
… and explaining the etiquette
Guest Blog Post by Carlene Wilson
People often tell me they know nothing about wine. Or that all they can think about when they taste a wine is if they like it or not. Or that it tastes of grapes!
Wine tasting can seem like an intimidating experience designed for those with expert knowledge – but be assured – it’s not! Everyone has tastebuds and everyone can recognise flavours. Most importantly, everyone knows if they enjoy a flavour combination or not – and in the end, that’s what matters most.
The flavours in wine, like in any other food or beverage, will be distinctive or not, and pleasant or not, depending on your own personal thoughts, feelings and taste.
If you’ve ever attended a professional wine tasting then you’ll know that people who taste wines for a living go through an elaborate series of what can look like rituals, to understand what they have in their glass.
It starts with examining the colour – most often people tip the glass sideways and hold over a white surface. They are looking for a definition of the colour and in particular are looking to see if the wine is a little brown or the rim is very clear – the wine could be old or oxidised.
Swirling comes next – moving the glass so that the wine swirls round it. The aim here is to introduce oxygen – effectively “waking up” the wine and allowing the aroma and flavour to be released.
Then the sniffing – looking for the aromas but also for any obvious faults. Smell is an essential part of taste – and if you don’t believe me, hold your nose and try eating something! So understanding the aroma in the wine and releasing it, is important.
Then, the tasting. Professional tasters will take a mouthful and then proceed to what is sometimes called “the washing machine” – an action of sucking in air and simultaneously agitating the wine around ones mouth. It looks and sounds fairly ridiculous – and can result is some messy accidents – but does actually help both aerate the wine and also taste it in all parts of the mouth.
And then, the weirdest of all – the spit. Most wineries and all professional tastings provide spitoons – and the truth is, if you’re going to taste fifty or a hundred wines in a day – you’ll need one! Practiced professions release a neat stream into the spitoon, which one generally holds close to ones mouth for the process.
The question is – how much of this is useful for the casual wine taster. Trying to find a new wine to enjoy or just wanting to learn a bit more about what’s out there.
I’d suggest that looking at the colour of your wine in the glass is interesting – once you start thinking about it, you’ll notice wines are very different in colour and this can be an indication of the flavour. Swirling that glass? – a definite yes! Almost all wine is improved by getting some air into it. In fact decanting your wine, red and white, will almost always improve the flavour and how much you enjoy it. If you keep swirling, and don’t drink all the wine at once, you’ll also notice changes over time – even in five minutes.
What about the washing machine? I’d suggest that while moving the wine round your mouth will give you a greater sense of the complexity of the flavour. On the whole, however, while essential for professionals, the performance probably isn’t necessary for a casual tasting.
To spit or not? Wine definitely does not have to be swallowed for you to fully appreciate the taste. In fact if you are tasting a lot of wines to be swallowing them all will mean your ability to taste decreases quickly. So if you are driving or just don’t want to drink too much, definitely consider spitting (some people prefer to bring their own lidded cups for the purpose). But do practice first – red wine dribbles down your front or over your neighbour would be a definite faux pas. That said, tasting samples are usually only 30ml of wine – so five samples is equivalent to about one standard glass of wine.
Think about the wine as you are tasting it. Think about what food it would go with. Ask questions. Most of all, relax and enjoy the experience.