A Step-by-Step Guide to Wine Tasting: Clear and Detailed for Every Sommelier
Whether you're just starting your journey as a sommelier or you're already experienced, having a structured approach to wine tasting is essential.
This guide is designed to help you follow the proper steps in wine tasting, ensuring that each aspect of the wine is evaluated thoroughly and in order. This will help you deliver a professional and consistent tasting experience every time.
1. Visual Assessment (Sight)
The first step in wine tasting is to assess the wine's appearance. Before you even take a sip, a lot can be learned by simply looking at the wine.
Clarity: Hold the glass up to a white background to see if the wine is clear or cloudy. Clear wines are generally considered to be of better quality, but some unfiltered wines may naturally have a cloudy appearance.
Options: Clear, Slightly Cloudy, Cloudy
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Cloudiness can also indicate winemaking techniques like minimal filtration, which some winemakers use to preserve flavors.
Color: Color provides clues about the wine’s age and grape variety. For white wines, colors range from straw to gold, while red wines can range from purple to garnet.
White Wine Colors: Straw, Yellow, Gold
Red Wine Colors: Purple, Ruby, Garnet
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: As wines age, their colors change. White wines deepen in color, while red wines lose their intensity and take on a more brick-like hue.
Concentration: Check whether the wine’s color is pale, medium, or deep. This can give you clues about the body of the wine.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: A deeper color in a red wine often means higher extraction during winemaking, which can suggest a more full-bodied wine.
Viscosity (Tears or Legs): Swirl the wine in your glass and watch how the liquid moves. The “legs” or “tears” running down the side of the glass can indicate alcohol or sugar content.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Wines with thicker, slower legs generally have higher alcohol content or residual sugar.
2. Aromatic Evaluation (Nose)
Smelling the wine is one of the most important steps. The aromas give you the first real insight into the wine’s character.
Clean or Faulty: Does the wine smell fresh and clean, or does it have faults like cork taint (TCA) or oxidation?
Tip: If it smells like wet cardboard, the wine is likely corked. Faulty wines can also smell like vinegar or rotten eggs.
Intensity: How powerful is the aroma? Some wines are delicate, while others are bold and jump out of the glass.
Options: Delicate, Moderate, Powerful
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Intense aromas often indicate riper fruit or wines made in warmer climates.
Fruit Aromas:
White Wines: Look for apple, citrus, tropical fruit, or melon.
Red Wines: Identify red, black, or blue fruits like berries or cherries.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: In older wines, you may notice stewed or dried fruit instead of fresh fruit, indicating aging.
Non-Fruit Aromas: These include floral, herbal, vegetal, or earthy notes.
Tip: Floral notes like rose or violet are common in wines made from certain grape varieties, like Syrah or Riesling.
Organic Earth Aromas: These include mushrooms, forest floor, or compost.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Organic earthiness is often a sign of Old World wines, where terroir influences the wine more prominently.
Inorganic Earth Aromas: Chalk, flint, and limestone are often found in wines from regions with mineral-rich soils.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Wines from regions like Chablis or Mosel can often have strong mineral aromas.
Wood Influence: Smell for signs of oak aging, such as vanilla, spice, or toasted wood. These can vary depending on the type of oak (French or American) and whether the barrel was new or old.
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: French oak often gives subtler, spicier notes, while American oak imparts bolder vanilla and coconut flavors.
3. Taste Evaluation (Palate)
Now it’s time to taste! The key is to taste slowly and notice how the wine changes from the moment it touches your tongue to the finish.
Sweetness: How dry or sweet is the wine? Focus on the tip of your tongue to detect sweetness.
Options: Bone Dry, Dry, Off-Dry, Sweet
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Even bone-dry wines can have fruit sweetness that comes from the ripeness of the grapes, not residual sugar.
Acidity: Does the wine make your mouth water? Acidity provides freshness and balance.
Options: Low, Medium, High
Tip: High-acid wines are often more refreshing and pair well with food, especially fatty dishes.
Tannins (For Red Wines): Tannins create a drying sensation on your gums and tongue. These are more common in red wines.
Options: Low, Medium, High
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Tannins come from the grape skins, seeds, and sometimes the barrels. Over time, tannins soften, making aged wines smoother.
Alcohol: Notice the warmth in your throat to gauge alcohol levels.
Options: Low, Medium, High
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: In balanced wines, alcohol won’t overpower other elements. However, in hot climates, you may feel more warmth due to higher alcohol levels.
Body: The weight of the wine on your palate can be light, medium, or full-bodied.
Tip: Light-bodied wines feel more like water, while full-bodied wines feel thicker, more like cream.
Fruit and Non-Fruit Flavors: Match the flavors to the aromas you previously identified. Check if they are consistent or if the wine develops new flavors.
Tip: Some wines may have more complexity on the palate than the nose, revealing new layers of flavors.
Balance: Is the wine well-balanced, with no one element overpowering the others?
Tip: A well-balanced wine will have harmonious acidity, sweetness, tannins, and alcohol, making it more enjoyable to drink.
4. Final Thoughts (Finish & Conclusion)
The final step is to reflect on what you’ve experienced and come to a conclusion.
Length: How long do the flavors last after swallowing?
Options: Short, Medium, Long
Tip: A longer finish often indicates higher quality. Count the seconds after your sip to measure the length.
Complexity: Does the wine reveal multiple layers of flavors and aromas?
Options: Low, Moderate, Complex
Pro Tip for Advanced Sommeliers: Complex wines offer different sensations at different stages (nose, mid-palate, and finish).
Initial Conclusion: Is the wine from the Old World or New World? Consider the climate (cool, moderate, or warm).
Tip: Old World wines (Europe) tend to be more restrained and earth-driven, while New World wines (America, Australia, etc.) often emphasize bold, ripe fruit.
Final Conclusion: Identify the grape variety, country of origin, and possibly the region. Use all the clues you gathered through sight, smell, and taste to make your final judgment.
Conclusion
Wine tasting is a journey that requires patience, attention to detail, and practice. By following this step-by-step guide, sommeliers of all levels can evaluate wines with confidence and consistency. Whether you're preparing for an exam or simply enhancing your tasting skills, a structured approach ensures that you don’t miss any important details.
Let me know if you need any further details or have questions! Cheers to better wine tasting!
