There's no great mystery to wine-tasting. The following is a tried and tested technique that can be used to assess the merits of any type of wine. The method may seem a little involved at first, but it works by dividing the wine into its component parts and examining each of those parts to build a better overall picture of the wine as a whole.

Remember the best way to improve your wine tasting skills is through practice – and that can’t be a bad thing!

The Colour

• Hold your glass up against a white background. 
• Examine the strength and depth of the colour.
• Whites usually deepen in tone as they get older.
• Reds on the other hand get paler with age.
• For sparkling wines, the more bubbly, the better.

The Nose

• Assess the intensity and the type of aroma.
• Use your imagination and memory to describe the aroma in terms of fruit or other appropriate descriptors, e.g. melons, peaches, plums, vanilla, earth, etc.
• Take your time, the more aromas you notice, the more complex the wine.

The Palate

• Sweetness is detected near the tip of the tongue. With dry wines you will notice the absence of sweetness.
• Acidity is detected as a mouth-watering sensation on the inside of the cheeks.
• Tannin is the drying sensation felt on the gums and teeth – red wines only.
• The ‘body’ is the overall feel of the wine in the mouth.
• Assess whether you think the flavours complement the nose.
• The length of the flavour is a good way to judge the quality of a wine. The flavour of some wines can last in the mouth for over thirty seconds.

Personal taste and quality are different things. When assessing a wine’s quality, you should go through the process above and then ask yourself ‘Does the wine deliver consistently, from the eye to the nose to the palate?’

Give it a go. You might be surprised at how good a taster you are!

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