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Wine of
the week | Retailer of the month | Tasting
with Oz
Tasting wine means understanding what you
are drinking - and enjoying it more. The ritual observed by professionals is
not just showing off: there is a purpose to every stage, and it can help you to
get maximum pleasure from a bottle of wine. Wine can be complex stuff, and if
you just knock it back you could be missing out on a wonderful sensory
experience. Instead, take a few moments to discover a little about a wine's
background, appreciate its colour, and savour its scents and range of flavours.
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1
Read the label This tells you a great deal about the wine: its
region of origin, age, alcohol level, sometimes its grape variety. The design -
traditional or modern - can hint at the intentions of the winemaker. At a blind
tasting, you will begin at the next step. |
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2
Look at the wine Pour the wine into a glass so that it is
about one-third full. Tilt the glass against a white background so that you can
see the gradations of colour from the rim to the centre. The colour can begin
to suggest the taste of the wine, with clues to grape variety, climate and age.
A young red wine may have a deep purple tinge, an older one will be lighter,
sometimes brick red. A very pale white will be young, fresh or neutral-tasting,
a deeper yellow one will be fuller in flavour, sweeter or older (not always a
good thing in white wines).
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3 Smell the wine Swirl
the wine around the glass to release the aromas, then stick your nose into the
glass and take a steady, gentle sniff. Register the smell in terms that mean
something to you: if it reminds you of herbs, spices, strawberries, wet wool or
tar, that is what makes the wine memorable.
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4
Take a sip Take a decent mouthful, so that your mouth is
about one-third full, and hold the wine in your mouth for a few moments,
breathing through your nose. Draw a little air through your lips and suck it
through the wine to help the aromas on their way to your nasal cavity. Note any
toughness, acidity and sweetness that the tongue detects, then enjoy the
personality and flavour of the aromas in your nasal cavity. Now gently 'chew'
the wine, letting it coat your tongue, teeth, and gums.
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Note the first impressions, then the taste that develops after the wine has
been in your mouth for a few seconds. You can now swallow the wine or spit it
out.
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5
Spit or swallow If you have to taste a number of wines in
a limited time, spitting is the only way to appreciate the flavours and stay
sober. Practise your technique in front of the bathroom mirror. A bucket with
sawdust in the bottom makes a practical spittoon.
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Assess the wine Now note
your impressions. Is the wine well balanced? Does the flavour linger in your
mouth? A long-lasting flavour generally means a better wine.
As well as making notes about the wines they
taste, many people like to give each wine a score. A simple numerical score
can't really convey the pleasure a wine gives, but it can be a good discipline
for forcing yourself to come to an overall assessment.
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If you're going to score, you should mark
the appearance, the bouquet and the taste. I suggest you allocate 10 per cent
of the marks to appearance (this is the least important and - to be honest -if
you wanted to allocate this ten per cent to bouquet, I wouldn't object). Set
aside 30 per cent for bouquet. Much of the beauty and fascination of old wines
in particular is conveyed in the bouquet. And finally, give 60 per cent to
taste. This is what it's all about: the total sensation when you taste and,
indeed, drink the wine. And this should be awarded the greatest percentage of
the marks.
Add all these up and see if the marks tally
with the overall impression of quality, and pleasure, that the wine gave you.
Printable
Tasting Sheet
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