Must-Know Basics of Red Wine Tasting

This is the usual four-step process to wine tasting for red, white, or rosè wine. First, check out the hue, color intensity, and then its clarity.

Eyeball

Red wine gets its color from the pigment in a grape's skin which leeches out during the fermentation process. Not all colors are equal. Some reds, such as Syrah or Zinfandel, will be a dark inky purple, whereas a Pinot Noir or Sangiovese may show a lighter ruby or garnet color. In general, the darker the color, the more concentrated and intense the red wine. Curiously, a red's color mellows as it gets older, turning into a reddish mahogany. Judge the color and intensity by tilting the glass slightly towards you and then glancing over the rim. Next, hold the glass up to the light to assess its clarity with a murky red indicating sediment or that it was unfiltered or unfined, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Swirl and Sniff

Start by sniffing the wine before you swirl. Then, swirl the wine in the glass to encourage the wine's bouquet to open. Do this by holding the glass by the stem and rotate it quickly but carefully. It's also easier to do this with the glass on a table. This swirling action releases the wine's aroma. These aromas accumulate in the bowl of the wine glass waiting for your nose. Sniff again, small delicate ones or a big whiff, your choice. Note how the aromas have changed after swirling the glass to areate the wine. Be advised that too many sniffs won't help because at some point you'll have reached olfactory overload and sniffing more won't add anything. So what do you smell? Essentially you will be smelling two things: the fruit from the grapes or the byproduct scents from the oak barrel. That blackberry smell is the grape, the vanilla and spice are from the barrel. When people refer to the wine's aroma they are generally talking about the grape's smell. The wine's bouquet relates to the smells that evolve over time in the bottle.

On a side-note, after swirling the wine you may notice rivulets of wine dripping down the side of your glass. These are called legs or tears. There's an endless debate whether they have any significant meaning. They indicate denser viscosity and can possibly mean thicker and sweeter wine or absolutely nothing. The legs can cascade in a uniform pattern, haphazardly, fast or slow.

Sip

Of course sipping is the critical step in red wine tasting basics because you finally get to taste the wine but, did you know that aroma accounts for over half of your ability to taste the wine? Some believe up to 80% of taste comes from the aroma. This is not to say that tongues are overrated, it's just that a good sense of smell is critical and the role of tasting is to confirm what you have sniffed. As you sip, draw a little air over the wine to aerate it a bit more so the flavors can develop on your palate.