Tasting Step #1: A Wine's Color

Did somebody say wine color? Red, White, and Blush. Lesson over, right?

Not so fast.

These are indeed the two most basic types of wine based upon color, but splitting all wines into such large groups doesn't do us much good. Let's delve a bit deeper and create a few more categories, shall we?

All varietals will have different color characteristics that we won't delve too far into here. One less obvious clue a wine's color gives us, is its age.

White wines move through this color spectrum (in general) as they age, from top to bottom. White wines tend to gain color as they age:

• Colorless
• White/Green
• Yellow/Straw
• Gold
• Amber

Reds differ slightly with the following color progression as they age. Note that red wines will commonly lighten in color as well:

• Purple
• Red
• Ruby
• Brick
• Mahogany
• Brown

Finally, there are the blush wines that in many ways split the difference between it's red and white parents:

• Pink
• Red
• Orange
• Amber

Armed with only these few color descriptions, we can much more fully describe a wine's color and we might have a clue to its age as well. This tiny tidbit of information alone is enough to impress most of the other party guests.

In good light, look at the wine against a plain white background (Men, use your shirt sleeve). Hold the glass by the base or the stem and tilt the glass slightly. Look down on the wine and view the clarity, the color, and the hue of the wine. Also notice how much color graduates from the center of the glass to the rim. These are your first clues to a wines character before moving to your other senses.

For further tasting information, please refer to the tagging map under "Tasting Steps"