Wine tasting is verisimilar to a fine art. It engages three senses to appreciate the aroma of the bouquet. There's a certain savoir-faire to letting wine languish on the palette as the quintessence of the grapes returns back to life. Use these devices, tips and sensory tactics to learn the fine art of wine tasting like an aficionado.

The Eyes

Before placing the glass to your lips, stare deeply into the wine goblet. What do you see? At first glimpse, it may appear simply "red" or tinged in yellow. But, as one stares into the abyss of the wine glass, a spectrum of shades may become apparent. Is the red wine rendering undertones of tan or brown? In certain whites, a green aura may be another value to identify. What is the hue of the wine?

The blush depicts what, where, when and how. In other words, the color of wine can identify the type of grape, its region of origin, age and whether it's a blend or 100 percent of one grape variety. The dark the intensity of red wine projects its grape variety. For instance, Cabernets and Petite wine Syrahs gravitate toward the deeper red. In terms of Pinot Noir and Merlots, they are generally lighter. However, Merlots may exude more of a density in color.

On the rim of the glass, a wine's coloration can tell its age. By tilting a glass at approximately a 45-degree angle, the edge of the wine may show a tint ranging from brown, purple to orange. Purplish represents youth; whereas, orangey to brownish tints demonstrate maturity.

By the time an aficionado visually inspects the wine for age, blend and color, the aromas should start to burgeon.

Now, without spilling the wine, swirl the glass in gradual circular motions - or until you feel comfortable, enough to give it one vigorous swirl. (This can take a little practice). It enables the wine to open up like a rose blossoming right before the nose as it releases its fragrant constituents. After you stop swirling the glass, you will notice that it is crying or walking back to cavity of the glass. These wine drippings are referred to as the wine's "tears" or "legs." The more prevalent the number of tears or legs, the more alcohol the wine contains.

The Nose

To some, the smell of wine is far more relevant than its taste. Whether a wine taster prefers to sniff, inhale or sip wine, taking in the bouquet or (as some, call it the "nose") is a vital step that should NEVER be skipped. Intensifying the essences of wine is an important facet of the fine art of wine tasting because it arouses the grapes flavors for easy recognition. A rapid way to capture the aroma of wine is to swirl the wine up and down the sides of the glass. As it leaves a small amount of wine residue or a lining along the interior of the glass, these thin layers will evaporate from the exposure to oxygen - emitting a wonderful bouquet.

The Palette

And now for the pay-off, take a moderate sip of wine. In a docile fashion, swish it throughout the mouth's crevices, engaging the different parts of the mouth and tongue to take delight in the culmination of zests. Allow the tongue to frolic, dance and stroke the wine's texture. Is the kiss smooth? Is the tongue left parched or is it invigorated? Amid other sensory engagements, this is the one step that should be indulged with slow deliberation. After all, there's a fine art of wine tasting like an aficionado. Discover more delicious wine tasting tactics from href="http://www.alertsforconsumers.com">TheConsumerJournal.com

About the Author

Please feel free to add this article to your website or ezine with the following message: This article is a courtesy of Holly Bentz, (c) 2006 href="http://fruitionmedia.net">fruitionMedia.net - All Rights Reserved. For more informative consumer information visit href="http://www.alertsforconsumers.com">AlertsForConsumers.com

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Wine Tasting Like an Aficionado


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I think it quite safe to say that more has been written about the cultivation of grapes than has - or ever will be - written about any other fruit. This is not surprising, considering that the grape is probably the oldest of known fruits.

Surprisingly, grapes do not need loads of manures and fertilizers; they grow well on quite poor soils and need little after-attention. The roots will search out and find what they want; all we have to concern ourselves with is where to put the top-growth - the vine itself.

If one wall of your house faces south, south-west or even west, that problem is solved very easily. If you cannot plant the vine under that particular wall, plant it round the corner and train the vine round to the sunny side of the house. Grapes may be grown in the open garden in similar fashion to loganberries, or they may be trained over sheds, garages, out-houses and such-like.

Vines are not expensive, and if two are planted, the yield may be regarded as fantastic when considering the value of the wine that may be made for many years.

Planting is best carried out in autumn and in any case before Christmas. If planting against a wall, take out a hole about two feet each way and plant so that the stem of the vine is about fifteen inches away from the wall itself. Dig deeply and work in any compost that may be available and some builders' rubble if you can get some. A dusting of lime forked in will be helpful. Spread out the roots well and plant as recommended for fruit trees.

Having planted the vine, spread a little manure above the roots: this will not be necessary in subsequent seasons, but the vine will benefit from a mulch each spring if you can give it one.

Vines must not be allowed to fruit the first season; therefore they must be cut back to about four buds.

Having planted the vine and cut it back, we must decide how to train it to cover the wall. The best plan is to use special wall nails, run wires to and from these and train the vine to the wires.

The four long growths that come from the four buds you left when cutting back are stopped at the bud nearest the growing point. These four leaders are the basis from which the vine will be built up to cover the wall. If flower buds form during the first season, they should be nipped off so that the vine uses its energy producing wood for subsequent fruiting. First-season fruiting often permanently weakens a vine.

When pruning, remember that next year's fruit will be borne on the wood made this year. But we do not want masses of long, straggling growths hanging about all over the place, so during the summer it is best to cut some of them out. Those left to bear next year's fruit should be cut back to five or six buds in autumn or early winter. Only new growth should be cut during the summer; never cut old wood during summer - indeed old wood must never be cut after Christmas, as this can cause profuse bleeding which may be quite impossible to stop. By all means cut away some of the old growth to make way for new wood, but if this has not been done before Christmas leave it until the next winter.

Many varieties ripen in September - or earlier if the summer has been good. This is especially advantageous because the weather is still warm enough for a satisfactory ferment when you come to make the wine. This is not so important to those who carry out their fermentation in the house, but where it has to be carried on in a shed or outhouse the warm weather is a great help.

About the Author

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on home wine making have appeared in print and on many websites. You can find more of these at: www.makinggreatwine.com

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