How to learn about wines

There are hundreds of wines in this world, each being different from the other. Most of the people know about the popular varieties like Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot. Those who take some interest in wines, know about Bull’s blood and Ice wine, but there are many other wines too with different tastes and flavors. If you are a wine enthusiast and you want to expand your knowledge beyond these popular choices then it is important that you start learning about them. You need to learn about wines through books, internet, etc followed by practicals of tasting various kind of wines and combining them with various foods. Here we present you a road map as to how to learn about wines.

Complexity Level: Basic

Time required: 2 – 4 weeks

Resources required:

1. Internet

2. Books

3. Wine club memberships

4. Wine tasting tours

5. Different types of wines
   

Instructions:

1: Color and clarity of wine:

• Take a glass of wine and hold it against a white background, you can use paper, napkin or white tablecloth. Slightly tilt the glass and observe the color closely from the edges of glass to middle of the glass. If it is red wine then check whether the wine is which shade of red? maroon, ruby, bricky or which color exactly? In case of white wine, check the shade whether it is pale yellow, light green or brown.

2: Opaque or transparent:

• Now check for wine’s opacity. Is wine transparent or opaque? dull or bright? hazy or sparkling? Are there any sediments in the glass? Generally old red wines have hint of orange tinges on the edges of the glass. Similarly, older white wines are darker than younger ones.

3: Smelling wine:

• If you want to be a good wine taster then you need to strengthen you sense of smell. To get a better aroma out of wine glass, you can swirl the glass for good 5 – 10 seconds, so that some of wine’s alcohol content may vaporize and release its natural aroma. Now take a quick whiff for first impression. After first impression, bring the glass closer to your nose and inhale wine deeply. Try to figure out your second impressions. What do you smell? Oak, berry, grapes, or something else? Often a wine is judged by its aroma since it is an excellent indicator of its age, quality and unique features.

4: Tasting wine:

• When you taste wine, start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of wine tasting – the attack phase, evolution phase and the finish. In the attack phase, you will come across the alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar of wine. These four contents bring initial sensations in your mouth. In a good wine, all the sensations will be rolled into one and one sensation will not be more prominent than other and thus form the intensity of wine – soft or firm, light or heavy, crispy or creamy, sweet or dry.
• The second phase is evolution phase. In this phase you will get to know the real taste of wine. If you are tasting red wine, you will be able to discern fruit of which wine is made like berry, plum, grapes, etc. If you are tasting white wine, you will get to identify citrus fruits or cider or some flowers. The finish phase is final phase. In this phase, wine culminates and the aftertaste of wine comes to fore.

Frequently asked questions:

Please name a few wine varieties for a beginner?

For beginners it’s always better to start with balanced flavored wines which do not overwhelm the taster. Some good wines to start with are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot.

Quick tips:

You should serve White and Rose wines chilled but should not uncork them till the time of use.

Things to watch out for:

• Always serve white wine first and then the red wine.

• Dry wine should be served before sweet one and sweet wine should be served with desserts.