In this second instalment of our two-part series, learn how to swirl, taste and describe wine like a pro.
Back for part two, hey? If you’ve nailed the aromas in your glass and tackled the wine’s appearance (as we set out in part one), now it’s time to get to the good stuff – let's give this baby a taste.
You can approach this from a few different angles, but here, we strip it back to basics and break down the tasting experience into eight categories. For best results, you’ll want to jot down notes as you go, so keep your notepad at the ready.
Take a sip, swirl it around in your mouth and either have a spittoon ready – perhaps a jug or an opaque glass – or, of course, swallow the wine. Each time you try the wine, consider the following elements.
This refers to how much sugar is left in the wine after fermentation, and it ranges from bone-dry to sweet. Sweeter wines tend to have more body, plenty of flavour, and are thicker on the palate.
It can be easy to confuse fruity wines for sweet, even if they’re dry, but consider the overall flavours. And it's important to note that sweetness often masks acidity, too.
Alcohol helps give wine its body – the higher that percentage is, the heavier the wine will feel in your mouth. Look out for a warming sensation after you swallow – a higher alcohol content will give a feeling of heat.
As a general rule, 11% ABV or less is considered on the lower end of the spectrum for a standard wine, while 14% and above is considered high.
How strong are the wine’s flavours? Is it a really light wine or is it more pronounced? Some wines are inherently more subtle than others, with all those elements mentioned above on the delicate, softer side. Others, however, have an unmistakably bigger and bolder profile.
Intensity doesn’t necessarily make a wine good or bad. Like almost everything in wine, it’s subjective, so take the time to understand where your own preference lies.
How long does the flavour of the wine linger on your palate? If those riper fruit flavours disappear within a couple of seconds, the wine has a ‘short’ finish. If they hang around, say greater than 10 seconds, you would call that a ‘long’ finish.
Length is a great indicator of quality. If you can still taste the wine and all its flavours long after the sip is gone, you might have snagged yourself a decent bottle.
Now it's time to rate the wine. Was it a fizzle or an absolute cracker?
Common features of a solid drop include:
- Balance: when the fruit, alcohol, tannins and acidity are in harmony. You usually don’t want any of these components to outweigh the others. So, if a wine is too sour, or too astringent or too sweet, it’s probably out of whack.
- Length: the longer the flavour lingers, the finer the wine.
- Depth and complexity: you want plenty of layers of flavour, and the wine to evolve and develop as you drink it.
- Do YOU like it? By far the most important of the lot. Perhaps a wine is a bit off-balance, is shorter in length and has pretty simple flavours, but if that’s what you like to drink then buy it again and enjoy it! Wine is an art, and art is subjective.
The more you taste, the better you’ll get, especially if you sample widely across a range of varieties, regions and styles. To continue expanding your palate, be sure to chat to the staff at your local bottle shop because they can point you in some exciting new directions. Also ask the staff at your favourite bars and restaurants to pour you a glass of their current favourite from the list – odds are you won’t have tried it before. And if you really want to fall down the rabbit hole, there are many great courses to take, too (look into WSET if you’re feeling inspired).
The best thing about tasting widely is that you’re bound to find more of what you like and better understand the ones you don’t, which is surely the greatest wine education of all.
