Last week’s TTT&T discussed the mechanics of tasting, but this week’s is more about the mental part of what to do as you swirl, sip, swish, and swallow (or spit). So, to finish out the tips on “how to taste” wine, I want to emphasize that wine tasting is all about repetition. If you’re new to tasting, don’t be afraid to swirl, sip, and swish over and over again until you feel that you have gotten as much as you can from the tasting experience. It may be awkward at first, but the more you practice following a tasting routine, the easier it will become, so don’t feel rushed and don’t feel silly.

As you go through the process of swirling, sipping, swishing, and swallowing, remember that the flavors you taste will be similar to the aromas discussed in previous TTT&Ts—white or red wines, oaked or unoaked wines, flawed wines, etc. The key is being able to identify one of these flavors and then move on to the next one.

One of my WSET instructors equated wine tasting to the scene in the 2002 20th Century Fox movie Minority Report when Tom Cruise looks at a document, puts his hands on the screen once he’s processed the picture, and then moves the information aside to clear the way for the next document. That is exactly what I do when identifying tastes in wine. For example, if I swirl, sip, and swish (inhaling through my mouth and exhaling through my nose before swallowing) to discover that green pepper flavors dominate a Cabernet Sauvignon. Once I’ve identified the green pepper, I take that flavor, think about it, enjoy it, and then file it away in my mind, so that I can focus on another flavor when I take the next sip. Continuing to focus on the green peppers, no matter how intense the flavors may be, takes away from finding other flavors that are just as important, even if those flavors may be more subtle.

With that, I think we’ve covered the basics of tasting wine, so future TTT&Ts will be more about tips than technique, unless there are questions about technique that come up.

Cheers!

Since there are number of new A Glass After Work readers (welcome!), I want to give a little re-introduction to Tuesday’s Tasting Tips & Techniques. I introduced TTT&T in April after a reader asked me how she could better understand wine without taking a class. The request resonated with what I’d heard from other readers, since many of them enjoy wine, but are not experts. At the time, I was tackling the first of my WSET courses, so it was also an opportunity for me to put what I was learning into practice. With that, TTT&T was born.

Up until now, TTT&T posts have been about what to look for in a wine’s appearance and in how the wine smells. Today, though, we’re taking the next big step… it’s finally time to taste the wine! So, take your glass, give it a good swirl, and take a generous sip…but don’t swallow. Instead, move the wine around your mouth, letting it flow over every part of your tongue (front, back, sides, middle, etc), as well as over your gums, through your teeth, and onto the roof of your mouth. You don’t have to do a hard swish as if you were using mouthwash (although you can if that’s your style), but you do want to make sure that your whole mouth is exposed to the wine.

Recent research indicates that the classic tongue tasting map is an inaccurate oversimplification of how humans taste, but there is a place for the traditional taste characteristics—saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and savoriness—when tasting wine tasting. These aspects provide a good framework for thinking about wine, even if those characteristics aren’t associated with a specific area of the tongue, and letting the wine swirl around in your mouth will help you identify those elements of this framework.

When you’re finished swishing, but before you swallow the wine, move it to the back of your mouth, draw in a deep breath to help aerate the wine, close your mouth, and breathe out your nose. Your mouth should be filled with flavors and aromas, giving you your first opportunity to really taste the wine. When you’re ready, swallow the wine. I will say that while you’re breathing in through your mouth, there may be a sucking or a gurgling sound, but don’t be self-conscious. You’re giving the wine some oxygen to help bring out the flavors (just like when you swirl the wine glass), which is key to the tasting experience.

The next TTT&T will be address flavors, but this one is more about overall impressions. In order to pull these impressions together, ask yourself some questions:

Do you feel a pull your gums? The strength of that pull (the astringency) can give you information about the level of tannins in the wine—the more pull, the more tannins. Tannins can also contribute to the bitterness of a wine. Obviously, there is a lot more to understanding the intricacy of tannins and their impact on how a wine tastes, but for me, thinking about the “gum pull” was the easiest way to begin. If you’re looking for more detail, I recommend visiting The Wine Anorak. There is a detailed, but easy to understand explanation by Jamie Goode.

Do you feel a slight tingling sensation in your mouth? As one of my WSET instructors often asked, does the wine make you want to cluck your tongue off the roof of your mouth or make you want to pull your lips back from your teeth? These questions often deal with the acidity level of the wine. A crisp, fresh taste and/or the desire to cluck your tongue often indicates a higher level of acidity. If the wine actually tastes creates a strong a physical reaction or is sour tasting that probably means the acidity is very high, maybe even too high. On the other hand, if the wine is bland or flat, that can be an indication of the acidity being low, maybe even too low.

Common Acidity-Related Descriptors for in Wine
Crisp
Fresh
Flabby
Flat
Green
Tart
Sharp
Soft

How does the wine feel in your mouth—watery, thick? Descriptions for whether or not a wine is light-, medium-, or full-bodied are among the easiest to identify. However, how the body of the wine interacts with the wine’s other qualities—the acidity, the tannins, the sweetness, the alcohol, etc.—can make all the different between an “eh” wine and a fabulous wine.

When the wine’s taste framework combines harmoniously, you’re tasting a well-balanced wine. If one element dominates, it can throw off the balance and change the tasting experience. That said, having an out-of-balance wine might not indicate a flaw, but rather a sign of age (higher tannins can indicate youth, but aging potential, in a red wine), a character of the grape (certain grapes when grown in certain climates are known for high/low acidity), or an attempt to meet the demand created by popular tastes.

The key in all of this is to find an easy, accessible way to start identifying different aspects of taste. Once you can pick out which elements you enjoy and which ones you don’t, you can better explain your preferences and better tailor your wine purchases.

Cheers!

We’re ready to start tasting! While next week’s post will start exploring how to taste, this week’s TTT&T is short and sweet. Here are three tips to make for a more enjoyable and accurate tasting experience:

1—Be careful what you put in our mouth. Similar to drinking orange juice right after brushing your teeth, eating certain foods, sucking on mints, and cleaning your teeth/mouth can have a significant impact on your wine tasting experience. Don’t get me wrong…food and wine are meant to go together, but when you taste a wine for the first time, try doing it before you eat your garlic-laced pizza, your cream-soaked herrings, or your onion-laden chip dip. Those flavors will stay in your mouth and alter what you’re tasting.

2—Taste the wine before you grab a butt. This works from both the liquid courage and the smoking angle. Seriously, those of you who smoke probably already know this, but just as with any other food or drink, cigarettes can change the way things taste. Therefore, make sure you give the wine a chance before you grab your ciggy, otherwise, you might miss the true flavors of the wine.

3—Use cologne/perfume sparingly. Overlooking the fact that the person sitting next to you will be thankful that you didn’t bath in your cologne/perfume, if you’re planning to taste wine, it’s a good idea to leave the cologne/perfume at home. Most of the tasting experience is actually done using your nose, so if you’re wearing cologne/perfume, the scents might mix with the aromas/flavors of the wine. This ultimately might cause confusion as you try to differentiate between the smell of the cologne/perfume and the smell/taste of the wine.

Aging a wine in oak (dust, chips, staves, barrels, etc.) is a technique used my many winemakers to create certain aromas/flavors and tannins/mouth-feel in the wine. Different types of wood from different forests around the world add different characteristics of varying strength, so the type of wood the winemaker chooses is particularly important. In an attempt to skim the surface of what results when a wine is oak-aged, it’s important to know a little about the most common types of wood used to age wine—American Oak and French Oak.

In the most simplistic terms, American Oak creates intense flavors/aromas in wine, while subtly changing the mouth-feel. It gives both red and white wines strong vanilla aromas/flavors and usually adds a sweet character, which is different than making it a sweet wine. French Oak, on the other hand, changes the mouth-feel of the wine, while having a more nuanced effect on the aromas/flavors. The French Oak is particularly common in red wine making, as that is where tannins are most important. While tannins will be part of a future TTT&T, for the moment, think of them as the astringent, pulling sensation on your gums.

In terms of tasting oaked and unoaked wine, I think the best side-by-side comparison is a California Chardonnay and a Chablis. California Chardonnays are often aged in American Oak, while Chablis are not aged in oak at all. Red wine comparisons can be a little trickier, but for a French Oak versus American Oak comparison, I recommend tasting a Northern Rhône red wine (Syrah/Shiraz grapes and French oak) and an Australian Shiraz (Syrah/Shiraz grapes and American Oak).

A couple of tips to remember—
First, butter or buttery popcorn flavors in wine aren’t from oak-aging, but rather from malolactic fermentation. Some people confuse the aromas/flavors because they’re associated with California Chardonnays, which have heavy vanilla (an oak characteristic) and butter (a malolactic fermentation characteristic) aromas/flavors, but the aromas/flavors occur because of different wine making techniques.

Second, don’t be a grape hater. It’s easy to confuse disliking a grape variety with disliking a wine making technique. If you aren’t enjoying the aromas/flavors of a particular wine, ask yourself if the problems are related to oak-aging. Is it the vanilla? The smoke? The coconut? If so, try a wine that is made with a different type of oak or with no oak at all. You would be surprised at the number of people who tell me that they dislike Chardonnay, but then love un-oaked Chardonnay when I recommend that they tried it. So, don’t be afraid to experiment…you might be surprised by what you enjoy.

Common Oak-related Aromas/Flavors in Wine
Cedar
Cloves
Coconut
Hazelnut
Medicinal
Smoke
Tobacco
Vanilla

When determining if a wine is flawed or not, there are certain smells that typically signal a problem. The level of problem really is dependent upon the drinker him/herself, as burnt match aromas might be ok with me, while band-aid aromas might be ok with you. However, by at least knowing what to look for, you can have a better idea of whether the wine is “just not your style” or if it’s actually flawed. If it’s flawed, definitely bring it back to the wine store or let your server know, if you’re in a restaurant. If it’s just not your style, well, you know not to pick that wine the next time.

As you get ready to smell the wine, remember that you don’t actually have to smell the cork. You may not be able to tell anything from the cork, and anything that you can discern can be discovered from sniffing the wine itself. So, grab your glass and swirl your wine. Don’t be afraid to put your nose into the glass, and then take a nice, deep breath through your nose.

Do you smell wet cardboard or a musty basement?
This is one of the more common types of wine flaws, and it’s often referred to as cork taint or as being corked. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done to “uncork” a corked wine. Having pieces of cork floating in your wine is not cork taint. Can it be unpleasant? Definitely, but it’s a flaw of the person who opened the wine, not of the wine itself.

Do you smell burnt match, rubber, cabbage, garlic, onion, or rotten egg aromas?
This type of flaw is also one of the more common flaws, and often indicates some type of sulfur-related issue. Sometimes the aromas can be removed by aerating the wine, so definitely don’t give up on it immediately. Try swirling the wine around in your glass or letting it breathe a little to see if the unpleasant aromas dissipate, and if so, decanting the wine will help you deal with the problem. I’ve also read that putting a penny in the wine can help, but I haven’t tried that trick. I usually just decant the wine.

Do you smell barnyard, band-aid, metallic, or rancid aromas?
If you do, and you find these aromas unpleasant, there is little that can be done to remove them and make it more palatable. The wine probably has a brettanomyces problem, commonly referred to as Brett. Brettanomyces is a yeast that in small doses can actually add nice aromas to a wine, but in large doses will spoil it.

Do you smell vinegar, nail polish remover, mouse-y, wet wool, or spoiled cheese aromas?
These smells indicate various bacteria problems, and there is little that can be done to remove those characteristics from the wine.

If you only smell the yummy, goodness of wine, then you have nothing to worry about, or at least no flaws to worry about. Drink up! Cheers!

Smelling  wine can sometimes be the hardest part for people who are just getting into wine because the immediate reaction is often that the wine doesn’t smell like anything…except wine.  Trust me, I completely understand the feeling.  However, often, there are other characteristics, and you can teach yourself to identify those scents, even if it’s just a handful, fairly easily.  It’s all about training your sensory perception. 

For me, training my sense of smell is a constant work in progress.  My kitchen counter is filled with spice bottles that I smell at least twice a day (pic to come).  I will occasionally ask Hubby to blind test me, which always is a lot of fun, even though I sometimes confuse my smells.  However, by practicing, I’ve really been to able improve sense of smell, which has translated into a drastic change in my ability to differentiate smells in wine. 

If you’re interested in seeing if you can do this, or even if you already can pick out smells but could improve your skills (can you tell the difference between anise and fennel or do you just smell licorice?), start small.  Pick something that you often read about being in wine—cherries, vanilla, limes, butter—but haven’t been able to identify on your own.  Smell it or eat it…and do this slowly and deliberately.  I close my eyes because it helps me focus.  The key is to really think about what you’re smelling.  If possible, do this twice a day for a week.  Really familiarize yourself with the smell. 

After you’ve committed the smell to memory, grab a glass of wine that you saw “smelled like cherries” or  “bursts with lime,” whatever smell it is that you’ve been studying.   Don’t pick something that only “hints” of the smell, unless you’re ready for a big challenge.  Once you have your wine, swirl your glass, place your nose close to the glass (or sometimes even inside the glass), and inhale deeply.  Do you recognize the smell you were working with?  If not, swirl your wine and try again.  Still not picking out the smell?  Try taking a whiff of whatever you’ve been practicing with.  Let you nose clear for a moment.  Then, sniff the wine.  What about now?  If not, don’t despair.  Just keep trying.  This is all about practice.    

Next week, I’ll actually talk about what you can tell from wine aromas, so hang tight and in the meantime, keep sniffing.

So, now that clarity and color have been explored, it’s time to start swirling!   Swirling is important because it helps aerate the wine, which means that more oxygen touches it.  This will be particularly important when we get to smelling and tasting, although, for the purpose of examining the wine’s legs, swirling is done to get wine on the walls of the glass.

The first thing to remember before you swirl is that you don’t want to do this with a full glass of wine—your glass should be about 1/3 full.  Keep your glass upright, and hold it by the stem.  Then, carefully move your wrist in a circular motion.  I go counter-clockwise, but everyone is different.  If you’re having trouble, put your glass down on the table, hold the glass where the stem and base meet, and move your wrist in a circular motion.   You’re swirling!

By swirling the wine, you should have gotten some on the sides of the glass.  Hold the glass at eye level and look to see if there is wine streaking down.  It may take a moment or two for the streaks to appear, and not all wine has them, but many have at least some faint ones.  These streaks are commonly referred to as “legs” or “tears.”  

Because alcohol evaporates faster than water, legs form as the alcohol evaporates and the water concentration of the wine increases.  The change in surface tension that happens due to the evaporation then causes the wine to pull together into droplets.  Gravity then causes the drops to steak down the sides of the glass.  The technical term for this occurrence is the Marangoni Effect. 

Now that you identified whether or not the wine has legs, what do you know about the wine?  Admittedly, there is some debate as to whether the legs can tell you anything, but in general, the more alcohol the wine has, the more visible the legs.  Is it a good thing if your wine is “dripping with legs?” What if you don’t see any legs at all?  I don’t think either scenario is good or bad.  Instead, making observations about a wine’s legs is examining the clues the wine gives about its character. For me, it’s like fitting together the pieces of puzzle, and my observations about a wine’s legs are is the last piece to put into place before moving on to the really fun part—the smelling and tasting.

**Hint** If you’ve never done looked for legs before, I recommend trying it with a red wine firs because it will be easier.  That’s not to say white wine doesn’t have legs, as it definitely does, but for your first attempt, it might be easier to work with something that has a little more color.

Once I determine the clarity of my wine, the next thing I look at is the color.  On the surface, color probably seems to describe—red, white, or rosé, right?  Well, of course, but there’s more to it, as the nuances in color can give information on the wine’s grape variety, the growing conditions of those grapes, the vinification techniques used on those grapes, or the amount of aging the wine has done.  The important thing to keep in mind with color is that there are really two things to look for—the depth and the hue.

While it’s impossible for me to cover everything color can tell about wine in several paragraphs, there are overarching generalizations that can be made.  In terms of aging, as both the red and white wines age, the depth and the hue change.  Often, as red wines age, they fade in color, and the wine might transition from a deep purple to a lighter brickish-type color.  White wines, on the other hand, generally gain depth, going from a white or light yellow to a deeper amber color. 

Intensity is easier to describe than color.  For a starting point, I use the descriptors outline by the WSET—water-white, pale, medium, deep, and opaque—as it helps me study.  However, there is no strict standard, and often wines will fall somewhere in between, so you just have to use your best judgment.

With all this in mind, I don’t want you to be fooled that intensity is an automatic indicator of age.  Some wines have a tendency to be darker colors, while others are naturally lighter colored.  Some of this difference is due to the type of grape used to make the wine.  For example, a cabernet sauvignon will likely be a darker color (purple or deep ruby) than a pinot noir (medium ruby).  Some of the color difference is also due to the climates in which the grapes are grown (hotter climates often = darker wines) and some is due to the fact that the grapes that are used to make the wine have those same color variances in their non-vinified form. 

Color depth can also give insight into how a wine has aged.  A sauvignon blanc is unlikely to be aged in oak, for example, so it is more likely to be a lighter in color (greenish-lemon) than a chardonnay (lemony-gold) that has spent time aging in oak. 

When trying to determine the color, I begin with the WSET color palette (surprise!). The general descriptors are:
Reds—purple, ruby, garnet, or tawny.
Whites—lemon-green, lemon, gold, amber, or brown
Rosé— pink, salmon, orange, or onionskin

My rule of thumb for picking colors is to look for color flecks that enhance or change the red, white, or rosé base.  In practice, what this means is that if I determine a wine is purple, I’ve found blue flecks.  In a deep or opaque wine, the blue character creates an inky-looking purple that you can’t miss.  In a pale or medium purple wine, though, the blue is a lighter tint that is particularly noticeable along the rim, which is where the top of the liquid meets the glass.  Garnet works in a similar way. With a garnet colored wine, the orangey tones will become evident in the rim before the whole core transitions to a reddish-orange color.  By process of elimination, if you don’t see blue or orange in your red wine, the color is probably ruby.

When thinking about color, it’s helpful to use fixed objects as reference.  For example, with white wines, when you think of “lemon,” don’t think of lemon peel, since how many wines are that bright, almost neon yellow?  Instead, make the association with the inside of a cut lemon, think of the color of the juice pods.  If you’re looking for a gold reference, simply think of jewelry—a watch or a wedding band. 

Through all of this, remember that holding your glass at an angle can make a huge difference.  Often the nuances in color are evident on the rim of the wine. Most importantly, though, enjoy looking at the color!  It can be a lot of fun and create a nice anticipation.