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Sight
Smell
Taste
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Wine Taste
Once you have conquered the appearance and the smell of the wine, the last thing to do is to taste.
Start out with a small sip, a generous one, but not a mouth full. Roll it around your tongue and work it around your mouth for several seconds before swallowing. Then if you are feeling brave, open your lips and draw in some air. Notice how much more of its flavor you can taste. Swallow a small amount if you wish to note any lingering "finish." But if you are tasting a number of wines at a winery tasting room, you will be provided a vessel for you to spit out the wine instead of swallowing. Spitting is not a pretty sight, but is essential at a large tasting so that you can keep a clear head.
Be aware of the most important sensations of taste and where they occur on your tongue and in your mouth. There are only four perceived tastes: bitter, sour, sweet, and salt. But there is no salt in wine, so you should never have the taste of salt in your mouth.
Bitterness in wine is created by high alcohol and high tannin. Sweetness occurs in wines that have some residual sugar left over after fermentation. Sour also "tart" indicates the acidity in wine.
Sweetness can be found at the tip of your tongue and you will notice it right away.
Fruit and varietal characteristics are found in the middle of the tongue. Acidity is found at the sides of the tongue, cheek area and back of the throat and most common in white wines and lighter style red wines. Tannin starts in the middle of the tongue. Tannins exist in red wines or wood-aged wines. If there is too much tannin in wine, it can actually coat your entire mouth. Aftertaste is the overall taste and balance of the components of wine that lingers. The taste of great wine usually lasts from 1-3 minutes.
After you have taken the time for wine tasting, make sure you record your impressions of what you liked or disliked overall. Imagine how it would taste with cheese, bread or a meal. Make sure you write down the name of the wine, the producer and the year in which the wine was created.
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