Wine Tasting For Beginners 

Attending wine tasting events can be a great experience and a lot of fun, although a lot of people choose not to attend out of fear - or not knowing what to do or what to expect.  Even though there are no mysteries to wine tasting, there are some things that you should always remember.              

During a wine tasting event, women are always served before the men. Some tastings will serve you bottled water between tastings, so you can clean your mouth out and be ready to taste the next wine that is served.  When you take the wine, you should always handle the glass by the stem, to avoid heating it with your hands.  There will also be crackers and other goodies on hand as well, to help you cleanse your mouth between wine tastings.

As you may already know, you can tell quite a bit about the wine by the color.  When you attend a wine tasting for the first time, you’ll notice that the glasses are clear.  This helps you to examine the wine better.  There should also be a white tablecloth on the table as well, to help you see the color the wine more clearly.  You should never go by the name of the wine alone, as it can easily fool you.  

You’ll also notice the more experienced wine tastes swirl their wine around in the glass before they taste it.  Although it may look weird, slightly swirling the wine actually helps to bring out the flavor.  Most wines have been aging in bottles for long periods of time, sometimes even years.  When the wine is swirled around in the glass, the swirling will release the flavors in the wine and bring them out when the wine is tasted.

At wine tastings, you’ll need to look at the wine, smell it, then after swirling it around in the glass, smell it.  Smells play an integral part of the process, as you’ll get a lot more from the wine by smelling it first.  Wine has quite an intriguing aroma, which helps to bring out the taste that wine is so well known for.  Once you have smelled the wine, you should allow a few moments to take in the smell and think about the wine that you are smelling.

Last but not least, you’ll want to know how to taste the wine properly.  Your tongue has taste buds in the front and the back, which helps to detect flavors.  Wine is full of flavors, and how you taste it will make the biggest impact.  When you put the wine in your mouth, you should always swish it around in your mouth for a few seconds, and allow the flavors plenty of time to dance on your palate.  Once your taste buds have started to discover the wine, you can think about what you are tasting.  After swallowing the wine, the aftertaste that remains in your mouth should give you even more of an idea as to the type and flavor of the wine.

Before you attend a wine tasting, you should always learn as much as you can about the many different flavors and varieties of wine.  This way, you’ll have a better understanding of what you should look for in both taste and flavor.  Even though you may be new to wine tasting, you should never pass up an opportunity to go.  You’ll get a great experience in the world of wine tasting and get to experience wines that you may have never heard of before.

The Flavors Of Wine

Although the four main flavors - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are all your tongue is really capable of tasting, the long lasting impression that wine leaves in your mouth is far morecomplex.  When you drink or taste wine, your taste buds and your sense of smell are involved, adding to the way you interpret wine overall.  The flavors, aromas, and sensations that wine consists of provide the combination that you taste when you sample wine.

• Sweetness is something that wines are well known for.  With most types of wine, grapes are responsible for the sweet taste.  Grapes contain a lot of sugar, which breaks the yeast down into alcohol.  The grapes and yeast that were used to produce the wine will leave behind various sugars,  which your tongue will quicly detect.                                                                                                                              
  

• Alcohol is also present in wine, although your tongue doesn’t really know how to identify the taste of alcohol.  Even though the tongue doesn’t really taste alcohol, the alcohol is present in the mouth.  The alcohol found in wine will dilate blood vessels and therefore intensify all of the other flavors found in the wine.  After you have sampled a few types of wine, the alcohol level can easily have an effect on your taste buds, making it hard to distinguish other drinks that you may have.
  

• Another flavor is acidity, which will affect the sugars.  With the proper balance of acidity, the overall flavor of wine can be overwhelming.  Although acidity is great with wine, too much of it will leave a very sharp taste.  With the right levels, acidity will bring the flavors of the grape and fruits alive in your mouth - providing you with the perfect taste.
  

• Another factor affecting flavor is the presence of tannins. Tannins are the proteins found in the skins of grapes and other fruits.  If a wine has the right amount of tannins, it will give your tongue a great feel    It will also intensify the sensations of the other flavors.  Once a wine starts to age, the tannins will begin to break down in the bottle, giving you a softer feel to the taste.  Tannins are essential for the taste of wine - providing the wine has been properly aged.
  

• The last flavor associated with wine is oak.  Oak isn’t put into the wine during the manufacturing process - it is actually transferred during the aging process, as most wines will spend quite a bit of time in oak barrels.  Depending on how long the wine is left in the oak barrel or cask, its effect on the flavor will vary.  Most often, wine will be aged just to the point where the oak taste is noticeable. And it adds the perfect complement to the taste.
  

Although there are other flavors involved with the taste of wine, they aren’t as much in evidence as those listed above. These  flavors are the ones that you need to get really familiar with.  Before you try to taste wine or distinguish flavors, you should always learn as much you can about the components responsible for the flavors.  This way, you will know more about what you are tasting and you’ll truly be able to appreciate wine.