallow the wine after 15-20 seconds and feel the wine Swallow the wine after 15-20 seconds and feel the aftertaste of the wine in your mouth, i.e. the aroma in your mouth.
Note: Do not drink too much or too little wine at a time, about 6-10 ml. Too much will interfere with the mixing of the wine on your tongue, and too little will be diluted by the saliva in your mouth, so you will not be able to fully taste the wine. In addition, the retention time of the wine in the mouth can be adjusted according to the quality of the wine or personal habits.
If you compare wine to a house, then acid is the reinforcement of white wine and astringency is the reinforcement of red wine, which forms the skeleton of the house and is an important factor to support wine storage. It is not enough to have only rebar, but concrete is needed to strengthen the house and make it strong. This is the sweetness of the wine.
In white wines, the sweetness from the alcohol, sugar and glycerin should be balanced with the acidity from the organic acids. In red wines, the sweetness from the alcohol, sugar and glycerin should be balanced with the acidity from the organic acids and the bitterness from the tannins. This way, the flavors are rich and full, blending together without hiding.
A good wine (in the case of wine) should look like this: ruby red, clear, transparent, glossy, with cassis, plums, toast, cream?
