Wine Tasting Tips

Since I'm really a "newbie" to wine, I've never learned the fine art of tasting wine. Basically, after tasting the wine, I say either "I'd spend my money on that" or "that sucks." Nothing about nose, or legs, or anything else. I'm sure most American's do what I do. So to help educate me and others about the fine art of winetasting, I pulled this from Virginia Wines.

Wine Tasting Tips

Color and Smell can tell you a lot about a wine before you taste it. Start by holding your tasting glass up to the light to observe its color and its texture (or weight).

Next swirl the wine around in your tasting glass. Observe the streaks of wine (legs) as they roll down the side of the glass. The legs can help you determine the body of the wine. The swirling will also allow the aroma of the wine to be released into the air. Stick your nose down into the glass to detect the fragrances being released.

Slowly and carefully taste the wine making sure it comes in contact with each part of your tongue (the tip, the sides, the center and the back). Each part of your tongue specializes in a different taste sensation so it is important to slurp the wine around in your mouth so that each part of your tongue gets a turn to taste.

It's okay to dump wine after you have tasted it. All tasting rooms have dump buckets and if you don't see one, ask the tasting room to dump it for you.

Spit after you have tasted. Especially if you are planning to visit several wineries. That will help you keep your senses.

There are no right or wrong descriptions of how a wine tastes or smells. Everyone's palate is as unique and different as each individual.