Oregon Wine Information Blog

9:51 PM

June 30, 2008 - Muscat Grape

Muscat Grape For Your Reading Pleasure

Guide To Tasting Wine


Guide To Tasting Wine

 by: Ben Bicais

The basics of tasting wine are relatively simple to learn. Once the fundamentals are mastered, the nuances and details can be enhanced over a lifetime. Like any other skill, tasting wine requires practice, and consistency is probably the most important factor.

One helpful strategy an aspiring wine taster can pursue is tasting with a friend that has superior knowledge. Questions can be addressed, and you will quickly become comfortable with this unnecessarily intimidating subject.

Another important strategy for a beginning wine taster is to taste several wines side-by-side that share at least one common variable. This could be the varietal, style, AVA of origin, or any combination of the three.

Tasting blind will minimize any prior opinions or stereotypes. You may be surprised to discover that less-expensive wines are more pleasing to you.

The Essentials of Tasting Wine

It is imperative that you taste in spotlessly clean glasses. The most common contaminants in unclean glasses are invisible molecules left behind by cleaning products. Even high-end restaurants can be guilty of this faux pas. It is best to thoroughly hand wash glasses with unabrasive soaps and hot water.

It is beneficial, but not necessary to use varietal-specific glasses when tasting wine. Research has shown that the shape of glasses really does make a difference in the sensory experience.

Overview of the Tasting Process

Wine tasting employs much more than just the taste buds, although they are very important. Your palate is a term for how taste buds on your tongue translate particular flavors to your brain. The palate can perceive only four basic flavors: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness. Most of the subtle flavor components of wine are actually picked up by one's sense of smell.

Although many of our daily perceptions are unconscious, making a concerted effort to pay attention to several things makes the tasting process more educational and rewarding. Despite the mystique that surrounds many wine "experts", tasting wine can be broken into simple steps. Wine knowledge usually stems from practice and confidence, not any inherent superiority.

Of course, some people have more developed senses than others. An extreme example is Robert Parker, widely regarded as the most influential wine critic in the world. Mr. Parker's tasting ability is derived from his natural ability to be keenly aware of his senses.

It is within the grasp of the vast majority of people to confidently differentiate varietals, styles, flavor profiles, and flaws when tasting wine. Tasting wine requires not only a grasp of your senses, but also the ability to articulate (with the proper vernacular) your thoughts about a particular wine.

Relevance of Sight in Tasting Wine

Your sense of sight will reveal a lot about a particular wine before smelling and tasting it. Immediately after pouring, check to see how clear the wine is. While haziness may simply indicate a full-bodied, unfiltered red wine, in any other style it is usually cause for concern. Wines will often taste the way that they look (an unrefined look may indicate a clumsy, unfocused wine).

Viewing the color of the edge of a wine in a glass will give you an indication of its maturity (or lack thereof). Mature, aged-worthy reds will have a deep crimson, or even brownish look. Too much brown usually means that the wine is past its prime. the rim of a white wine will generally be light yellow in youth, and and progress to an amber color with age.

After your initial visual impressions, swirl the wine in your glass. While this may be tricky at first, you will pick it up quickly. This reveals the "legs". The more wine sticks to the side of a glass, the higher the alcohol content.

The Role of the Sense of Smell During Wine Tasting

As mentioned earlier, many of the subtle "tastes" of wine are actually perceived by your sense of smell. While there are only four perceptible tastes, there are thousands of different scents. Revealingly, sinus congestion will stop even the most experienced and accomplished wine taster in his/her tracks. Smell is perceived through the upper nose as well as through the back of the throat. Molecules of different scents are registed by the olfactory bulb in the sinuses.

Before smelling a wine, swirl the glass again to reveal the aroma. When smelling a wine, attempt to put any familiar aromas into the context of previous tastings. This is the fundamental basis for increasing your knowledge of tasting wine.

After smelling the wine, the majority of registered perceptions occur very quickly. Sense of smell is very delicate and easily overwhelmed. Smelling the same thing repeatedly becomes less and less revelatory in rapid succession. If you do not immediately pick out the array of aromas in a wine, relax for a minute or two, then try again.

The Actual Tasting Begins

After experiencing the aroma of a wine, it is logically time to taste. Swirl the wine once more, and then swallow a small sip. After your initial impression, take a slightly larger sip and make an effort to coat your entire mouth. This is called, "chewing" the wine. Before swallowing, aerate the wine in your mouth. While this makes a slightly strange sound, the enhanced flavors and aromas that are released are more than worth it.

Another important component in the tasting process is touch, or how the wine feels in your mouth. Major variables to be aware of are the body of the wine, serving temperature, and astringency. The body of a wine includes the depth of flavor and alcohol content. If these components are underrepresented, a wine will taste dilluted.

Serving temperature is an important variable that mainly hinges on the varietal(s) that compose a particular wine. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc will taste flat at room temperature, and should be chilled. On the contrary, a well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon will not reveal its true complexity when served too cold. The incorrect serving temperature for a wine will adversely affect both the aroma and flavor.

Astringency is basically a synonym for bitterness, and is caused by excessive or unmellowed tannins. Great red wines often taste astringent in their youth, but develop into opulent masterpieces when mature.

I hope that you believe that proper wine tasting skills are within your reach; because they certainly are. Mankind's ancient enjoyment of wine is largely derived from the fact that our senses, feelings, and preferences are the basic components of what makes us human.

About The Author

Ben Bicais lives in the Napa Valley and is the webmaster of http://www.california-wine-tours-and-accessories.com.


ben@california-wine-tours-and-accessories.com



A Short Muscat Grape Summary

Guide To Tasting Wine


Guide To Tasting Wine by: Ben BicaisThe basics of tasting wine are relatively simple to learn. Once the fundamentals are mastered, the nuances ...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Featured Muscat Grape Items

The FTD Angel's Cross - Standard


A beautiful religious sentiment. This cross features 13 different tightly arranged flowers and colors. Flowers include peach roses, cream carnations, yellow mini carnations, white monte casino and more, delivered on an easel. S33-3530S


Price: 127.99 USD



Muscat Grape in the news

McCain's family beer business opposes MADD efforts

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:22:14 PDT
Cindy McCain's beer business, holds federal and state licenses to distribute beer and lobbies regulatory agencies on alcohol issues that involve public health and safety.The company has opposed such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving in fighting proposed federal rules requiring alcohol content information on every package of beer, and wine.

WINE 1.1.0 Released, Many Fixes

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:28:35 PDT
WINE 1.0 was released less than two weeks ago, but today WINE 1.1.0 has been released. While only ten days have passed, many more gdiplus functions have been implemented, there is improved graphics tablet support, Richedit fixes and improvements, support for HWND_MESSAGE windows, many new MSHTML functions, fixes in MSI registry handling, a first-cu

From editor of The Bulletin to wine merchant

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:11:54 PDT
John Lehmann has left journalism altogether.

First 'stable' Wine puts Windows apps on Linux

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:09:58 PDT
The makers of Wine claim that version 1.0 is the first such "stable" release and have said that although compatibility is not perfect, thousands of applications are reported to "work very well."

Can Panama City avoid a building bust?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:15:10 PDT
At the recent opening of a sales center in Panama City, dozens of real estate professionals drank wine and cocktails and gushed over the model for the Plaza Costa del Este, a towering new luxury hotel/condo scheduled to be completed along the city's waterfront in 2010. Despite the drumbeat of grim real estate news from elsewhere in the world, visi


Port Wine
About Wine
|

Labels:

BlinkBitsBlinkList Add To BlogmarksCiteULike
diigo furl Google  LinkaGoGo
HOLM ma.gnolianetvouzrawsugar
reddit Mojo this page at Rojo Scuttle Smarking
spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Tailrank
TechnoratiAddThis Social Bookmark Button
&type=page">Add to any serviceSocial Bookmark
onlywire Socializersocialize it
8:49 PM

Sunday June 29, 2008 - Wine Food

A Wine Food Artilce for Your Viewing

A Guide to Wine Racks


It is a clich that wines get better with age. How a wine ages will depend on how the wine is stored. Wine racks are a simple way to store unopened wines for the short-term.

It is a clich that wines get better with age. How a wine ages will depend on how the wine is stored. Wine racks are a simple way to store unopened wines for the short-term.

Never put the wine rack on top of the refrigerator. All wines should be stored someplace cool. Find a spot in your house that stays about the same cool temperature year-round. The basement, so long as it is consistently cool, makes a nice place to store your wines. You could also put the wine rack in an interior closet. These storage places are not glamorous, but they keep the wines taste. Also make sure the wine will not be vibrated, another reason not to keep it on the refrigerator. Dont store the wine next to anything with a strong odor, which could overwhelm the wines flavor. Wine racks also keep the wine bottle horizontal, tipping the wine to the cork. Keeping the cork wet helps the wine keep.

Once you have a place to store your wine rack, you can have fun picking one out. Metal wine racks match any dcor and there are hundreds from which to choose. Metal wine racks have a variety of styles. You can buy classical wine racks made from wrought iron, or more contemporary wine racks made from chrome or steel. Metal wine racks can stand alone, form a table, or be hung. Metal wine racks can cost between $25 and several hundred dollars. Wooden wine racks are just as diverse as metal wine racks. Small wooden wine racks hold three bottles, large wine racks around 50. Wooden wine racks for sale can form a table, be a storage chest, stand alone, or be functional stackable boxes. Wooden wine racks cost between $40 and several hundred dollars. If you cannot afford a cellar and would like to expertly store wines, invest in a freestanding, temperature-controlled wine rack.

Look for different styles of wine racks online or at home stores. You can also build your own simple wine rack. Instructions are available online.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Wine Racks provides detailed information about metal, wood, hanging, and wall wine racks, as well as wine storage racks, wine glass racks, wine rack plans and kits, and more. For more information go to http://www.e-wineracks.com and/or visit our affiliate site at http://www.growthink.com.



A Short Wine Food Summary

A Guide to Wine Racks


It is a clich that wines get better with age. How a wine ages will depend on how the wine is stored. Wine racks are a simple way to store unopened win...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Recommended Wine Food Items

The FTD All Things Bright Spray Easel - Deluxe


This arrangement is resplendent with flowers and colors. Flowers include roses, gladiolus, orchids, gerbera daisies, calla lilies, snap dragons and more. Delivered with an easel and appropriate to send to a funeral home or service. S14-3541D


Price: 319.99 USD



Current Wine Food News

A Chateau De Fargues Sauternes Tasting - Episode #413

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:59:47 PST
Great wine-snob-free discussion of three vintages of the same Sauternes wine (1990 ($100/bottle), 2001 ($105/bottle), and 2003 ($60/bottle), paired with two blue cheeses. Gary Vaynerchuk rocks 5 days a week on tv.winelibrary.com, tasting and educating about wine and how best to enjoy it (by trusting your own palate!!).

A Vintage Diary - The Wine Blokes - 2008 Smithbrook Wines

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:09:30 PST
A vintage diary of one of the Wine Blokes doing vintage at Smithbrook Wines in Pemberton, Western Australia. A great insight into the inner workings of a vineyarsd and winery during the harvest period, from harvesting all the way through to the finished wine.

Mayo Cabernet - Side-by-Side Comparison

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:47:21 PST
I tasted two different vintages of Cabernet from one of my favorite wine makers side-by-side to see how they compared. This was a lot of fun, as you can imagine. To make it even more fun, the grapes were from different vineyards.The two wines tasted were the 2005 Mayo Rich’s Cuvee Cabernet from the Los Chamizal Vinyard in the Sonoma Valley.

Sip and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake, North America's Best!

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:08:32 PST
SpasofAmerica.com rated the Top 30 Spas of America - two of the Top 10 can be found in Niagara on the Lake - not just wine country anymore! Find out more about 100 Fountain Spa and The Secret Garden Spa by Vintage Hotels - sip and spa, all at the same time!

Winemaking in Australia - A vintage Diary, 7th March 2008

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:43:44 PST
One of the Wine Blokes gives his perspective on working vintage at Smithbrook Wines in Western Australia. This diary post expalins how rain during harvest effects the grapes and wine.

WSJ.com - The Right Stuff

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:39:10 PST
The just-arriving 2005 Burgundys from two particular regions are the most consistently good vintage of red Burgundy that our wine experts have tasted for this column.

Vintage Wine Resources

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:28:40 PDT
Premier Source For Vintage Wine Tips And Information.


Wine Source
Syrah Wine
|

Labels:

BlinkBitsBlinkList Add To BlogmarksCiteULike
diigo furl Google  LinkaGoGo
HOLM ma.gnolianetvouzrawsugar
reddit Mojo this page at Rojo Scuttle Smarking
spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Tailrank
TechnoratiAddThis Social Bookmark Button
&type=page">Add to any serviceSocial Bookmark
onlywire Socializersocialize it