How to Taste Wine Like the Professionals?
Learning how to taste like a pro can be a great skill to have. Outside of having taste buds which are fine-tuned and perfected, it also is a wonderful tool in helping you discern quality bottles from sub-par ones. Whether you want to attend your first tasting, or simply become better at blind-tasting, there are many different benefits that come with being a supertaster.
Wine Tasting Essential Information
For starters, it is important to understand how a wine tasting event works. If money is a concern, here is how much it costs for wine tasting. Once you understand the basic culture of an event like this and are familiar with the atmosphere, you will quickly decide if this is a hobby you should continue to pursue.
If you enjoy events like this a lot, you may be interested in learning how to become a wine tasting expert. However, if you visit Paris and instead decide that you just want to keep to yourself and have a relaxing night in the hotel, here is where to buy wine in Paris.
Tips for Tasting Wine Like a Pro
Whether you want to attend an event where you sample the many different types available, or simply desire to refine your craft, there are many inevitable lessons for you to learn. Although you might already be aware of some of these, the following tips will help you to be confident and ready for your next tasting.
Tip #1: Bring a Friend Who Isn't Drinking
You should never consume alcohol and then drive. Even if you are only drinking small amounts, there is a risk that you are putting yourself through should you decide to do this. Find a day well in advance for your event that you can have a designated driver. This will help you to relax and have fun while trying the different bottles available.
Tip #2: Use Your Sense of Smell
The nose actually makes up for a good portion of our sense for any certain flavor. As a result, it is important to smell the cup before you taste it. This will help you enjoy the aromas of the cup, helping you to learn more about the bottle before you actually try it out. Savor every aspect of the product when you first receive it, from color and texture all the way to how it smells.
Tip #3: Hold the Glass Correctly
Hopefully, this one goes without saying. However, there is a certain technique for holding your cup. Typically, your glass will come with a stem. This is where you should hold the cup. This is a normal part of etiquette that you should learn. This helps makes it easier to keep your cup cool, and can also help you look more professional.
Tip #4: Swirl Before Drinking
Swirling your glass actually helps bring out the best possible flavor from the product. Scientists have actually argued that that swirling works as an aerator, allowing oxygen to penetrate into the drink. No matter which types of wines you spend your time sipping on, a good rule of thumb is to give your cup a good swirling after you receive it, and then continue to absorb the aroma before moving on the next tip.
Tip #5: Carefully and Correctly Sip
Many professional sommeliers are only able to consistently try as many different bottles as they do simply because they know how to try each type fully without getting intoxicated. For starters, many professionals will not actually swallow, and will instead let the product roll across their mouth and spit it out. Some people also inhale extra air with their sips to further aerate the product.
To accurately get a sense of the wine's flavor, let it sit on each portion of your tongue. Slowly move it around until you are sure that your tongue has been fully stimulated by the wine's flavor. Once you are satisfied, either spit the liquid out or swallow it and move on.
Tip #6: Try to Discover the Wine's Origin Before Drinking
Unlike with many food products, a simple glance is often not enough to discern where a certain type of wine is from. To be a professional sommelier, this is something you will need to be good at. In a competition of any sort, this is a necessary skill.
Professional sommeliers will quickly be able to provide a general idea of where the bottle comes from, the type, where the flavors come from, and various other details surrounding each product without even taking a glance at it. If you ever watch the world championship you will probably be blown away by how knowledgeable and intuitive many professionals are.
Tip #7: Be Open-Minded
It's okay to come up with questions at an event like this. You should be open to trying things that you aren't aware of, learning things that you didn't know before, and so on. Employees at an event like this are normally both very willing to help answer your questions and knowledgeable about each product in general.
After all, it is the employee's job to know the answer the various facts surrounding the different products. Ask what tannin means, the difference between smokey and spicy drinks, or whatever comes to your mind. If you don't presume to know everything about wine before attending an event like this, people will feel more open to sharing what they know with you.
Tip #8: Drink Similar Wines Before Trying New Types
There are over 100 different wines. As a result, it is unlikely that you will be able to sample them all on any given day. However, if you stick with say, red wine, for a little while and try all of the different types you are interested in, your taste buds won't be as confused.
Then, once you finish a type you wanted to try, move on to another one. In any case, try to stay within the same family of flavors before moving on to a different one. This will help you be able to appreciate the differences between wines of the same family. Remember that since you are unlikely to try out all of the countless products available, you should prioritize which ones you wish to try the most.
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