So you’ve signed up for a wine tour, and you can wait to be on your way through vineyards and wineries, sipping and tasting some of the finest wines nature has to offer, and taking your time away from work and the tough routine.
Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it?
Did you know that there are ways you can actually enhance your experience by learning about wine and professional wine tasting! A little learning never hurt anyone! You might even find a new passion, or even a career? Wine arts can be addicting.
If you’ve never tried sipping wine like a professional sommelier, why don’t you try now? Don’t worry, it’s easy, and you’ll get better at it as you practice. Here are five steps.
Look And Observe
Wine can come in different colors and textures ranging from dark red, brown and orange to completely transparent, so the first thing you need to do, is to observe the color and texture as it can tell you a lot about it.
White wines usually progress from very pale yellow to a nice golden tint as they age—that’s how you know if a wine has had some years. Similarly, red wines usually start out purple and become red over time before going brown.
Swirl It Around The Glass
Next, you swirl the wine around the glass. This will tell you if the wine has a heavier body or a higher alcohol content by observing how visible the ‘legs’ are—traces of wine that gets left behind on the wall of a glass as you swirl. If the legs are visible, that generally means there is higher alcohol content.
This will also give you an idea of how thick the texture of the wine is. And that is all before you move on to the sniffing step.
Catch The Smell
Now it’s time to take in the aroma of the wine. See how you categorize the scent. Is it oak-aged? Or fruity? Or floral? The smell will hint at the taste of the wine for example older wines tend to smell more spicy or savoury, and younger ones are more floral and fruity.
Sip It Slowly
Slowly swirl the wine around your mouth when you sip it to make sure it coats your palate. This will tell you if the wine is acidic and the amount of tannins gives you more insight into the origins of the wine.
Savor The Flavor
After you’ve thoroughly tasted it, swallow it and think about the finish of the wine. The finish is the lingering impression that the wine leaves in your mouth.
Interested in More Wine Tours?
If you love wine and are inspired to try out what you learned about tasting it in this article, you should try a wine tasting in Solvang and tour. If you’re looking to book one, connect with Artisan Excursion Wine Tours in Solvangto learn about some of California’s finest vineyards.