2022 Cabernet Franc Competition and Celebration

Wine tastings whether at a party with friends that know a lot about wines, or you are new to visiting a winery tasting room, it can be a bit intimidating or confusing to some folks. If you haven’t been in wine country itself, you may be wondering where do I go wine tasting anyway! Well, there is good news for all of us. California has so many wine regions to explore. Let’s look at a good way for us to heighten our wine tasting experience.

There are several wine pros who prefer to just address the 5 S’s of wine tasting. That is fine, there is nothing wrong in just presenting the 5 S’s. In fact, it is a great way to get started in your exploration of wines both white and red. However, if you have ever wondered about wine judging or just wanted or are curious to now a bit more about getting the most out of you wine adventure, let’s look at the 7 S’s or ways to do just that.

1. See

Hold your glass up to the light, then look through the wine. The color of the wine will give away some of the basic secrets to the wine and will help guide you for the rest of the steps. What you are beginning to do is using one of several of your senses as you approach your glass of wine. Darker wines tend to be bolder and heavier than lighter wines which are crisper and refreshing.

2. Swirl

Air is beneficial for a wine. Proper aeration of wine helps to improve flavor by increasing the amount of scent produced, more easily to detect. While it is true that there are some old-world winemakers that consider their wines ready to drink from the bottle just as they intended. Still, swirling the glass gently will infuse air into the wine and allow scent molecules to leave the liquid and enter the air in the glass. If you are concerned about spilling some wine, try putting the glass down on the counter or table and move the glass around in circles.

When wine coats and drips down the inside of the glass it is known as “legs.” Higher alcohol levels cause more legs than lower alcohol and a sweeter wine has thicker and slower dripping “legs” on the sides of the wine glass.

3. Smell

Start by putting your nose partway into the glass and taking a slight sniff. I like to tilt the wine glass a bit to the side then approach it for the side. As you take in the aroma of your wine try to learn what the wine smells like or reminds you of. Good news here, there is no wrong answer! Each person will smell something different or have different choice of words to describe the same smell. One person may describe a wine as “oaky “or “woody,” while someone else may say it makes them think of smoke, while yet another person may focus on dark fruit and so on. A lot of the terms you will use to describe the wine will be based on your memories or experience.

White Wines

What to look, smell, and taste for with White Wines. With White Wines, look for White Fruits: think of fruit aromas a the tase of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, pear, or apple. As you enjoy your wine if you look for those flavors and smells you will find at least few.

After having tried several different wines and over time you will begin to detect in some wines floral notes, think of rose, hibiscus, violet, herbs, and veggies such as cut grass, oregano, or bell peppers.

Red Wines

As for Red Wines, you will want to look for Red Fruits: cherry, blueberry, plum, blackberry, raspberry. As you enjoy your wine if you look for those flavors and. You may detect in some red wines a hint of tobacco or leather. Also, you will begin to detect spices like black pepper, licorice, woodiness, oaky, coffee, nutty, roasted nuts, and so many more!

4. Sip

As you take that first sip of wine swish it around in your mouth, and then swallow it. Just ignore this first sip. That very first sip tells you little to nothing about a wine. However, your first sip will coat your mouth and prepare you for the wine. As you continue to sip do not take too much wine with each sip, as you need three sips to really experience what that glass of wine has to offer. What are the primary aromas that you detect? Do you notice fresh fruit aromas, or dark cherry?

If it is a white wine, you are tasting such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc does your nose detect fruit aromas? For example, a Chardonnay grown in cooler climates tends to create medium-bodied wines with flavors of green apple and tart pear, marked by noticeable acidity. While a Chardonnay cultivated in warmer climates usually mean fuller-bodied wines with notes of tropical fruit, melon, and citrus. Classic notes that can be found in Chardonnays are apple, pear, lemon, apricot, ginger, melon, papaya, and white floral notes. When it’s aged in oak or the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, there can also be buttery-toasty notes, which can sometimes be confused with flavors inherently found in the grape.

If you are tasting a red wine say a Cabernet Sauvignon these wines taste of heavy red and black fruit backed by some noticeable tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon is a choice grape variety for wine drinkers and vintners alike because of its taste profile and ease to produce. This how we learn how to taste wine.

5. Slurp

Try this as you take your second sip, and this time pucker your lips and draw in some air into your mouth and the wine, or slurp. Do not be so exuberant in doing so as to have the whole winery hear. The purpose of slurping is that you just want to get some air into the wine and really open it up. Move it around in your mouth, chew it, play with it.

Start looking for familiar flavors. As with smell, with red wines look for red fruits, white wines seek out white fruits. There are no right or wrong answers, this is a personal experience. Eventually you will start learning certain grapes tend to have certain flavors. For example, with a Riesling you will detect apple, and with a Chardonnay note of citrus.

6. Savor

Take your third sip and just enjoy it. Remember, the tongue detects only four flavors—bitter, sweet, salt, and sour—so it is through the nasal passages that the other complex flavors are communicated to the brain. As you drink, feel free to slurp a little to let the aromas rise into your nasal passages as you swish the liquid around your mouth. Given that various parts of the tongue receive different flavors, make sure the wine reaches them all. The tip of your tongue will taste sweetness from any residual sugar as well as sweetness from other compounds in the wine, such as the alcohol or glycerol, which form naturally during fermentation. Some wines with little or no sugar may also appear sweet, simply because of fruity qualities and mouthwatering acidity.

Along the sides of the tongue we taste sour flavors, which come from the wine’s acidity level. While many people have a negative impression of “acid,” in wine, the right acidity level is critical to fresh flavor and helps open your palate to other flavor compounds. This is the time to think of what dish would you pair this wine with, what special occasion to serve it at, or who would want this as a gift. After your having seen/swirled, smelled, sipped, and slurped, if this is a wine that you want to purchase, now is time to get a bottle. or two of your own.

7. Spit

Spit! Spit? Yes, believe it or not, it is okay to spit the wine after you taste. Spitting in public is usually not looked upon as good manners but spitting during a wine tasting is perfectly acceptable — especially if you plan to visit several wineries on the same day. The point of tasting is not to get drunk, it’s to try new wines, learn, and know if you want to purchase it. If a winery does not have a spit bucket or something to dispose of the wine, there is no shame in asking for a spit cup or personal dump bucket to use. Ask the person pouring for you for a bucket and in most cases, they will be happy to provide you with one.

May you find these suggestions helpful in you next trip to Wine Country. Remember, enjoy the experience, find new wines, and soak up all that is the winery experience. I love finding little out of the way wineries or that are simply not know to many. I realize that San Diego wine country is hardly “out of the way.” That having been said, did you know that San Diego has some great wines and plenty to visit and do? My wife and I enjoyed living in San Diego County for about eight years with some good memories and friends. Be sure to catch our article; “Wine Anyone? San Diego Wineries - Hidden Gems”.

SUBSCRIBE FREE TO PALOS VERDES PULSE

About the Author: John Krause is wine enthusiast and the founder of the website California Corks, a directory of California wineries.