Tasters Tool Kit (Everyday Guide to Wine)

Since starting this blog my passion for learning about wine is increasing at an exponential rate. I think about wine all the time, which will hopefully prove to be beneficial for content.

To assist in my journey my lovely father bought me a series of lectures called ‘The Everyday Guide to Wine” presented by Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan. Initially I thought that it would be boring and that I would be much better off simply practicing drinking wine. Like anything new you study, you don’t know, what you don’t know! You remain in an ignorant state of bliss until you learn a little more and become increasingly aware of your ignorance.

This penny dropped for me last Saturday when I was sitting in the living room of my parent’s house watching the first two lectures from the series with my father. Very early on in the presentation I became acutely aware that no amount of sipping (and by sipping I mean guzzling) wine at trendy wine bars was going to make me an expert, and that I was going to have to put in some effort.

Ms. Simonetti-Bryan is one of only a few hundred Masters of Wine in the World and breaks down the process of examining a wine into very small easy pieces.

There are 5 S’s of tasting wine: SEE, SWIRL, SNIFF, SIP, SAVOUR.

SEE

The colour of the wine gives you clues to the age and variety of the grape. Tilt the glass and hold it over a white surface and look at the colour in the middle of the glass.  If it looks yellow we say it is STRAW. From here we can determine whether it is a pale or deep version of that colour. Such as the term for a red colour is RUBY. As white wines age they gain colour. As red wines age they lose colour.

SWIRL

Swirl the wine to release the aromas however be mindful of swirling aged wines as they are more fragile and can be damaged by this.

SNIFF

Use the chest, chin, nose test. Hold the glass at each of these levels and think about what you can smell.If you can smell the wine when you hold it at your chest then it is an aromatic variety of wine. Simonetti-Bryan says that it is very important to just start with the things that you know. From this your senses will open up to new aromas and flavours.

SIP

We often qualify flavours as aromas but our tongue can only taste 5 things.

Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salt, Umami

In wine we do not taste salt or umami, so we need only look for the following.

Sweetness

We taste sweetness at the front of the mouth, however sometimes what we perceive as sweetness is a fruity aroma. To test this you can hold your nose and see if you can taste the sweetness on your tongue. Your tongue won’t lie as to whether the sweetness is a taste or aroma.

Sourness

The sour flavour equates to high acidity in the wine perceived on the sides of the tongue. Acidic wines are known as Bright or Crisp, and low acid wines compared to the other elements are known as Blousy.

Bitterness

Bitterness comes in the form of the drying tactile sensation on the middle or the back of the tongue. It is more apparent in red wines and comes from the grape skin, seeds and oak.

Alcohol

The sensation of heat in the mouth signifies the level of alcohol in the wine. You will notice that a heavy cabernet sauvignon has high levels of alcohol content. For example The Coonawarra Rusty Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon has 14.5% Alcohol.

SAVOUR

Savouring the experience of the wine enables you to determine the finesse or elegance of the wine; how all the elements of are balanced; the length that the flavour lasts on your tongue and finally the finish, which denotes the impression that you are left with.

Sources:

The Everyday Guide to Wine http://www.everydaywineguide.com/

Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan http://www.jennifersimonetti.com/

As I am very new to this I would appreciate some feedback on how I am going with these blogs. Is it better if I discuss a wine each time I talk about what I am learning (you know I am drinking one)? Or maybe it is easier to focus on the tools at the moment. Although I initially started thinking that I would try a few wines of each variety and become an expert, now I believe that there are a few basics that I need to know first. I would love to hear your thoughts and appreciate the time you have taken to read to this point.