Wine drinking is a sign of sophistication; it is associated with class and an elitism that often makes the activity more pedantic than it has to be. At wine tastings, you will see wine connoisseurs describing the oaky, full bodied taste of wine that they will hold up like a lost artifact.
While appreciating the elements of wine can only help in making the decision of drinking the wine, it often sidelines an important question: Do I even like this?
You can only find the right wine if you go ahead and taste it. However, it wouldn’t hurt if you knew what you were looking for, and to make this simple, here are a few tips on how to find your wine:
1) Identify combinations that work
Understanding the impact of flavors when wine is had with food, is important when figuring what your tastes are. It is rather common to have wine with cheese, because the combination of the flavors of cheese with either a tangy or sweet wine creates a richer drinking experience. Knowing the various combinations of food pairings that work well would help in deciding what wine to drink.
2) Know how wines get their flavor
The dictionary of all things wine is as thick as it is tedious to remember, but it still doesn’t hurt to know how certain types of wine develop their flavors.
If you have identified your taste in wines, then knowing the difference between sweet and dry wine or light and heavy bodied wines will go a long way in picking out the right bottle for your dinner tonight.
3) Trust your olfactory sense
At wine tastings or at restaurants, you will always find someone sniffing at the wine with a look of intense concentration. It’s because the aromas of the wine are an indicator of the flavors in the wine. If you develop a nose that picks up flavor of the wine from its scent, you are well on your way to making an informed decision to picking your wine.
As we said though, there is really no substitute for the actual taste of the wine for you to make your decision. If you really wish to become an expert on wines, try wine tasting trips in Solvang to truly appreciate wine culture, or perhaps visit Solvang wineries. Wines from the area are well renowned worldwide.
Artisan Excursion Wine Tours takes you on an experience, with the best of what California wineries have to offer.