Wine Tasting 101, 2, 3, 4, … Thoughts on Tasting Wine

Introduction to Wine Tasting

‍

It is interesting to think about “tasting” as analogous in many ways to “enjoying” art.  It involves making selections, evoking the senses, and forming opinions or preferences which most appeal to our qualitative sensibilities.  What looks good?  What has technical merit?  What would best suit our home and entertainment lifestyle as well as be appreciated by others?  Individuals have a multitude of different experiences, education, passions, and interests which may make each “tasting” experience appreciated differently from another.   No person can tell another what is absolutely good, better or best as it depends on each individual’s preference criteria.  

The Art of Wine Tasting

‍

Similar to  art appreciation, there are generally accepted quality standards - “consensus of the many” - that influence us and help us understand what constitutes good, better and best.  We can tell the difference between a Picasso and a paint by number and while we may not always appreciate the Picasso style we can recognize that it is artistic genius.  Similarly we can generally appreciate the quality of a great wine when we taste it, the richness of colour, smooth texture, perfumed aroma, intensity of flavour along with the harmonious balance of all of the above.

Traditional Wine Tasting

‍

We typically think of a traditional tasting as having numerous wine glasses lined before us and a host sequentially pouring a small quantity of each bottle for us in a prescribed order.  This is a classic version of “tasting” at a home party or winery tasting room.  View the colour of the wine and interpret what it is telling us.  Swirl the glass and sniff to elicit the bouquet and prime your palate more fully.  Finally taste the wine experiencing the texture and flavour elements.  The tasting chronology will generally follow an accepted order - first from white to rose to red, from dry to sweet, from youth to aged wines.  The objective is to progressively stimulate all of the senses of sight, smell, and especially taste.
‍
‍

Different Ways to Taste Wine

‍

When tasting multiple wines, don’t forget to spit.  While it may seem awkward at first for some, it is not offensive to the host or insulting to the winery or winemaker.  However I must admit that the higher the wine quality, the more difficult it is at times to spit.

Rather than the traditional tasting – here are a few anecdotal suggestions that might stimulate and broaden your thoughts towards the tasting experience.  

Dining Experience

‍

Try visiting and having dinner at a local winery.  On occasion we have had the maitre d/sommelier conduct an ad hoc tasting at our dinner table as we perused the menu and asked about the wines produced by said winery.  How fun is that?  We experienced some of the winery’s other product offerings and found some great cab franc and cab sauvignon to take home with us, not to mention we enjoyed a wonderfully paired meal.

Entertaining Guests

‍

When entertaining another couple consider opening 2 or 3 bottles at once.  This can be done with white and/or red wines, from the same winemaker or different ones, from 1 vintage to another, or with the same varietals from different terroirs or winemaking styles.  The tasting can be conducted blind or otherwise to test each other’s palate and wine knowledge.

Consider planning a tasting at your next party get together.  There are opportunities to open multiple bottles at once to taste a range of varietal styles, a range of vintages or a particular winery’s product line.  These types of tastings tend to be more educational as one determines varietal preferences, style preferences, wine making preferences, etc.  It particularly brings to mind a pinot blanc tasting we enjoyed this past summer when we tasted through 13 different pinot blancs from a wide range of regions and terroirs.

Visiting a Winery

‍

Make sure that you visit a local winery or a winery when travelling and try and experience a winery tour that offers barrel tasting.  You will likely increase your knowledge of how the wine is made and what elements contribute most stylistically.  You will learn how is the wine fermented, what vessels are preferred, how does the recipe impact the final expression of the wine.  

Bulk wine or barrel tastings are also critically important for winemakers who make decisions on aging, blending and branding their wines.  The nuances of each barrel or vessel can be mixed and matched in countless ways.

Understanding Wine's Complexity

‍

An often asked question is what factor(s) contributes most to the taste and/or quality of the wine.  The components are numerous but most wine makers will tell you that the best wines start in the vineyard and require quality fruit.  The following is a less than exhaustive list of such factors:

1. Terroir – including soil type, drainage, slope, micro climate (shade, orientation to sun), fertility, air circulation
2. Root stock
3. Vine age
4. Vine type or clone
5. Varietal type and terroir compatibility
6. Viticultural practices – too numerous to detail here
7. Climate conditions by vintage
8. Harvest timing
9. Precipitation – drought or overly wet
10. Disease pressure
11. Wine making techniques
12. Vessel selection
13. Aging

All these factors and more contribute incrementally to the taste experience and explain why there are almost an infinite number of combinations and permutations that result in each wine tasting like a one-of-a-kind, be it Picasso or paint-by-number.  Just do it!