The 5 S's ~ Session 1 ~ Group 2

Session 1 with our second group was all about How to Taste Wine...

You may be thinking, "Hey, I have a brain. I know how to taste wine. I take a sip and swallow, noticing whatever flavors pop out." The art of actually "tasting" wine is not that simple. In this session, we went over the *Complicated* rules of wine tasting.

Members of our first group demonstrating good tasting technique!

You drink beverages everyday…tasting them as they pass through your mouth. In the case of wine though, drinking and tasting are two different things. Wine is much more complex than other beverages and has a ton more going on in your mouth. You experience multiple sensations such as softness or sharpness, as well as various flavors, some being more subtle than others.

When you actually TASTE wine you will discover the nuances of wine. The more slowly and attentively you sip wine, the more interesting it will taste.

Remember 2 things as we go through the process of tasting wine 

* Slow Down

* Pay Attention

HOW TO TASTE: 5 S's~ See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, SAVOR!

~See:

Look at your wine before doing anything else. Just by looking at it it can give you a sense of what it will taste like and even how good it will be before you even sip it. You might begin to notice things such as alcohol content, age of the wine, grape variety and even storage conditions. To get a good look at the wine in your glass only fill your glass half way. Tilt your glass away from you and look at the color of the wine against a white background. Look at how dark or pale the wine is. At the beginning you will mostly just be observing, but as your experience with this technique continues you will begin to notice differences between them and learn to distinguish them.

Also, look for

• Color (to possibly identify age and varietal)

                   *White wines darken with age

                   *Red wines lighten with age.

• See if there are flaws: cloudy, too dark, too light, etc.
• How does it compare to wines you've experienced in the past. This helps you form a baseline.

~Swirl: This is a quick and easy step, yet very important to do before you sniff your wine. It opens up the wine and releases the aromas, which in return prepare you to smell them better. Observe the way the wine runs back down the side of the glass. Some wine will form legs or tears that flow slow down the glass. It USED to be said that legs in wine were a sure sign of rich, high quality wine, but that's not actually the case. The topic of legs is actually very complicated. In general, when you are looking at the legs, you are talking about viscosity.

• Viscosity helps determine alcohol content & presence of residual sugar        
• *Lighter viscosity= faster, thinner legs. Means it's from a cooler climate and has less alcohol. (No residual sugar)
• *Richer viscosity= slower, thicker legs. Means higher alcohol content & grapes are grown in warmer climate. (May be some residual sugar) 

Place your wine glass on a flat surface and rotate it so that the wine swirls around your glass and the air mixes with the wine. Swirling opens up the wine and intensifies the aromas.

Always swirl your glass right before you do the next step…sniffing!

~Sniff: At this point you can let your nose and imagination run wild. Be confident in what you're sniffing and don’t be afraid to share what you notice. No one can contradict you…there's no way to prove you're NOT smelling what you're smelling!

~As you sniff the wine, your MAIN GOALS are to:

• Determine components in the wine:
• Fruits
• Non-fruits such as floral qualities, herbs or spices
• Mineral/Earth such as dirt, rocks, or leaves
• Oak
• Are there any flaws?
• Corked? This occurs when a wine has a bad cork and can contaminate the wine. It will have an odor that resembles a moldy newspaper or damp basement.
• Oxidized? This occurs when a wine has been significantly exposed to air (oxygen), so the aromas and flavors will change. They tend to have a spoiled or flat flavor. An oxidized white wine may actually begin to turn brown.
• Enjoy the smell and sense of discovery

PROCESS: Make sure you swirl your glass as we discussed a minute ago, then bring it quickly to your nose.  Hold the glass at a 30-45 degree angle to your face. Put your nose right in or near the glass.

1. Make sure you're present- focus
2. Sniff- Ask yourself "What's there?"  Smell first for fruits. They are usually most dominant.
3. Make a mental picture of the fruit you're smelling. Hold it there in your mind. Then go back to the wine.
4. Sniff again- Ask yourself again, "What's there?" Make sure to smell BEYOND the things you've already picked out. Make a picture of any new items and "hold" them there. By smelling beyond the past element you are able to discover new elements.
5. Repeat and try to identify all four components. Remember, this will come easier with more experience.

~Everyone finds different ways in which they smell the wine the best,  Some options to try are:

            ~Try smelling the wine with your mouth open a little and then breathing in                            and out gently using both the nose and mouth.

            ~Try  taking two or three quick sniffs

            ~Try taking one deep, sharp inhalation.

            ~Try closing one nostril, sniff, then close the other and sniff again.

            ~Try closing your eyes as you sniff.

            ~Sometimes noses need to be revitalized- try water or bread

**Play with these techniques and see you works best for YOU and how YOU can get the most smell from the win.

            FACT: Wine tasters don't usually use the word smell, rather they use "nose" or 'aroma" or "bouquet". Smell usually has a negative tone, such as an odor.

~Taste: You want to notice what's in the wine

We hope that by the end of series, you'll be able to assess for the following:

• Confirm each element you smelled
• Assess the structure by evaluating:
• Acid
• Alcohol
• Tannin
• Finish
• Check for balance- how the components interact & change in your mouth
• Check for harmony- how all the components work together
• Assess complexity and quality 

PROCESS:

• Take a medium sized sip of wine.
• Hold it in your mouth and coat your mouth as completely as you can
• Purse your lips and draw in some air across your tongue (if you can)
• Swish the wine around your mouth as if you were chewing it
• Swallow it
• After swallowing (or spitting) suck in a little air to get a last impression
• This process should take several seconds.

It's recommended you taste the wine at least THREE times

1. First taste: Compare what you tasted to what you smelled. Did you taste any of the components you smelled? If you want, you can add or remove any items fro your visual collage.

2.  Retaste and look for structural elements: acid, alcohol, tannin and finish (These areas are discussed in depth next session)

3. Retaste again and look for balance and harmony. Too strong? Too delicate? Are they working together?

Use what you saw, sniffed and tasted to help asses the quality and complexity of the wine.

TIP: LOOK up to your left to "lock" things into your memory= try it!

The last S we felt should be added is...SAVOR! Arguably the most important step in tasting your wine is to enjoy it. So pour yourself a glass and go through the 5 S's...you won't regret it!

Happy Sipping!