How Should I Taste Wine?

Your taste buds and sense of smell work together. Developing the skill of wine tasting takes practice. The more wine you taste, the better you become with this sensory process.

Try tasting your wine as soon as you open it. Note the flavors and aromas. Then decant the wine and let it rest for a short period. Try tasting it again and note any differences.

Follow These Steps:

• View the wine
  • Look at the color of the wine. Look for clarity and brilliance of color.
  • Swirl the wine in your glass by rotating your wrist — the key is to arm still and rotate your wrist. The swirling of the glass mixes oxygen with the wine and releases the wine’s aromas to the top edge of the glass.

• Smell The Wine
  • Place your nose just over the edge of the wine glass and take a very deep sniff. The aromas should bounce off the edge of the glass.

• Taste The Wine
  • Take a sip of wine and roll it over your tongue for several seconds before swallowing. Exhale through your nose after you swallow.
  • On the second sip, swish the wine around in your mouth and then swallow. Exhale through your nose after you swallow.