Showing posts with label CHECK YOUR WINE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHECK YOUR WINE. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

THE TASTE OF WINE

CONCLUSION

Just try to name the grape variety and area of origin, and give some indication of the age and quality of the wine. Wise tasters will not risk their credibility by having a stab at anything more specific, such as the producer or vineyard, unless he or she is 100 percent sure. In the Master of Wine examination, marks are given for correct rationale, even if the conclusion that is drawn is wrong, while it has been known for a candidate to name the wine in precise detail but, because of defective reasoning, to receive no score at all. Wine tasting is not a matter of guessing. It is about deduction, and getting it wrong should be encouraged because that is the only way to learn.

Sight
This Distinctive Yellow-Gold Color
Retains Its Intensity To The Rim.
Various Possibilities: A Sweet Wine,
A Full-Bodied Dry Wine, A Mature
Wine, Or Something Obscure Like
Retsina. If None Of These, It Could
Be A Gewürztraminer.
Smell
Gewürztraminer! Full, Rich, And
Spicy, The Aroma Hits You Between
The Eyes And The First Instinct Is To
Think Of Alsace. Usually You Will
Be Right, But Bear In Mind The
Possibility Of A Top Grower In The
Rheinpfalz Or Austria. If The Aroma
Were Muted, It Might Be Italian; If
Exotic, Californian Or Australian.
This, However, Seems To Be A Classic
Example Of A Ripe Alsace Vintage Of
Perhaps 4 Years Of Age.
Taste
A Rich-Flavored Wine; Full, Fat, And
Fruity With Well-Developed Spice And
A Soft, Succulent Finish. Evidently
Made From Very Ripe Grapes.
Conclusion
Grape Variety Gewürztraminer
Region Alsace
Age About 4 To 5 Years Old
Comment Very Good Quality
Sight
Stunning Color, More Distinctive Even
Than The Gewürztraminer, The Old
Gold Immediately Suggests A
Full, Rich, And Probably Very Sweet
Wine. Sauternes Springs To Mind,
But Austria, Or Even An Oddity From
Australia Are Also Possible.
Smell
This Has The Amazingly Full, Rich, And
Opulent Nose Of A Botrytized Wine.
Anyone Who Dislikes Sweet Wine
Should Smell A Wine Like This Before
Giving Up On It Altogether. A Touch
Of Creamy-Spicy Oak Rules Out
Austria And Its Maturity, Probably
Between 10 And 15 Years, Probably
Disposes Of Australia.
Taste
Everything Is Here From Peaches,
Pineapple, And Cream To The
Honeyed Aromatics Of A Fairly Mature
Wine. Only A Classic Sauternes Can
Have Such Intense Flavors, Yet
Possess Such Great Finesse.
Conclusion
Grape Variety Mostly Sémillon
Region Sauternes
Age About 15 Years Old
Comment Premier Cru, Great Vintage
Sight
The Orange-Pink Of This Wine Almost
Certainly Pins It To Provence Or
Tavel, Although, If The Orange Hue
Is Not Indicative Of The Style And
Vinification Of The Wine, It Could
Be Almost Any Over-The-Hill Rosé.
Smell
Put The Dunce’s Hat On And Stand
In The Corner! The High-Toned Pinot
Noir Aroma Dismisses The Firm
Conviction Of A Tavel Or Provence
Rosé. But What Is It? It Is Not
Oxidized, So It Cannot Be An
Otherwise Obvious Wine That Has
Gone Over. Is The Orange Hue A Clue
To Its Origin? More Information Is
Needed; Must Taste The Wine.
Taste
Definitely Burgundian, But With
A Very Distinctive, Piquant Pinot
Noir Taste. At Its Peak Now, But
Certainly Not On The Way Down. By
Eliminating What It Cannot Be, Only
Rosé De Marsannay Fits The Bill.
Conclusion
Grape Variety Pinot Noir
Region Burgundy
Age 4 To 5 Years Old
Comment Medium Quality
Sight
This Sparkling Wine Has An
Attractive, Lively, Lemon-Yellow Color.
Not Young, But Not Old, Its Mousse
Is Evident, But Its Power And Size Of
Bubble Cannot Be Assessed Without
Tasting It. Its Star-Bright Limpidity Just
Makes It Look Like A Fine Wine.
Smell
Its Quality Is Immediately Evident,
With The Autolytic Characteristics Of
A Wine With Several Years On Its First
Cork (In Contact With Its Lees Prior
To Disgorgement), Which Eliminates
Every Possibility Other Than A Fine
Champagne. It Has The Zippy Tang
Of Ripe Chardonnay Grapes. This
Must Be A Champagne Blanc De
Blancs With A High Proportion Of
Wine From The Côte Des Blancs.
Taste
A Gently Persistent Mousse Of Ultrafine
Bubbles. The Fresh, Lively Flavor
Has A Long Finish But Needs Five
Years More To Reach Perfection.
Conclusion
Grape Variety Chardonnay
Region Champagne
Age About 5 Years Old
Comment Top Quality

THE TASTE OF WINE

A SAMPLE TASTING
This chart provides a few examples from a whole range of the possible options that are open in the complex business of tasting. It also demonstrates that it is possible to approach the task systematically and rationally. When tasting it is important to keep your options open until you have assessed the sight, smell, and taste of the wine. At each stage you should be seeking to confirm at least one of the possibilities that have arisen during the previous stage. Be confident and do not be afraid to back your own judgment—it is the only way to learn.

SIGHT
The clear, well-defined garnet color
of medium intensity suggests only
moderately hot climatic origins. The
tinge of purple on the meniscus
could indicate youth.
SMELL
This is dominated by the distinctive
pear-drop aroma of macération
carbonique, hallmark of all but the
best cru Beaujolais. Often mistaken
for the varietal aroma of Gamay
(from which Beaujolais is made),
the aroma is characteristic of all
wines fermented in this way.
If this is a Beaujolais, the color
suggests something more serious
than a lighter basic Beaujolais
or Nouveau.
TASTE
The balance between fruit, acidity,
and alcohol confirms that this is
Beaujolais. The good depth of spicygrapey
fruit beneath the pervasive
pear-drop character indicates that
it is better than average.
CONCLUSION
Grape variety Gamay
Region Beaujolais
Age 2 to 3 years old
Comment Beaujolais Villages
SIGHT
Water-white, this wine has obvious
cool climatic origins, although the
tiny bubbles collecting on the glass
suggest it could be a Vinho Verde.
But the palest usually have a
tell-tale hint of straw color. Probably
a modest Qualitätswein from the
Mosel region of Germany.
SMELL
This is not Vinho Verde. Its crisp,
youthful, sherbet aroma is typical
Mosel Riesling. Considering its
color, the nose would confirm
that this is probably a Qualitätswein,
or a Kabinett at most, of a modest
vintage, but from a very good
grower who is possibly as
high up as the Saar tributary.
TASTE
Youthful, tangy fruit, the flower of
the Riesling is still evident. More
flavor than expected, and a nice dry,
piquant finish with a hint of peach
on the aftertaste.
CONCLUSION
Grape variety Riesling
Region Mosel
Age about 18 to 24 months
Comment Kabinett, top grower
SIGHT
Intense, almost black color that is
virtually opaque. Obviously from a
thick-skinned grape variety like the
Syrah, which has ripened under a
very hot sun. Australia’s Swan Valley
or France’s Rhône Valley? California?
SMELL
As intense on the nose as on the
eye. Definitely Syrah, and judging by
its spicy aroma with hints of herbal
scrub, almost certainly from the
northern Rhône. Australia and
California can now be ruled out.
More massive than complex, it must
be from an exceptional vintage.
TASTE
Powerful and tannic, the spicy-fruit
flavor is rich with blackberries,
blackcurrants, plums, and cinnamon.
Beginning to develop, but has a
long way to go. This is a highquality
Rhône Syrah, but without
quite the class of Hermitage,
or the finesse of Côte Rôtie.
CONCLUSION
Grape variety Syrah
Region Cornas, Rhône Valley
Age about 5 years old
Comment top grower, great year
SIGHT
The brick-red color and watery
meniscus immediately suggest a
young Bordeaux of petit-château
quality. But first impressions can
deceive—more evidence is needed.
SMELL
An attractive violet aroma with a
restrained hint of soft, spicy fruit.
Nothing contradicts my impressions,
although the lack of blackcurrant
suggests that the wine is a Bordeaux
with a high proportion of Merlot
rather than Cabernet Sauvignon.
TASTE
The palate perfectly reflects the
nose. This is a medium-bodied,
modest claret of no great age.
However, the fruit is well rounded
and the soft tannin structure
indicates that in little more than
another 2, possibly 3, years it
will be at its peak.
CONCLUSION
Grape variety Merlotdominated
blend
Region Bordeaux
Age 2 years old
Comment petit château
or good generic

THE TASTE OF WINE

THE TASTE, OR “PALATE,” OF A WINE
As soon as one sniffs a wine the natural reaction is to taste it, but do this only after all questions concerning the nose have been addressed. The procedure is simple, although it may look and sound rather strange to the uninitiated. Take a good mouthful and draw air into the mouth through the wine; this makes a gurgling sound, but it is essential to do it in order to magnify the wine’s volatile characteristics in the back of the throat. The tongue itself reveals very little; sweetness is detected on its tip, sourness or acidity on the sides, bitterness at the back and top, and saltiness on the front and sides. Apart from these four
basic taste perceptions, we smell tastes rather than taste them. Any food or drink emits odorous vapors in the mouth that are automatically conveyed to the roof of the nasal passages. Here the olfactory bulb examines, discerns, and catalogs them—as they originate from the palate the natural inclination is to perceive them as tastes. For many of us it is difficult to believe that we taste with an organ located behind the eyes at the top of the nose, but when we eat ice cream too quickly, we painfully experience precisely where the olfactory bulb is, because the chilly aromas of the ice cream literally freeze this acutely delicate sensory organ. The texture of a wine also influences its taste; the prickly tactile sensation of carbon dioxide, for example, heightens our perception of acidity, while increased viscosity softens it.

THE TASTE OF WINE

THE SMELL, OR “NOSE,” OF A WINE

Whenever an experienced taster claims to be able to recognize in excess of 1,000 different smells, many wine lovers give up all hope of acquiring even the most basic tasting skills. Yet they should not be discouraged. Almost everybody can detect and distinguish over 1,000 different smells, the majority of which are ordinary, everyday odors. Ask anyone to write down all the smells they can recognize and most will be able to list several hundred without really trying. Yet a far greater number of smells are locked away in our brains waiting to be triggered. The wine-smelling procedure is quite simple. Give the glass

a good swirl, put your nose into the glass, and take a deep sniff. While it is essential to take a substantial sniff, it is not practicable to sniff the same wine again for at least two minutes. This is because each wine activates a unique pattern of nerve ends in the olfactory bulb; these nerve ends are like small candles that are snuffed out when activated and take a little time to reactivate. As a result, subsequent sniffs of the same smell can reveal less and less, yet it is perfectly feasible to smell different smells, therefore different wines, one after the other.

THE TASTE OF WINE

WHEN TASTING A WINE it is important to eliminate all distractions, especially comments made by others; it is all too easy to be swayed. The wine should be tasted and an opinion registered before any ensuing discussions. Even at professionally led tastings, the expert’s job is not to dictate but to educate, to “Lead from behind,” putting into perspective other people’s natural responses to smells or tastes through clear and concise explanation. The three “basics” of wine-tasting are sight, smell, and taste, known as “eye,” “nose,” and “palate.”

THE SIGHT, OR “EYE,” OF A WINE

The first step is to assess the wine’s limpidity, which should be perfectly clear. Many wines throw a deposit, but this is harmless if it settles to yield a bright and clear wine. If it is cloudy or hazy, the wine should be discarded. Tiny bubbles that appear on the bowl or cling persistently to the edge of the glass are perfectly acceptable in a few wines, such as Muscadet sur lie and Vinho Verde, but probably indicate a flaw in most other still wines, particularly if red and from classic Old World regions. The next step is to swirl the wine gently around the glass. So-called “legs” or “tears,” thin sinewy threads of wine that run
Down the side of the glass, may appear. Contrary to popular belief, they are not indicative of high glycerol content, but are simply the effect of alcohol on wine’s viscosity, or the way the wine flows. The greater the alcohol content, the less free-flowing, or more viscous, the wine actually becomes.

The color of wine
Natural light is best for observing a wine’s color, the first clue to its identity once its condition has been assessed. Look at the wine against a white background, holding the glass at the bottom of the stem and tilting it away from you slightly. Red wines vary in color from claret, which is almost rosé, to tones so dark and opaque that they seem black. White wines range from a colorless water-white to deep gold, although the majority is a light straw-yellow color. For some reason, there are very few rosé wines that are truly pink in color, the tonal range extending from blue-pink, through purple-pink, to orange-pink.
Disregard any impression about a wine’s color under artificial lighting because it will never be true—fluorescent light, for example, makes a red wine appear brown.

 Factors affecting color
The color and tonal variation of any wine, whether red, white, or rosé, is determined by the grape variety. It is also influenced by the ripeness of the actual grapes, the area of production, the method of vinification, and the age of the wine. Dry, light-bodied wines from cooler climates are the lightest in color, while fuller bodied or sweeter-styled wines from hotter regions are the deepest. Youthful red wines usually have a purple tone, whereas young white wines may hint of green, particularly if they are from a cooler climate. The aging process involves a slow oxidation that has a browning effect similar to the discoloration of a peeled apple that has been exposed to the air.