How to enjoy the musical pleasure that is wine
Anyone can drink wine. You raise the glass and down it goes. If all wines were alike, that may be acceptable, but with some 5,000 different wines available in the U.S., each one just a little bit different than the next in many ways, a simple four step guide goes a long way in measuring the quality of a wine choice. Look to wine tasting for pleasure, knowledge and a true appreciation for the winemaker's creation.
The simple steps to enhance enjoyment of the wine experience really begin with noting the information on the label: the grape and vineyard, where it came from, the vintage or harvest date, a brief production history, the winemaker's philosophy of making wine and in some European wines, a government rating.
With this information as a backdrop you are now ready to proceed with the “S” tests:
• Sight, including color and clarity.
• Swirl, including observing the “legs” of the wine.
• Sniff, for aroma and bouquet.
• Sip, including measuring the finish or lasting effect of the taste.Sight is akin to viewing a portrait for rich color and texture. After pouring a small amount of wine in a glass with a large bowl and stem, view the contents from the top of the glass. The wine should be clear with no sediment. It may be pale or intense, reflecting the type of wine you have selected. You will find white Chardonnay a deeper color than say a Riesling; in the reds, Cabernet Sauvignon will have a deeper color than say a Pinot Noir.
The next step is to swirl the wine, to prepare it for the following testing element, the smell. The swirl is affected by holding the stem tightly and moving the glass in a sharp, tight circle, clockwise, but not so hard that wine spills over the side. Oxygen is mixed with the wine to aerate, releasing aromas that are trapped in the wine. At the same time, the wine's surface area on the inside of the glass is displaying “legs” or residue, showing evaporating alcohol with the “body” of the wine. If the lines are thick and “leggy” then you have a distinguishing body of wine.
I hope you have been looking at your wine and swirling it with a new perspective, on your way to more knowledge, pleasure and appreciation for this loveliest of all liquids. Today we will take you through my personal favorite tests, the smell, sip and swallow…the main events!
The smell of the wine is called the “bouquet,” a true expression since, like flowers, only the best are bundled into a bouquet as in a gift for loved ones. Another term that winemakers use is the “nose” of the wine which is the smell from the grape and the bouquet from aging. The average person can smell over 2,000 different scents and wines have over 200 of their own.
After the swirl has released its bouquet, I recommend smelling the wine several times to fill your palate with the aroma of the wine. The best technique is to get your nose down into the glass which should only be about 1/3 full. Take short, deep inhaling breathes, and think about what you are smelling so that you may retain some identity for the wine you are gong to taste.
Time in a bottle can influence aroma. Young wines smell more fruity, while vintage wines, those with a number for years since harvest, smell more of the earth and minerals, and produce a strong scent more lovely than the most expensive perfumes. Don’t analyze too much, just revel in the sensation.
The final and most enjoyable climax to this taste-test is the sip, and I like to add, swallow. This is the purpose of this exercise: to find the wines you really love.
So, don’t just pour it down your throat, let it influence the many taste buds you have in your mouth and tongue. You might taste sweetness, bitterness and many shades in between. Let your imagination take you on a wild ride of flavors: fruits, butter, vegetables, grains and nuts, spices, flowers, earth, oak, honey… but, maybe all you taste is wine. That’s ok, but, describing the flavors gives the wine an individual character.
So, keep the wine in your mouth for some seconds, making contact with every part of it. When you are ready to swallow, note the finish of the taste. How long and what is the residual effect.
Great wines will have a long finish that lasts seconds, even minutes and in most cases will be a “footprint” of the years spent in barrel and bottle.
So there it is, a four-part harmony of the classic music of wine tasting: Sight, Swirl, Smell and Sip, with the bonus of Swallow.Carlsbad resident Frank Mangio is a certified wine connoisseur, writer and lecturer. Reach him at mangiompc@aol.com.
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