Food & Entertaining - Wine & Spirits

Wine & spirits: Taste like a pro

E-mail It

Wine & spirits: Taste like a pro

Send to a friend

* marked fields are required.

Why settle for some of the taste when you can have it all?

2 Smell (continued)
For most novice tasters, the greatest challenge is not in recognizing scents and odours in wine but in finding the words to describe them. We all know what freshly cut grass smells like, or the thick aroma of rich chocolate, or the slightly irksome reek of rancid butter, but we never expect to find those things in a glass of wine.

Let's start at a basic level. Does the wine smell naturally fruity, floral, spicy, woody, nutty, earthy, vegetal, or chemical and processed? Break down each category. Fruity can mean citrusy, such as lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit. It could be berrylike, which could suggest blackberry, currant, cherry, strawberry or raspberry. Every category can and should be "dissected." The faintest scent of rot, vinegar, mould, sewage or chemicals is a clear indicator a wine is seriously flawed. And it's the main reason that we smell so carefully before we taste.

3 Taste (& touch)
The final test confirms the nose was right. If we've smelled everything there is to smell, then the taste should provide no surprises. Our tongue has only a few talents but performs them exceptionally well. It instantly differentiates sour, sweet, salty and bitter flavours. It recognizes heat that comes from spice as well as from temperature. It's sensitive to texture like nobody's business (ever had a hair on your tongue?). That's it, but with those few assets, it can sense harmony and balance in all the things we taste.

0 Comment

Leave a Comment
Leave a comment

My Style At Home Network

  • Login to account

    Login

  • Sign Up

    Sign up now to receive exclusive access to the My Home & Garden Network!

Sign up for the Style At Home E-Newsletter

Get free decorating and design tips delivered straight to your in-box! You'll also receive recipes, entertaining advice, and contest notifications for your chance to win fabulous prizes. Sign up now to get all this and more!

E-MAIL ADDRESS

Contests

Latest Contests

more contests