How To Taste Wine Like A True Sommelier
Learning how to properly taste wine is easy (and fun)! All you need to do is follow the five S’s:
See:
The color of a wine can tell you a lot. If you’ve ever seen a wine sommelier hold a glass up to a paper towel or white napkin, they’re looking at the color of the wine.Here are a few general things to look for:
The richer the color, the richer the flavor will likely be.
Darker colored wines will be more full-bodied.
White wines turn golden when mature & red wines go from a purple tint to a brick red tint when mature.
Browning on the edges of wine is caused by overexposure to oxygen and may signal a stale wine.
Swirl:
If you’ve seen a winemaker swirl their glass, there’s more to it than just having fun (though it is fun). The real reason we swirl wine is to introduce the wine to oxygen. This “opens up” the wine and releases esters. Esters are the chemical compounds produced during fermentation that give your favorite wine their distinct aromas.
So next time you swirl your wine, remember that you aren’t just looking cultured, but also helping your wine smell great!
Sniff:
Our sense of taste and smell are directly coordinated, which comes into play when we’re smelling wine.
When you smell your wine, you should pick up on the wine’s flavors, and also see if you can sniff out impurities in the wine. The key culprit of a wine gone wrong is a smell resembles a wet dog. Not very “fetching” if you ask me!
Sip:
When you truly want to taste wine you need to bring wine into your mouth and move it around. Different areas of your mouth will pick up different things. For example, the tip of your tongue will give you sweetness and the sides of your tongue will give you acidity, too much of which can make you pucker.
The top of your tongue is where you will pick up tannins, which play an important role in wines.
The more tannins in a glass of wine, the drier the wine will be.
They’re a natural preservative, which is why red wines last longer than whites.
They’re used to indicate the age of wines. Generally, more tannins = higher maturity.
Because tannins are a compound found in red grapes, white wines will not be tannic.
Savor:
After consuming the wine you sipped, you should reflect on what you just experienced.
Since wine changes as it opens up to the air, your taste of it will change as you consume more of it. In our experience, it takes three sips of wine to truly taste wine:
The first sip will clear your palette.
The second will coat it, exposing it to the wine.
The third sip is where you truly taste the wine.
The final step:
What’s the best way to taste wine?
The best way to taste your delicious Boston Winery wine is in the company of friends and the comfort of your home!
That’s why we’re inviting you to join us for our virtual wine tasting each Sunday in May at 1:00 PM on Facebook Live and Instagram Live so you can enjoy your wine with us from the comfort of your home!
We’ve put together a special Spring 4 pack of wine just for you!
It’s a great opportunity to practice your wine tasting for yourself or to gift to a loved one for Mother’s Day.With delicious spring flavors such as Black Dog Brachetto, Bread and Roses Rosé, Boston Winery Pinot Noir, and Shark in the Pond, you may just have to buy one as a gift and keep one for yourself!
We hope you enjoy your wine immensely and responsibly!