A good wine is whatever wine you like no matter if that is an expensive vintage Bordeaux or a cheap bottle of blush. The process of regimented wine tasting is to help YOU discover what you like. Forget about the snobbish attitude you might associate with a "fancy" wine tasting. A wine tasting is not about comparing observations and deciding who is correct. It is nothing more than a system where you can catalog your experiences with a wine, grouping wines in easy to understand categories. Wine drinkers should follow several steps when evaluating a wine. Knowing the steps will help you appreciate the beauty and complexity of wine while creating an easily organized catalog of what you like in your wine (or wine pairing).
In order to get more out of your wine drinking experience, you need to consider the wine in three stages: look, smell, and taste. I recommend that you write down your impression of each wine in a simple notebook with the date, place, details from the label, price, where it was purchased, and the size of the bottle.
- Look
- Smell
- Taste
That's not so hard is it? As you begin to expand your knowledge of wines, try to write 3 or 4 adjectives for each of the Look, Smell, Taste categories. Perhaps you can associate each with another food, berry, or spice. All these descriptions will help flesh out your wine knowledge, and more importantly, your wine enjoyment.
Stay tuned for further articles where we'll delve more deeply into the finer points of wine tasting, as well as the etiquette involved.
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