Wine tasting: four steps to approach a wine-glass and have a good
tasting experience

I happen very often during the various events involving my winery to meet
and chat with several people who ask me for advice on how to taste the best
wines. Many feel that for a more complete wine product enjoyment it is
necessary to attend a sommelier course. So I thought of writing this article to
give you some tips on how to best approach a wine-glass and enjoy a good
wine. The process goes through four steps.

It is not necessary to be professional tasters.

Before I begin I would like to make an introduction. Decide to attend a
sommelier course is definitely a good idea that will allow you to have a tasting
experience more complete if you are not a professional taster. Wine is a
pleasure for everyone, any person who has really interest and passion can
come close to this drink and appreciate it satisfactorily.
Let us now see what are the four steps to come close to a wine-glass in the
right way.

1. Pour wine and examine it

Tasting a wine is an experience for all the senses. When you open a bottle
pour its content into a glass and take a few minutes to observe it. Bring the
wine-glass at eye level and tray to see the different nuances. Generally the
White wines have shades ranging from greenish to amber, the Red ones
instead have shades ranging from grenade purple to darker shades.
Observing the color of wine allows you to understand if we are going to taste
a new wine or an aged one. Generally the whites and the young reds have
lighter shades while the aged ones go towards darker colors.

2. Swirl the glass

Swirling the glass you will notice “tears of wine’’ that reveal the viscosity of
the wine and the alcohol content. Wine is more structured and has high
alcohol content when more tears of wine appear.

3. Smell wine

After visual examination is time to smell. Smell the wine you are going to
taste. Breath in slowly and deeply in order to taste the bouquet. Generally is
necessary to make a second swirl and smell for a second olfactory
experience. This is a very important moment for assessing perfume, intensity,
persistence and quality. At this stage you can already understand a lot of the
wine you are going to taste. Always try to notice the different shades to get a
full and olfactory impression.

4 Taste

After having observed the wine with sight and smell you are ready to taste it.
Take a drop of wine and keep it in your mouth to let papillae and palate to
savour it fully. You will enjoy flavor, tone and intensity. Each wine has its own
story that unfolds upon contact with your palate. At this point you will ask me
“ ok, but at this point how do I know if a wine is really good”. The answer is
not simple. Every taste is very subjective and each of us tends to have
different preferences. Remember though that a good wine always leave an
impression of harmony and balance between its components satisfying the
palate. After you have swallowed, judge the persistence of flavor and the
aftertaste that leaves These are some important steps to get close to a
complete gourmet experience. If you want to appreciate every wine you will
drink try to sharpen your senses and to grasp all aspects of your glass. What
at first seems perhaps difficult will become a pleasant habit and a new way to
approach the wine. One last piece of advice I can give is to do a lot of
practice, have the opportunity to taste different wines is undoubtedly the
best way to appreciate more and more flavour and different shades educating
our senses to greater receptivity.

Do you want to do a bit of experience?

Well! Come to Josetta Saffirio Open on Saturday April 21st when the winery
will be opened to our followers for free tours. Take the opportunity to taste all
our best products.