How to taste wine properly

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Good wine is like music. Unfortunately, not everyone can appreciate the taste and aroma of wine. Fortunately, you don't have to be a professional wine taster to understand wines.

We bring to your attention six rules that will help you to feel the music of wines more vividly. Plus six exercises to help you improve your tasting skills.

Rule one: body

The "body" of wine is one of its main characteristics, it is important for determining the conformity of wine to food. It is not taste or aroma. The "body" of wine is rather a feeling of how "heavy" the wine is, full-tasting.

The "weight" of a wine depends on its viscosity, density and viscosity, and these indicators, in turn, on the amount of alcohol and sugar in the wine. Remember, alcoholic drinks in the mouth feel thicker, denser than regular water. Alcohol content is the leading criterion for determining the "body" of a wine.

The easiest way to "weigh" a wine is to look at the label for the percentage of alcohol. A medium-bodied wine contains about 13.5% alcohol, therefore wines with an alcohol content of less than 13% can be considered light, and more than 14% - heavy.

"Body" is important when choosing wine for a particular dish. The taste perception of products is similar to the perception of the wine "body", therefore simple rules apply here: the lighter the dish, the lighter the wine. And vice versa: the more fatty and high-calorie food, the more tasty, that is, with a high alcohol content, the wine should be.

Exercise One: Determining the "Body" of Wine

• 4 glasses;
• 60 ml skim milk;
• 60 ml of 2% milk;
• 60 ml 3.25% milk (whole);
• 60 ml of cream.

Take alternately a sip of skim milk, then 2% milk, whole milk and finally cream into your mouth. Do not swallow right away, try to feel the structure of each product, listen to your sensations. You will notice that the skim milk is barely perceptible, while the firmness of the cream is felt immediately. It's the same with wine: the “body” of light wines with a low alcohol content is barely perceptible, while the “body” of wines with a high alcohol and sugar content, on the contrary, is dense and heavy.

Gradation of white wines by "body" (from the lightest to the heaviest):

1. Northern Italian Pinot Grigio: 2011 Tiefenbrunner;
2. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: 2011 Kim Crawford Marlborough;
3. White Burgundy: 2010 Domaine Faiveley Bourgogne Blanc;
4. Barrel-fermented Chardonnay: 2010 Rodney Strong Sonoma County.

Graduation of red wines by "body":

1. Valpolicella: 2011 Tedeschi Lucchine;
2. California Pinot Noir: 2010 Dutton Goldfield Azaya Ranch Vineyard;
3. Chianti Classico: 2009 La Maialina;
4. Zinfandel: 2010 Ridge East Bench.

Rule two: tannins

Tannins are phenolic substances found in vines, grains and grape skins. They protect plants from the harmful effects of the environment, and wine from oxidation. It is tannins that largely determine the characteristics of wine (especially red), such as taste, aroma and aging.

Tannins cause dry mouth, which can be light pleasant (harmonious wine) and hard, astringent. In this regard, it is customary to say that tannins create the texture of wine: from "hard" to "velvety".

When it comes to the combination of wine and food, highly tannic wines are well suited to meat dishes: the tanning effect of tannins "suppresses" fats, which, in turn, soften the perception of tannins. Moreover, the more fibrous structure the meat (game or beef, grilled) has, the more tart wine it requires.

Exercise Two: Determine Tannin

• 3 glasses;
• 3 bags of black tea;
• boiling water;
• stopwatch.

Pour 250 ml hot water into each mug, dip 1 tea bag into each mug and start the stopwatch. After 2 minutes, remove the tea bag from the first mug, after 4 minutes from the second, and finally, after 8 minutes from the third. Let the tea cool.

The longer you brew the tea, the stronger it is, and the stronger it is, the more astringent it feels in your mouth. Likewise with wine: the higher the concentration of tannins, the more astringent the wine.

Graduation of wines by tannins:

1. Beaujolais: 2010 Potel Aviron Côte de Brouilly;
2. California Merlot: 2009 Simi Sonoma County Merlot;
3. Bordeaux: 2010 Château Bellevue Bordeaux Supérieur.

Rule three: acidity

Acidity is one of the main features of wine, its essence. Grapes contain tartaric, malic and citric acids, in addition, other acids (lactic, acetic) are released during the wine-making process. All of them create that feeling of freshness, which is commonly called acidity.

The acidity of a wine depends on the grape variety, climate and soil where it was grown. The sweeter (more mature) the grapes, the lower the acidity level. Therefore, grapes grown in colder regions produce highly acidic wine. There are three levels of acidity in total: low, medium and high.

You can feel acidity with your tongue - taste buds located on it (especially on the sides) create a sensation of sourness, bitterness and sometimes even a slight tingling sensation. Acidity stimulates salivation and whets appetite, the main thing is to choose the right wine for dinner.

To do this, remember that, firstly, the acidity of the wine balances the fats, and secondly, it blocks the salt. Simply put, the more fatty the dish, the more acidic the wine should be, and the saltier the dish, the less acidic it feels.

Exercise Three: Determine Acidity

• 5 glasses;
• water;
• 1 orange;
• 1 grapefruit;
• 1 lemon;
• 1 lime.

Pour into the first glass of water; in the second - freshly squeezed orange juice; in the third - grapefruit; in the fourth - lemon; and fifth, lime juice. First take a sip of water, then add orange juice to a glass of water, then grapefruit juice, etc. You will see the acidity increase and eventually reach the point where it becomes too acidic. Acidity provides vigor and pungency of the wine, the refreshing properties of the wine depend on its level.

Graduation of wines by acidity:

1. Marsanne: 2011 Qupé;
2. Sauvignon Blanc: 2011 Brander Santa Ynez Valley;
3. Muscadet: 2011 Michel Delhommeau Cuvée St. Vincent.

Rule four: sweetness

Grapes contain sugar, which turns into alcohol during fermentation. When this happens completely, that is, all the sugar is converted into alcohol, the sweetness of the wine is not felt and it is called "dry", that is, unsweetened. If the sweetness is slightly present, the wine is considered "semi-dry", and if it is pronounced, it is considered "dessert".

Sweetness is the taste characteristic of wine, the first thing that we feel when taking a sip of this drink, the degree of sweetness. Besides, as already mentioned, the “body” of wine depends on sweetness.

Exercise four: determining sweetness

• a glass of water;
• 2 lemons;
• 1 cup of sugar.

Squeeze the lemon juice into the water. Stir. Then add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the glass, taking a small sip after each time. Continue until the drink is balanced in terms of sweetness and acidity. This will teach you how to measure the residual sugar level in wine and see that increased acidity can "mask" sweetness.

Gradation of wines from "dry" to "sweet":

1. Dry Riesling: 2010 Robert Weil Kiedrich Turmberg Trocken;
2. Off-dry Riesling: 2011 Hexamer Kabinett;
3. Sweet Riesling: 2010 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese.

Rule five: flavor

From the conditions of fermentation and aging, that is, what kind of grape variety, in what soil it is grown, how much sun and moisture it receives, as well as how the wine is made and stored.

It is very difficult to describe and define the aroma of wine. Perception of smells is more individual than tastes, and therefore the bouquet of the same wine can be described in different ways. But here, too, there are certain rules: you need to shake the glass slightly so that the wine “slides” along the walls in a circle and thereby mixes with the air, then bring it to your nose and inhale. Also, talk to sommeliers and wine shop assistants to build your vocabulary and describe even "very long-nosed wine."

Exercise five: defining flavor

• Chinese plum;
• mushrooms;
• bacon;
• sage;
• raspberries;
• black currant leaves;
• lime zest;
• orange flower.

The exercise must be done with your eyes closed. Ask someone to put mushrooms, raspberries, sage and other "flavorings" in front of you in random order and try to recognize each of them by smell.

Graduation of wines by aromas:

Floral (has a scent of flowers - jasmine, lily, orange and others)

1. Loire Cabernet Franc: 2011 Chais St. Laurent Chinon (sage);
2. Moscato d'Asti: 2011 Bera (orange-blossom water);
3. Australian Riesling: 2011 Rolf Binder Highness Riesling (lime zest);
4. Gewürztraminer: 2010 Lucien Albrecht Réserve (lychee);

Fruity (with a pronounced fruit aroma)

1. Zinfandel: 2010 Foxglove (raspberry);
2. California Cabernet blend: 2009 Justin Isosceles (cassis);

Savory (strong, persistent smell)

1. Red Burgundy: 2009 Pierre Morey Monthelie (mushroom);
2. Côte Rôtie: 2007 E. Guigal Brune et Blonde de Guigal (bacon);
3. German Riesling: 2011 Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Kabinett (rock);
4. Left Bank Bordeaux: 2008 Château Malartic-Lagravière (pencil shavings).

Rule six: oak

The barrick is the barrel in which the wine is aged. In accordance with this, the barrique as a process is the giving of its substances to the wine by the wood. Usually oak barrels are used, with the help of oak it is possible to regulate the taste, texture and aroma of the wine. So, wine can, like gin from a lamp, release aromas of vanilla, toasted bread, coffee, cloves, tobacco and others from specially burnt oak.

Oak wood is rather porous - the wine evaporates little by little. The oak barrique can "drink" up to 11 liters of wine.

Exercise Six: Determine Barrick Consistency

• dry breakfast (cereals or rings);
• marshmallow;
• shashlik.

Crush the flakes into dust. Soak up their scent. You will find common notes with white wines such as Chablis: 2011 Jean-Marc Brocard Domaine Sainte Claire, White Burgundy: 2010 Joseph Drouhin Meursault, and California Chardonnay: 2010 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

Then fry the meat and marshmallows on an open fire (lightly so as not to burn) - you will understand what a barrique of Sicilian Frappato: 2011 Tami, Chianti Classico: 2009 Rocca delle Macìe and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon: 2009 Groth wines is.

(via, illustrations by Julia Rothman)