Sight:

Wine Color:

Start off by tilting the glass against a white surface for example a ceiling light will give you an unbiased look at the color.

What is the color of the wine? For red, is it cherry, maroon, ruby, or brownish?
For white, is it light-green, pale-yellow, buttercup, golden, or amber?

Clarity:

Is the wine clear or cloudy?

Deciphering the color of the wine indicates its age. Red wines lose color as they age, while white wines gain color as they age. For example, an older red will be clearer and have brownish tints. A very old white (or an oxidized one) will have a bronze-gold color or even amber-ish. It is important to consider grape variety when judging color intensity. Syrah, for instance, is darker in color and more opaque than Gamay.

Smell:

Smell is the one of the most important contributing senses to wine tasting. Our nose can pick up tons of various smells.

Start by swirling the wine glass open up wine within the glass. Briefly smell the wine sit back and think of what your initial impressions are then take a larger wiff of your vino this time taking it all in .

Here are some descriptors to help you describe what you are experiencing in capturing the aroma of your wine.

• fruity –blackberries, plums, grapefruits, and melons?
• floral – perfumes of violets, lily, rose?
• herbal – hints of mint, hay, tarragon, and rosemary?
• earthy – reminds you of mushrooms and dry leaves?
• spicy – sharp like clove, cinnamon, pepper, spices?
• nutty – smells of oak, hazelnut, almond, pistachio?

Grape variety will provide the basis for the wine’s aroma. The rest of the wines attributes (layers of aromas from its fermentation and aging process) are complements of the vintner. A good example would be a wine that has been aged in a barrel it will consist of having a rich oaky aroma.

Taste:

• The body of the wine is the volume and weight of the wine. Ex. light-bodied, medium-bodied, or full-bodied.
• Flavor would be described as whether or not the wine is sweet or acidic, spicy or tasteless, tannic, or dry and bitter. Other examples would be crisp or soft.
• The finnish is the impression a wine leaves in the back of your mouth and in your throat as you swallow it (an aftertaste). In a good wine, you can still perceive the wine’s flavors — such as fruitiness or spiciness — at that point.

Here are some other things to contemplate while using this sense in order to describe your wine. A “dry” wine is not sweet and an “off-dry” wine is sweet. A wine that is “crisp” is acidic and not overly sweet. There is “balance” in the wine when all the components work together (acidity, sweetness, tannin, fruitiness). Balancing sweetness, fruitiness, and acidity will ensure the wine doesn’t lack luster or sour. The taste in a wine can be “complex” – multi-layers of flavors and which can be modified by aeration over time. “Palate” is often referred to the taste and feel of the wine in the mouth. “Tannic” is used to describe red wines; and “astringent” is generally used to describe white wines. An awesome wine in my opinion is balanced, complex, and offers a pleasing aftertaste.