Many people think that wine tasting is a difficult thing to master; in fact wine tasting is very easy, like most things in life it simply takes practice before you will be able to sip wine and identify its characteristics. Wine tasting is actually very simple; all you need to do is utilize your sense of sight, smell, and taste, and finally use your own intuition and tastes. Reading a little about the terms used in wine tasting and what they mean can help you during a wine tasting but your own tastes will tell you most accurately what wines you like. Dont be afraid of the jargon that is thrown about by wine connoisseurs, with a little practice you too will be able to do this at a wine tasting.
The color of a wine can tell you a lot at a wine tasting; color usually denotes the age of a wine whether it is a red or white wine. To properly gauge the color of a wine you should tilt the glass away from you against a white backdrop and examine the color from the rims edges to the middle of the wine. When drinking red wine look at the shade of red; is it ruby, maroon, brick red, or purple? To be able to clearly tell the color of a wine tilt the glass with a white piece of paper or a white tablecloth behind the glass, you should always use a clear glass during a wine tasting.
Smelling the wine is probably the most commonly associated part of wine tasting, it is actually an important step in learning about the flavors of the wine. Swirling wine before smelling it during a wine tasting will help to release the natural aromas of the wine. Finally swirl your glass a little again and then take another deep breath and you should smell all the aromas of the wine. When you inhale the aroma of a wine look for distinct flavors such as fruitiness, floral accents, and overtones of oak.
Your first sip of the wine you taste will not reveal all its characteristics; you may taste whether a wine is dry or sweet, light or heavy, or complex. On your second sip you will start to taste flavors such as a specific fruit, spice, or other notes that were not apparent on your first sip. Once you have swallowed the wine you should be able to see if there is any aftertaste or what the consistency of the wine felt like. Once you have started to attend one or wine tastings you will start to see that you prefer certain types of wines to others.