28 Feb Tips to Evaluate Wine
Wines are available in a wide range of flavours, strengths, colours, and types. Both the taste and the liking of a particular wine varies from one person to another. There are several things to learn, which makes it challenging to select a specific type of wine, especially for amateur wine drinkers.
To become a wine expert, you must master the art of analysing and tasting wine the correct way. Consider learning a few techniques for evaluating wine before stepping into a liquor store. The atmosphere where you sit down and taste your wine should be appropriate. It cannot be done in noisy and crowded spaces. Here are a few helpful tips on how to evaluate wines:
Visual Evaluation
Once you’re in the appropriate drinking environment, you next step in to carry out a visual evaluation. While pouring the wine into your glass, there’s no need to fill it till the brim. One-third should suffice.
1. Straight Angle View
Look straight down into your wine glass, and hold it towards the light. You could also tilt the glass slightly. This will help you examine the entire colour range of the wine.
2. Side View
Hold the glass in light and look straight through it. This will help you see how clear the wine is.
3. Swirl
Give the glass a good swirl to identify the ‘legs’ or ‘tears’ that shape the wine. Good legs indicate denser, riper, and stronger wines with a higher alcohol level.
Evaluating By Smell
Once you’ve completed the visual evaluation, it’s time to take a good sniff. To understand the wine’s characteristics, give it a good swirl and take in a quick and short sniff.
1. Flaws in the Wine
You can determine whether the wine is spoiled or not. A corked wine often gives off an attic-like musty smell. A wine bottle with high levels of SO2 generally smells like burnt matches. Sweaty saddle-like smells usually indicate Brettanomyces, which is a type of yeast.
2. Fruity Aromas
Wines often smell like fresh fruits as they’re from grapes. However, it might not be the case for old or even cold wines. A person can easily determine the growing conditions of the grapes only after learning to identify the fruit smells.
3. Spices, Vegetables, Leaves, Flowers, and Herbs
White wines like Gewurztraminer or Riesling give off floral aromas. On the other hand, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignons give off herbal and grassy hints.
4. Barrel Aromas
The aging process in oak barrels results in the wines having smells of roasted nuts, caramel, toast, vanilla, and chocolate.
Evaluating By Taste
After completing the step mentioned above, you’re now ready to taste the wine. Avoid gulping it down, and take a small sip at first. You can evaluate the flavour profile of the wine.
1. Well-Balanced
Only well-balanced wines have proportionate flavour elements, whether it’s sour, salty, sweet, or bitter. Perfectly balanced wines will never be too sugary, alcoholic, or even acidic.
2. Harmonious
Harmonious wines contain all components in the perfect proportion, but each of them can still stick out. This consistent flavour profile is an indication of good wine.
3. Complexity
It is a challenging task to analyse the complexity of a wine. However, once you figure it out, it’s something to be relished. Along with aromatic characteristics, complex wines have several layers of varying flavours.
Regardless of the types of wines you relish and like to keep handy, you still need to make sure that they are stored correctly. That’s one of the best ways to make sure that your wines’ flavour and aroma are intact. The one way to ensure this happens is to get a custom wine cellar designed and installed in your home.
Expert custom wine cellar professionals like the ones at our company will ensure that your wine cellar is the perfect addition to your home. To find out about how Signature Cellars can help you design and build a wine storage solution that can help protect your investment and add value to your home, call us on 1300 570 636 or email info@signaturecellars.com.au. We will respond within the shortest possible time. We offer custom wine cellar design and installation solutions and ensure that you get an outstanding and unique feature in your home.
Thanks for reading,
Neil Smallman
Signature Cellars
1300 570 636
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