FREE online courses on Learn to Taste Wine - Looking at Wine

 

What s the point in tasting wine

 

This is a reasonable question, if wine evokes for you the image of a wine snob, pinky extended, mouthing fancy talk. Certainly no similar mystique surrounds Pepsi-Cola, iced tea or milk. But wine is different. It's the only beverage that appeals to both the senses and the intellect.

 

If you take the time to look for it, every glass contains a lesson in history, geography, agriculture, botany, sometimes anthropology, religion, psychology and more. The idea behind wine tasting is as simple as this: Slow down. Relax and take the time to think about what you're drinking and to enjoy it with all your senses.

 

Examine its color. Is it clear or hazy, transparent or opaque?

 

Take a deep sniff. Does it smell like fruit? Flowers? Road tar or sweat sox?

 

Take a drink. Take two. Swish it around your mouth, sensing not only its taste but also its texture and weight. Don't worry about looks; you're enjoying yourself. Put it all together in your head. Think about where it came from. Sip again and enjoy.