Although practice is better than theory, I would like to leave here some tips for when you go wine tasting, either informally or with a professional Sommelier.
It is important to remember that it is done in 3 phases: the visual, the olfactory and the gustatory, each one to understand the age, the state, the aroma, the flavors and many other things about the wine. Today I leave here some extra information that can be useful for your next tasting:
-In any scenario, the order is essential: first we start with the whites from youngest to oldest and then we continue with the young reds until we finish with the aged or more powerful wines. Leave a little wine in each glass, so that at the end you can taste them again and compare them with the initial experience. Some wines improve as they breathe for longer and others, on the other hand, get worse as the hours go by.
-For the visual phase, it is important to know that reds lose color intensity and whites, on the contrary, gain color with age. This can give us an approximate indication of the year of the bottle. Use a white surface to better analyze this first phase.
-For the second phase, you can use an aroma wheel that helps us to remember the whole range of spices, fruits, flowers, vegetables or minerals, etc., that can be found in a wine. Something that is very useful is to practice in markets, kitchens, a forest, a flower shop or anywhere that has different aromas that help develop our nose and enrich our olfactory memory. If you can do blind exercises, even better!
-Remember to hold the stem cup so as not to change its temperature. Although, sometimes if we do not feel expressiveness, it is probably too cold and we will have to find a way to bring it to the right temperature.
-For the third phase, my greatest advice came from a great mentor who taught me to let my intuition guide me: the first contact with the wine is the one that will surely tell me which grape, which place, winery, etc. the wine I am tasting comes from.
-Don't forget to clean the palate with water or bread before changing wine. Cheers!
