One of the things I love about the way people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Alice Feiring approach wine is that it puts the onus of evaluation back on the one who’s sipping. But that means that one has to feel confidant in their ability to evaluate a wine if one is going to forge their own opinions. So I’ve put together a little two part primer on wine evaluation. Today, Part I focuses on a classic sensory evaluation of wine. Next week, in Part II, I’ll dig a bit deeper into an area that I believe many people overlook—the experiential side of how we view a wine.

Here we go . . .

See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip

Evaluating a wine doesn’t have to be intimidating. It’s really just a matter of tuning in to what you see, smell and taste.

The more you engage in tasting—really paying attention to what you’re experiencing—the larger your ‘library’ of descriptors will become; and that applies to foods and herbs and the world at large as much as it does to wine (Gary V actually had Conan O’Brien eat dirt so he’d have a reference for detecting earthy nuances in wine). You are in essence developing a vocabulary to describe what your senses are conveying to your brain. Because wine evaluation is very much a cumulative learning curve, each experience building on the last, it’s not a bad idea to keep a notebook of impressions as you go.

And as with any evaluation, wine or otherwise, reserve judgment for last. The primary focus is to immerse yourself in the experience.

Coming to Terms

Terms like aroma and finish are used to identify which sense is being engaged and what it’s being told. These terms aren’t meant to intimidate, but rather to communicate. Understanding a few basic terms will make you more comfortable with the whole process.

Acidity—Acidity relates to tartness in the tasting experience. In a wine, acidity lends crispness and liveliness, and is a critical component to successful aging.

Balance—A wine is balanced if it shows harmony among its various components (alcohol, acid, tannin, fruit and oak). No one element should stick out.

Body—Body refers to the actual weight and texture of the wine in your mouth (and the glass).

Finish—The lingering flavor and feel of a wine after the wine is gone. In essence, the aftertaste.

Nose or Aroma—These are just other names for the smell of a wine. Bouquet, however, is different in that it refers to the complex array of aromas in older wines.

Palate—Each area of our mouth and nose experiences taste in a different way. The term ‘palate’ is a general reference to the entire area of sensation on the tongue. This is often divided into ‘front palate’, where the flavors are first perceived; ‘mid palate’, where the flavor falls on the tongue itself; and ‘back palate’, where the flavors remain after the wine is gone.

Structure—The structural components of a wine are alcohol, acid, tannin, and fruit. The term structure refers to how these components display themselves in a particular wine.

Tannic (or tannins)—Tannins are a natural compound found in the seeds and skins of grapes, most prominently in red grapes (they are also in tea and coffee). Tannins are what cause the puckering sensation at the back and side corners of your mouth, and they’re also necessary for a wine to age well. Think of tannins as the frame of the wine. A wine with wonderful fruit and no tannins may be enjoyable, but it won’t last long. A wine with a solid structure of tannins and full fruit will last a good, long while, mellowing out and gaining character as it ages.

Time to Taste

See
The first step in evaluating a wine is to take a good, close look at it. Hold the glass up to a white wall or piece of paper. What color is the wine? Can you see through it or is it opaque? Does it look clear or cloudy? What you see in the glass can often give clues as to the variety, age and winemaking methods of a wine.

Color and intensity (opacity) can be good indicators of both varietal and age. White wines range from the  starlight yellow bright of a young Sauvignon Blanc to the deep, golden amber of an older, heavily oaked Chardonnay. Red wines range from the light, purply garnet color of a young Grenache to the rich, dense mahogany tones of Cabernet Sauvignon.

[! It’s normal for wines to gather color complexity as they age, but if your Chardonnay is totally tan rather than tinged with caramel, it may be past its prime. Likewise, an older red may be rimmed with russet, but if the entire glass is brown, you may have an issue. !]

Swirl
Swirl the wine around in the glass to expose it to oxygen and wake up aromas and flavors. What does the wine do in the glass? Does it ‘stick’ to the sides and dribble down slowly? Does it dissipate quickly off the insides of the glass? Does it explode with aromas or do the scents remain confined within the glass?  A swirl can tell you a lot about a wine.

Those drips down the side of the glass (the inside, not the outside) are affectionately called ‘legs’, and are a function of how full-bodied and alcoholic the wine is. They indicate the viscosity of the wine and hint at how it will feel in your mouth. If it sticks around for a long time on the sides of the glass, it will in your mouth too.

Just how much of an aromatic impression you get off a swirl can also tell you how ‘open’ or ‘closed’ a wine is. A wine that is ‘open’ or ‘forward’ will have flavors and aromas jumping out of the glass. One that is younger or higher in tannins and oak will be more reserved upon first opening.

Sniff
Once you’ve swirled, hold the glass close to your nose and take a big sniff. What are the first aromas that hit you? What are some that linger? Does any one character dominate? Are the aromas bright and youthful or developed and complex? Scent is the most powerful sense we have; in fact much of our sensation of taste actually comes from our olfactory area.

When you sniff a wine, you’re bombarded with olfactory information. To help communicate your impressions, it helps to break the sense of smell down into five basic groups of aromas:

• Fruity—like blackberry, peach, citrus or tropical
• Floral—like violet, jasmine and rose
• Herbal—like mint, fresh grass or tarragon
• Earthy—like mushroom, cigar box, leather and dust
• Spicy—like cinnamon, pepper and cloves

Use these categories as a springboard to help you hone in on what you smell.

Sip
Take a sip and slosh the wine around in your mouth. What do you taste? Where in your mouth do you taste it? How does it feel in your mouth? Do your lips pucker or do you feel a whop of bitterness in the back of your mouth? How long does the taste last once you swallow? What sensations are you left with? Sipping is the most sensual part of the tasting process, and one with many stages.

The categories given above for Sniff can also be used while you sip. But notice other sensations as well. You will detect sweetness on the tip of your tongue, acid on the side and bitterness at the back—so pay attention to where on your palate you taste what. This will tell you whether the wine is acidic, tannic or fruit-forward. A wine is balanced if aroma, acid, tannin and fruit form a cohesive whole.

Body, or mouth-feel, also comes in to play here. Remember the legs you saw on the insides of your glass? That same body will be coating your mouth right about now, creating a nice, rich sensation. It’s interesting to note that some flavors are inherent in the varietal itself, some are due to the way that the grapes were grown, and still others develop during the winemaking process. What’s more, flavors and aromas continue to develop and gain complexity as wine ages. What you taste in a young Cabernet Sauvignon will not be what you taste fifteen years later in the same wine.

[! If you taste excessive alcohol (like drinking nail polish remover), bitterness or acidity, the wine may have gone bad. !]

Practice Makes a Palate

Being told “you must taste more wine” is certainly a far cry from Miss Leighton’s admonitions after piano class. I’ll urge again here to keep a tasting journal to jot down your impressions whenever you can, but I also realize that few of us will ever actually do that (heck, did we practice piano either?). Another option is to simply talk about the wine. Engaging in conversation—in person, or right here in blogs like Swirling Notions—will help you tune in to your senses and sharpen your focus. And remember, practice really does make the palate.