This step will give you an idea of the quality of the wine, before you smell or taste it. The colour of the wine will tell you if your wine is young or old, if your wine is light or full-bodied.
Second Step: The nose + aromas
This is your new wine bible; it will help you to recognise aromas in your wine (from the nose & mouth). The yellow parts are for white wines, pink for rose wine and the rest for red wine.
Start at the center of the wheel to identify the type of aroma you notice, and then move straight outward to identify the aroma more precisely.
Third step: taste
The tongue is the most important instrument you will use when you taste a wine. The tongue detects four basic tastes: sweetness, sourness (acidity), saltiness (rarely in wine), bitterness (feeling of astringency from tannins) and more recently research says a fifth - umami (savoury or meaty). Different parts of the tongue are more sensitive to certain flavours but your taste is also dependant on your sense of smell.
After taking a sip of wine, while the wine is in your mouth by inhaling air slowly through the mouth like drinking through a straw, you can use your sense of smell with your taste to detect more flavours.
The components of the wine to consider
· Structure:
o Sweetness – is it a dry or sweet wine
o Alcohol content
o Acidity: wine normally has acid in it as well, although it can vary quite a lot. Acidity is part of what is considered the wine's structure. It helps hold the flavours together and gives them thrust and power
o Tannins are part of what gives the wine body. Tannins come from the stems, seeds and skins of the grapes. We usually describe tannins as a drying feeling inside the mouth. When the wine is young it is normal to have some tannins and as the wine ages the tannins will get smoother and silkier
·The body of the wine refers to the weight of the wine in your mouth. Does it feel heavy, thick or light.
· Flavours:
o Intensity: are the flavours very straightforward or weak
o Specific flavours: refer to page 2 to help describe the flavours (fruits etc)
·Profile – the three parts that tell you about the quality of the wine:
o Attack (first impression in your mouth; acidity, tannins, sugar)
o Mid-palate (the flavours)
o Finish (how long the flavours stay in your mouth, the balance of the wine)
·The CAUDALIE is the measure of the persistence of a wine’s finish and is the time (in seconds) the flavours persist in your mouth after tasting.