When it comes to tasting wine, nothing--not the origin, producer, rating, cost, or the recommendation of a so-called expert--matters more than whether or not you like the taste of a particular wine in your mouth. A process for tasting wine has been developed over the years that maximizes your ability to focus on the taste and find the words to describe it.Gio prefers a simple, straightforward version of the wine tasting process:
1. Pour a little in your glass to start.
2. Hold the glass up at an angle and examine the color. How would you describe it? Is it an attractive color to you? Does it remind you of anything?
3. Now spin the wine in the glass, as if you're a kid trying to make a tornado...remember?
4. Smell the wine immediately after spinning: can you put words to the wine's nose or bouquet, i.e. the type of fruit, or an earthy smell, or grass, or even vegetables? You may want to go through step 4 twice, as wines often 'open up' after being exposed to air in the glass.
5. Take a healthy sip of the wine, moving the wine around your mouth as if it is mouthwash. This ensures that all parts of your mouth get as much of the wine's flavor as possible.
6. Either swallow the wine (social situations) or spit the wine out (formal tasting situations). Try to describe the taste, thinking of the following:
a) the start, the first flavor or sensation you got as the wine hit your lips and tongue;
b) how the wine tasted and felt in the middle of your mouth, after the first sensation;
c) and finally the finish, once the wine was physically on its way out, did the taste and sensation created in your mouth change? And how long after the wine was gone from your mouth did the flavor or sensation remain? Most importantly, did you enjoy the flavors and sensation at each step--and do you want to drink more?
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