Wine Tasting - The Basics

A lot of wine tasting relates to past experience. Remembering wines previously tasted, sensations on the palette, regional nuances, wine styles, knowing what to look for and what flavours are specific to each variety. When you are new to wine this can seem a bit daunting, and remembering all the information that is thrown your way can take the fun out of it. Often when you are tasting wine, perceptions can override senses. You are better off trusting your own instinct rather than listening to someone tell you what you should be finding in the wine. To start the journey into wine tasting you should start with wines that you like, and not be swayed by the opinions of others. Assess the wine in a very small time frame so you don’t allow your senses to over analyse the wine. Then just decide ‘yes’ you like the wine or ‘no’ you don’t like the wine. This quick decision will enable you to see the wine simply as a whole, without getting bogged down in the details of ‘why’ it tastes or smells the way it does. It’s sometimes the why which can complicate what is really a simple process. As you gain experience you can become more technical with your wine tasting, but when starting out it’s best to keep it simple. In a future post I will explore technical aspects further. In the meantime, happy tasting!