How to taste wine

How to Taste Wine

Join me in a tasting as I show you exactly how to do it, why it's helpful, and what it is you're looking for.

Wines Featured

Tesco Finest Soave Classico Superiore, £7.50

Made from the Garganega grape in the Soave region of Northern Italy.

Aldi Specially Selected Clare Valley Shiraz, £7.99

Made from the Shiraz grape in the Clare Valley region of Australia.

How to Taste Wine

With your trusty note taking system at your side, try making the following three simple observations when tasting a wine:

1. Appearance

• Is it light or dark in colour?

2. Smell

• What aromas can you detect, and do you like them?
• Often, we can liken the scents in wine to fruit. Can you think of any it reminds you of?
• Besides fruit, are there any more abstract associations that come to mind?

3. Taste

• Is it light-, medium- or full-bodied?
• Do you find the flavour to be in balance with the freshness?
• If it's a red wine, are the tannins in balance too?
• How does the alcohol content feel?
• Can you taste any oakiness?
• Is the level of acidity comfortable for you?
• What is the wine's structure: how do all the different elements and components of the wine come together?
• Is there an element that sticks out too much for your palette?

You can then allow these observations to inform an overall impression of it to help you remember how it was to drink. This could be a mark out of 10, a star rating, or simply a tick or a cross.

A Note on Spitting..

In a professional setting where you are tasting a lot of wines, you would always be spitting. However, when you're tasting for pleasure, as long as it's in moderation, you don't need to.

Your Assignment

Have a go at tasting a wine, following the instructions, and note down your observations on its appearance, smell and taste. Does the taste or your experience of the wine change when you taste in this way?