Wine Tasting for Beginners

Wine tasting has come the way of the cigar and martini bar. It's the "it" thing to be doing, and it's no longer just for the upper crust of society. There are good, very tasty wines available for just about any budget. With small niche stores and even large chains (like WineStyles) opening all over the country, good wines are more accessible than ever. One of the best ways to try new wines, to see what you like before forking over the cash for a bottle is to attend a local wine tasting. These are becoming more and more commonplace, and you can find events in your area in many places. You can try the local events paper, local message boards, or websites, like localwineevents.com. You can even visit major theme parks, like Florida's Epcot Center, as it's time again for the International Food and Wine Festival. Wine tasting events can also be a wonderful way to sample wines you may not be able to afford to buy whole bottles of!

Of course, when you attend a wine tasting, you don't want to look like a complete neophyte, but you also don't want to look like a pompous windbag who's seen too many movies. Wine tasting is not a difficult process, you just need to follow a few simple steps.

Step 1:

Lift your glass by the stem, and raise the glass to check the wine's color. The wine should be clear, not cloudy.

*Note: Lifting the glass by its stem helps prevent the heat of your hands from warming up the wine in the bowl of the glass.

Step 2:

Swirl the liquid gently by rotating your wrist. The wine leaves trails, or 'tears' as they are called on the glass, which reveals the alcohol content of the wine.

*Note: Tears are most often seen in wines with a high alcohol content

Step 3:

Inhale deeply and try to make note of the wine's traits. These traits could range from a fruity scent, like raspberry, to warm chocolate tones, or even tobacco.

*The traits of a wine can be described numerous ways, sometimes you will see or hear terms like "woody" or "spicy." These terms don't necessarily mean the wine actually TASTES like wood, or is hot and spicy.

Step 4:

Sip the wine, but don't swallow it yet. Hold the wine in your mouth, and swish it across your tongue, as well as the insides of your cheeks before you exhale very slowly through your nose as well as your mouth. This process will allow the taste of the wine to be much more vivid and lively.

*Note: Take small sips, as if you were sipping coffee you know is hot. Swish the wine gently in order to expose all of your taste buds to the deep and complex flavors.

Step 5:

Savor the experience! Seriously...take 30 or so seconds to think about the wine you just tasted. How long does the wine last (called the finish)? Does it leave you satisfied? Does the flavor develop more?