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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Wine Tasting 101: Learning the Art of Wine Tasting

By KC Kudra

Wine tasting and attending a wine tasting party, contrary to popular belief, does not involve a lot of sipping, swishing and swallowing. While there is a definite art to wine tasting and many different wine-tasting forms, the popular theory of sipping and the like could not be farther from reality. It does, however, take years of practice to master the technique.

Wine tasting notes abound and can get your started. However, the only true way to begin to distinguish a fine wine amidst a variety of fine wines is a skill. Picking them reliably requires a trained palate, which takes years to develop. Wine tasting involves ascertaining whether the wine has been stored properly in a wine cellar designed to produce a beverage that is both pleasing to the eye and an exquisite experience for the palette.

Wine tasting is rooted in our sense of smell with over 75% of the impact on our taste inexorably linked to the food and drink we consume. This would account for the persistent notion that when we have a cold everything is tasteless and our appetite is non-existent. Most wine aficionados will tell you that the experience of a fine wine is more about the smell than the taste, and after that personal preference takes over and it becomes a tossup from that point on.

In Napa Valley wine, tasting is always at the forefront of any party or gathering. Home of some of the best United States offerings, wine growers realize that swishing and sipping serves a very useful purpose. Circulating the wine in the mouth gives the experience breath and depth - it creates a symphony of experience.

Taste buds are called into action; the olfactory senses are sent into overdrive and through a carefully implemented wine tasting design, wine connoisseurs not only identify the beverage, but can usually figure out the quality of the wine from the aromatic wafting of the beverage. This can be ascertained early on in the wine tasting process.

With even a basic understanding of the swishing technique, its purpose and the dispelling of long held myths, wine tasting will wind up looking less like something silly and more like a talent and skill that is part of the whole wine making process. Wine aficionados will be able to tell if the wine cellar designs and the features of a wine cellar have served their purpose or fallen short. All of this will be reflected in the end product.

Upon pouring the wine into a crystal clear glass, the first step is to take a considered look at the sampling. This is not a step to be rushed as a great deal can be ascertained during this step. Despite their name, white wines are actually not white as much as they are golden, pale brown or with a slight tinge of green. On the other hand, red wine is typically a dark pink hue or leaning toward dark brown in color.

The second step is observation. It is all about the nose and what the wine smells like. This is accomplished through two steps: taking a brief whiff of the wine to get a general idea and then taking a deep, extended inhalation in order to get the full aroma of the beverage.

You will often see the most studied of experts pause at this stage to take in the results of this step and reflect on what they have just experienced.

In the end, the wine connoisseur will be ready to start tasting the wine, first by taking a sip then swishing it around to detect both the bold and subtle flavor in the sample. It is only after this step is accomplished will the wine taster fully savor the flavor and swallow the sip taken.

As it is with any skill, practice is part of the overall wine tasting methodology. While wine tasting is considered a skill that can be learned, wine experts will tell you that it is really more of an art. - 17268

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