There are four general steps from starting to finishing of your wine tasting. These are the swirling, smelling, tasting and savoring. Follow us for details.
Swirling. After you poured into your glass a good temperature wine from a decanter you can start tasting your wine with swirling. Only fill up your glass about half full to allow the wine to continue to mix with oxygen as you drink. Many people like to swirl their red wine around, so this gives them the space in their glass to do this and allow the wine to mix more with oxygen before drinking. Swirling releases the ethers, esters and aldehyde that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. So it will aerates the wine and gives you a better smell in your glass.
Next step is the smelling. Good to know that some higher value wines’ bottle have to keep open before drinking to bring out typical aroma and flavor from it. Wine has around 200 different scents. But don’t forget if cheaper wines mix too long time with oxygen than it can dull flavors.
There are so many pervasive myths regarding wine smelling that we would like to set straight. The first is that all wine benefits from breathing, which is apparently false. Some reds, like a well-made Syrah/Shiraz and Italian Barolos benefit greatly from having some time to open-up. Another major myth is that wine can breathe in the bottle. Simply popping the cork will do little to allow it to breathe, since so little of the wine is able to interact with the air. Allow your wine to breathe either in a decanter or your glass. Anyway, the best way to learn what your own preferences are for styles of wine is to “memorize” the smell of the individual grape varieties.
We reached the tasting phase. As everybody you also have many taste buds in your mouth around you tongue, on the tip and back of your throat. Never swallow the wine immediately because you will loose almost all the tastes. With good technique three main tastes can be occurred in the mouth.
High tannin and alcohol create the bitterness. Higher tannin content characterizes over reds the wood aged white wines as well.
When you feel sweetness in your wines that means there are remaining residual sugar in it after the fermentation. You will feel it in the middle of your tongue. These wines should drink chilled.
Wine acidity is indicated by sour or tart. If you consume lighter red wines they have more acids.
Final step is the savoring. Do not hesitate and give you more time for savoring. Enjoy it. Feel how long the aromatic, the taste and the tactile last. It should around 10 seconds.
In the past few decades people find more and more opportunity to taste wines. Even in their home, even in company somewhere around their home, or travel to wineries. It is a great entertainment.
Finally let’s see typically what you should “find” in your glass at the following wines and here are some pairing options as well:
Cabernet Sauvignon: blackcurrants – Roasted Leg of Lamb
Merlot pairs with Beef Carpaccio for plum taste
Cherry: Pinot Noir and Seared Tuna
Syrah/Shiraz: tobacco – Duck Breast With Green Peppercorns
Zinfandel pairs with Chili Con Carne for spicy tastes
Chardonnay good with Pasta Alfredo for melon taste
Sauvignon Blanc: lime – Vegetable Risotto
Looking to find the best deal on pairings, then visit www.thefoodforwine.com to find the best advice on food and wine matchings for you.