How to Enjoy the Different Australian Wines

05 May How to Enjoy the Different Australian Wines

If you are interested in wine, but feel you don’t know much about it, you are not alone. Nobody is naturally born with a well-trained palate for fine wine. It’s always a matter of experimenting and trying out different styles and flavours of wines. If you do this with consistency, you will find that before long you too will have developed a seasoned wine palate.

Fill Your Glass Right

When you are topping your wine glass ensure you don’t fill it to the rim; that is definitely a mistake. A wine glass isn’t shaped a specific way for aesthetics alone. They are structured that way to ensure you are able to get a good whiff of the wine you are drinking. The aspect to keep in view is that our sense of taste is made up of 40% smell and its why smelling our food is what enhances the tasting experience. If your wine is unable to breathe, that will impact the taste.

The Best Way To Enjoy Wine

It’s not that difficult to educate your palate and if you make a concerted effort, it will surely add to your enjoyment of the various wines that Australia produces. Here are some basic steps on how you can best enjoy the different Australian wines:

• When you are tasting wine, ensure you aren’t wearing any overpowering aromas or perfumes, as those will only compete with your wine.
• Ensure the space is well-illuminated and that there is enough of light for you to view the wine’s appearance.
• First drink some water or eat a water biscuit to clear your palate.
• Look carefully at the wine to check its colour and clarity.
• Tilt the glass and check the body and rim.
• Hold the glass against any white background; this will help you look at the intensity.
• The colour of red wine can range from pink to-dark red and almost black even.
• The colour of whites can range from very clear to a golden yellow hue.
• Wines grown in cooler regions are always paler in colour, while ones grown in warmer regions tend to produce darker wines.
• If you notice a brownish tinge in a white wine that could be an indication that the wine has gone off.
• Age also impacts the colour of the wine as mature wines are always much paler around the rim.
• Reds have an orange or garnet tint, rather than a purple one.
• Now swirl your glass very lightly; that releases the aromas and you can inhale the scents. The type of glass you use will have an impact on the aroma of the wine. The best glasses always narrow at the top.
• Check the harmony and the intensity of the wine and whether you like the smell of the wine.
• Look for characteristics such as oak, berries, floral and citrus. There are times when your nose will pick up an “off” wine without you even tasting it.
• Now you actually taste your wine. Take a small sip and let a bit of oxygen be introduced in your mouth. Just swish the wine around your mouth and pat attention to its after taste as well as the finish – look for characteristics such as light, sweet, full-bodied, powdery and tannic.
• Most premium wines benefit from aging and those are the ones you should cellar.

For information about custom wine cellar design and installation, you can call Signature Cellars on 02 9340 7515 or use this contact form to get in touch with us. We’ll be pleased to assist you and provide custom solutions that match your requirements.

Thanks for reading,
Neil Smallman
Signature Cellars
1300 570 636