Great Wine Tastings

Your tongue is covered with over 10,000 individual taste buds. These receptors enable us to detect the presence of certain compounds in our food and drink. Yet for all the adjectives we have to describe flavors, there are only 4 basic flavors the tongue can detect, with a fifth having been described in Asian cultures and only recently being accepted in the west. The four we commonly think of are sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. The fifth flavor perception has been named by the Japanese as umami, or the savory sensation, associated with protein or meats.

So if the tongue has such a limited role to play in how we perceive wine, then where does all that wonderful experience come from when we sip and enjoy a glass? The answer is in front of your nose; or rather it is your nose. The sense of smell is more important to taste than the tongue itself. So what better place to start tasting wine than with the aroma? Well, actually before you ever taste or smell the wine your eyes will see it, so let us start with a look at the wine.

Color and Clarity

The first thing you should do is hold your glass at half an arm’s length, and against a while or light colored background. Look at how the light comes through the wine. A good quality wine should be bright, with no cloudy haze or particles floating around. If it is a sparkling wine the bubbles should be fine and leave a delicate mist bursting at the surface. If the wine appears brownish, like is has been tinted, it may very well be oxidized. The color of white wine is often very telling of the flavors they contain. Lighter, pale straw colored wines are likely to taste lighter and crisp with very fresh citrus or herbal notes, whereas darker whites will have more bold oak or vanilla components. The color of red wines will be very indicative of the grapes used, ranging from pale burgundy to a purple crimson.

Aroma

Gently swirl the wine in the glass for a moment, and before you even get the glass to your nose you will start to smell it. The first aromas to get to your nose will be the highly volatile esters responsible for the fruity smells, as well as alcohol. Now bring the glass up to your nose, but don’t put your nose in the glass, after all you are going to drink from it in a moment. Give a nice gentle but lingering sniff. This will be the most complex part of the wine as there are literally hundreds of components contributing to the wines aroma. If there is any sign of spoilage, stop now before you ruin your nose and taste buds for the night. There are many words used to describe wine aroma, from fresh fruit, dried fruit, herbal, grassy, oaky, vanilla, citrus, floral, to less desirable like chemical, sulphur, or madeirised (oxidized). Wines that have been aging for a while may even develop some aromas that are earthy and almost like truffles. Don’t be too concerned with the exact description, just use other flavors you are already familiar with and can remember for future comparisons.

Tasting

Finally take a sip of wine into your mouth but do not swallow. Don’t worry, we wont’ ask you to spit it out, after all the vintner made the wine to be consumed. But do hold the wine in your mouth a moment. Now you will quickly perceive acidity (sour), on the sides of your tongue, and sweet on the tip. And soon after if there are any tannins on the wine they will make themselves known as the sensation of drying, or almost “sticking” to your tongue. Breathe out into your nose a little and you unleash the full potential of the wine. By now the wine has change dramatically as you progress from the fore palate through the mid to the end palate. Finally swallow and any bitterness will be perceived on the back of your tongue, and you can really enjoy the lingering affects.As you proceed through these steps you may be amazed at how different the perception of the wine is.

Many wines excel at a single point or two along this tasting path, but only those wines that are exceptional improve with each phase of tasting and culminate with a lingering end palate that leaves you begging for another sip. While these are just the basics, it can many years and literally hundreds of wine samples to become expertly tuned into tasting wine.

By: Michael Briggs

About the Author:

I have been wondering about the difference between red wines and white wines. To me, they taste quite different. Red wines are heavier and more complex than white wine, and often tend to be less sweet. Why is this? Actually red and white wines are made quite differently. The differences between red and white wines include the kinds of grapes used, the fermentation and aging process, and the character and flavor of the wine.

White wines are almost always made from white grapes, although they can be made from black grapes, since the juice in most black grapes is clear. When white wine is made, the skins of the grapes are separated from the juice when they are put into a crushing machine. Then yeast is added to the juice for fermentation, until the juice becomes white wine. After filtering etc, the wine is aged by storing it in stainless steel or occasionally oak containers and bottled after a few months. White wines, then, are made without skins or seeds and are essentially fermented grape juice. They have a light character and have crisp fruit flavors and aromas. They can be sweet or dry or somewhere in between. Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/ Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc are all white wines.

Red wine is usually made from red or black grapes, although all the kinds of grapes usually have a clear juice. The process of making red wine is different from the one of making white wine. After the grapes have been in the crushing machine, the red grapes with their skins and everything sit in a fermentation vat for a period of time, typically about one to two weeks. . The skins tend to rise to the surface of the mixture and form a layer on top. The winemaker frequently mixes this layer back into the fermenting juice (which is called must). After fermentation is over, the new wine is taken from the vat. A little “free run” juice is allowed to pour and the rest of the must is squeezed into “press wine”. The wine is clarified and then is stored, usually in oak containers, for several months until it is ready to be bottled. The oak containers add additional wood tannins and flavors to the wine which help to intensify it and add richness to it. The result of this process is that red wines exhibit a set of rich flavors with spicy, herby, and even meaty characteristics. Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel are all red wines.

The main difference between red and white wines is the amount of tannins they have. Since tannins largely come from the grape skins, red wines have more of them than white wines. Red wine acquires it’s tannins in the process of maceration (leaving juice to mix together with the skin, seeds and woody bits). It is the tannins and skins of the red grapes which are released into the wine that contribute to the deep color and flavor of red wine. Tannins have a slightly bitter taste and create a dry puckery sensation in the mouth and in the back of the throat; and often lend a wonderful complexity to red wine. They also help preserve the wine. This is why red wines are usually aged longer than white wines.

There are as many different flavor profiles among red wines as there are among white ones. Some red wines are sweet and fruity, while some whites ( such as Chardonnay) have tannins from being stored in oak containers. Some German white wines have lasted for centuries, while some red wines are made for immeadiate consumption. For wines meant for consumption right away the winemaker takes out the bitter tannins, creating a fruity, fresh, and approachable wine. So, apart from the color, there are no hard and fast rules about the differences between red and white wine.

Is it true that red wine is better for you? The research of Dr Frankel has shown that red wine contains more antioxidants than white wine, although the total amount varies according to the variety of grape, region it was grown, the climate and soil it was grown in, and whether it was stored in oak (since wines stored in oak have more antioxidants) and the filtration techniques used. However the antioxidants in white wine are apparently more effective. The research of Dr Troup shows that the antioxidant molecules in white wine are smaller and thus more effective because they can be more easily absorbed. It seems that white wine is just as healthy as red wine.

In summary, the primary difference between red and white wine is the amount of tannins they contain, although there are no hard and fast rules about the differences between them outside of the color of the wine. Usually red wines are more complex, richer, and heavier, with spicy, herby, and even meaty characteristics. White wines are usually sweeter, and lighter, and have crisp fruit flavors and aromas. Neither is significantly better for you. Which wine is best for you to drink is simply a matter of taste.

By: Tracy Crowe

About the Author:

Raspberry asked:


There is white wine spilt on the carpet, so is there any way to get it properly out, without using any expensive or rare cleaning chemicals. Just a method is fine.
Thanks for the answers:)

Sage asked:


Are there typically ways to mark the glasses for each guest or do I just have a certain amount of glasses available? For example, if I’m serving six wines, do I have at least four to five glasses per guest? Also, how is the water pitcher used? Are guests expected to rinse their glass and use it for each varietal?

tlobovich asked:

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood – Summer Wine (1967)

willyhot asked:

Diamond’s version reached number sixty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968.

Though Italian red wines are often talked about more than white wines, there are some sparkling white wines produced by certain regions in Italy. The taste of an Italian white wine depends on the variety of grapes used and the time required for aging it perfectly.

Like Italian red wines, Italian white wines also carry the distinct flavor of the region in which they are produced. Some of them are made with a single variety of grapes. But blending more than one variety makes the most of them. Their prices vary according to the quality of the win. The high-quality wines can be really expensive, as it takes a longer time to age them perfectly.

As there are a wide variety of grapes produced in every wine region of Italy, there is no dearth of white wines which taste differently from each other. You can choose one according to your taste and the occasion. Italian white wines are relatively softer than the red wines produced in the country. They can be sipped independently, and do not have to accompany a meal.

Tocai is one of the popular Italian white wines. It is a dry wine that has an aroma of flowers, peaches and pears. A bottle of Tocai is quite affordable, as it may not cost you more than $20. Verdicchio grapes are used by Italians to produce a sparkling white wine under the same name. It was once quite popular in the US market.

Frascati is the name of another Italian white wine. It has been mentioned in Italian history quite often. It has a unique flavor. It is blended with four or five different varieties of grapes. Orvieto Classico is a dry white wine blended with five different varieties of white grapes. It is also a light wine preferred by royal families.

By: Eddie Tobey

About the Author:

Melissa M asked:


I am making a shrimp scampi and I’m thinking of pairing it with a chardonnay or a sauv blanc. I’m making dinner for someone who doesn’t particularly like sweet wine so I need something on the dryer side.
Which would work better and any bottle suggestions under $20 would be much appreciated!

LJD asked:


A group of friends and i want to do something different this spring break since it will be our last. We’ve done the whole cancun thing and i suggested touring napa or wine country some where but they were convinced it would cost us a pretty penny. I just want to know how i would go about planning a trip like this and what to expect the cost to be. are there any inclusive packages or do you have to set every part up independently? any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!