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| Wine
Tasting Tips
True
wine tasting involves a lot more than just drinking.
To experience the many different qualities of each
wine you need to evaluate the wine's color, clarity,
aroma and taste. assorted wine bottles
Wine
tasting requires practice and a systematic approach
to help you note your personal observations, comparisons,
likes and dislikes. Everyone’s palette is unique
and every individual prefers different tastes.
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| Color
Hold
your glass up to the light to observe its color. Look
carefully at its subtle tints, hues and depth of color.
The
color of a wine is affected by many elements including:
• Age
• Type of grape used
• Ripeness of the grape
All
wines have color—even white wines—and
they can vary greatly as they age. As a red wine ages,
you will see hints of reddish-brown around the edges.
As white wines age they become more golden.
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Clarity
Look
closely at your wine glass. Make a note if it the wine
is clear or cloudy by looking for suspended materials.
Suspended materials are usually undesirable. The clarity
of a wine can be affected by the natural settling that
occurs over time as the pigment of the grapes age.
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Aroma
Swirl
the wine around in your glass to release its full aroma
or bouquet. The bouquet gives clues as to the wine’s
composition, fermentation, aging, and can give hints
of foreign odors such as wood, cork or other processing
odors.
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Taste
Take
a small amount of wine in your mouth and swirl it around
lightly so all your taste buds are exposed. Hold the
wine in your mouth for a brief period and think about
its taste using the following attributes.
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Sweetness
Sweetness
comes from the wine's fruit flavors and any remaining
fermented grape sugars. Wines with no perceived
sweetness are categorized as "dry."
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Acidity
Acidity
gives wine freshness and zest. When balanced, it
makes for a fresh, crisp, enjoyable wine. Acidity
can be responsible for the "vinegary"
taste in some wines.
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Tannin
Tannin
comes from the stems and skins of the grape. Tannin
can be strong, but normally mellows with age. Tannin
is most notable in red wines. • Alcohol
Alcohol in low concentrations tastes slightly sweet.
In high concentrations it gives a warm sensation.
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Body
Body
is how the wine feels in your mouth. The fullness
or thinness of wine can range from watery to velvety.
The body of a wine can also be detected by swirling
the wine in the glass and looking at how the wine
falls in the glass.
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Finish
The
finish, or aftertaste, is the overall taste that
lingers after you've tasted the wine. High quality
wine tends to leave a pleasing aftertaste lasting
from 15 to 20 seconds after you've swallowed.
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