Tasting of wine is considered an art to appreciate the beauty of wine. The basics of wine tasting are look, smell and taste. But do remember that even if you can smell numerous different smells, your taste perception should be focused on sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. You can ascertain the flavor of the wine by the combination of taste and smell.

Look- After pouring the wine in a glass, take a good look at it. To have a perfect look, view the wine glass against a white background.For red wines the colors will be purple, maroon, red, ruby, brownish or brick and for white they will be pale yellow, clear, light green, amber or golden. The color of the red wine will give hint about its age; older red wines have orange tinge on the edges. Also older white wines are dark when compared to the younger wines. The color will also give clue about the grapes which have been used as different types of grapes produce different colors of wine.

Smell-

Gently swirl the glass for few seconds to release the natural aroma of the wine and take a quick whiff. While smelling put your nose in the glass and take a good deep sniff. The wine’s aroma is a perfect barometer of the quality of wine. The smell can have fruity or floral aromas with a hint of pepper, cinnamon, nuts, tea or vanilla and also some other aromas like oak, cedar, tobacco, smoke etc. The young wines will have basic aromas that will be related to the grape variety while the older wines will have more complex aromas.

Taste-

Finally, taste the wine. For a start take a small sip and let it roll in your mouth, moving it with the tongue. The trick is to let the wine aroma enter the nasal passageway at the back of the throat. The taste should be a well balanced mixture of the alcohol content, sugar, tannin level and acidity. If it is a red wine note the fruit flavors like plum, berry or spices like pepper, cinnamon, clove or other flavors like oak, cedar. For white wine the tastes can be of apple, pear, citrus fruits or flavors of butter, honey or floral flavors. Then check out the length, that is for how long the flavor remains in your mouth after swallowing the wine. Check if the wine is light bodied (like water), medium bodied (like milk) or full bodied (like cream). Also check for the sweetness, dryness and richness of the wine