A wine tasting tour is a really fun way to enjoy some beautiful scenery and see the process of wine making, whilst enjoying some wonderful wines. To get the most from your wine tasting experience it's helpful if you know how to do it properly. If you don't fancy spitting out each mouthful you try, don't worry; you can still enjoy tasting the wine without the spit!
Here are some top tips for newbies to wine tasting.
- Use your eyes first
First of all, have a good look at the wine in the glass. Hold it up to the light and take a note of the colour. As you become more experienced, you'll begin to associate different colours with certain flavours. For example, a deep red wine is likely to be quite fruity in flavour and robust in finish, whereas a very pale white wine could be much lighter and more fragrant. - Appreciate the bouquet
Every wine has a different smell (bouquet), and a good wine shouldn't smell overpoweringly of alcohol. Lift the glass to your nose and inhale slowly. Depending on the variety of wine you taste, you should pick up scents varying from spices and flowers through to fruits and even cheese. After the first inhale, give the wine a good swirl around in the glass and repeat the exercise. Exposure to the air often brings out different scents that you didn't detect during your first bouquet test. - Slurping
Wine tasting gives you the perfect opportunity to enjoy a good slurp! Actually, the technique is designed to draw out the full flavour of each wine. As you sip the wine, slurp it over your tongue with some air. This helps to bring out the full flavour. Hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds and savour the full taste before swallowing. Swallowing the wine rather than spitting it out allows you to see which wines warm your throat and feel smooth as you swallow and which leave a nasty dry feeling or an acid tang. - Refresh your palette between tasting
You will need to refresh your palette between each wine in order to avoid confusing one wine with another. To do this, take a few sips of water and eat a small piece of bread between each tasting.
In conclusion
Wine tasting is great fun so do take advantage of a wine tour experience if one is on offer during a holiday to one of the well-known wine producing regions in your destination country. To get the most from your tasting experience, follow the tips given above.
