You are probably happy to drink a wine without thinking about it too much. But, taking a few moments to think about the wine in your glass can actually help increase your enjoyment, whilst learning a little more. Just follow these few simple steps below:
- Fill your wine glass about a third full. If you have a tulip shaped glass with quite a large bowl that will really help.
- Look at the colour – holding your glass against a white background can help with this. Perhaps surprisingly, the colour can tell you quite a bit about the wine before you taste it – if it’s a deep purple colour then it’s likely a fairly young and robust wine. A lighter colour with more transparency or with dark ruby tints is usually a lighter wine, often with bottle age.
- Gently move your glass to swirl the wine around as this releases the aromas and then pop your nose in, take a good sniff and see what you pick up. There are no right or wrong words to describe a wine, just say what you find.
- Take a sip but leave it a few moments before swallowing, as this will help you to consider the wine a little more. You can also swirl the wine around your mouth and suck in a little air to pronounce the flavours (this is the slurping sound you often hear!)
- When tasting I like to make a few notes about what I find, this can help you to build up an idea of the style of wine you like best.
You know what they say… practice makes perfect, so happy tasting!
