My wine appreciation journey began senior year at Cornell. While I learned a lot in the class, the lessons of how to taste didn’t really stick. I mainly drank wine to enjoy it, without articulating its merits. In practical terms, this meant I was drinking the same wines, not noticing nuance. I was drinking wine, not tasting it. I’m going to help you set yourself up to become a wine taster. It’s easier and requires less equipment than you might think.
The focus of this article is on Open Tasting, where you know what you’re drinking. The more famous (infamous?) way of tasting is Blind Tasting, which you can learn more about here {LINK}. Open Tasting is more efficient in learning markers and is less daunting – there’s no pressure to get the wine “right.”
As you prepare to build your wine tasting skills, you’ll need clean glasses, a polishing cloth, something to spit into, a notebook, and wine. Ideally, someone else to taste alongside you.
Glassware
You’ll need three clean glasses per person. Look for a universal wine glass from a reputable company such as Riedel, Zwiesel, or Gabriel-Glas. Pick one glass for now, your goal is to have uniform glasses, free of designs, that can hold about 220 mL (7.8 oz). The glass should have a deep bowl (the main part of the glass), with a slightly closed rim. Avoid stemless glasses.
Having three glasses allows you to taste various wines, including laterals (different varietals that share some important characteristics) or verticals (wines from different vintages) without having to switch glassware.
Buy a glass polishing cloth. Dust can interfere with wines, especially sparkling ones, and a pristine glass ensures you’re not creating faults in the wine. Clean glasses are easier to see through, too.
Buying your wines
If you are lucky enough to have a local tasting group, there will likely be someone with more experience running the show. You can show up and give them some of your hard-earned money in exchange for their hard-earned expertise and participate.
If you are shopping on your own, go to a shop with knowledgeable staff. Explain what you are trying to do and tell them your budget. Most wine shop staff will find this to be really fun! In the beginning, focus on either a geography or varietal. My recommendation is to learn varietals first. The best way to do this is to taste 3 bottles of the same varietal from within a similar geography. E.g. Pinot Noir from Sonoma. Once you understand varietal typicity, spread out to different geographies. Learning the structure of a varietal early on will pay dividends down the road. I also recommend starting with the international varietals {LINK}. Merlot and Chardonnay are great places to start. They are both workhorse grapes that can vary greatly in quality and style. Make sure you work with single varietal wines (meaning the wine is made solely from one grape) as much as possible. Blending varietals is common and overall, a good thing in winemaking, but it can really confound you if you choose to blind taste down the road.
Tasting
Pour about 45-60 mL (1.5-2.0 ounces) in your glass. Your goal is to have enough wine in the glass to be able to assess color, observe aromas, and have enough wine to taste. There should be enough wine to cover the bottom of the bowl. Don’t pour so much wine, swirling becomes difficult or messy. Also, if you’re tasting to get better at wine tasting, you should expectorate. Getting buzzed will inhibit your ability to taste. (When I’m tasting, my order of operations is taste until I’ve completed my exercise, then go back and finish my pours if my schedule allows.)
A note on swirling: if you have appropriately sized glasses, swirling shouldn’t be cause for concern. That being said, to practice put 45-60 mL of water in your wine glass. Keep it on the table, place your thumb and index finger around the stem, near the base, and practice swirling. If you’re right-handed, it is likely easier to go counter-clockwise. (Reverse for lefties.) Once that feels comfortable, raise it in the air and swirl. Grasp the glass by the stem near the base. Your thumb will rest on your index finger between the second and third joint. As you progress, you may prefer to swirl the glass holding the base instead. If you don’t get water all over the place, you’re ready to move on to wine. If you’re still unsure of your swirling skills, start with white wine!
The point of swirling is to release volatile aroma molecules so you can smell them. Describing the aromas is often the most challenging aspect of winetasting at this level. If all you smell is “wine,” get a tasting sheet, such as this WSET Level 2 Guide {LINK} or an Aroma Wheel {LINK} (to me, the latter is overwhelming early on, but it might work for you). Having a list of possible aromas will help you put a name to what you’re smelling. Name at least three distinct aromas. If you have a hard time detecting aromas orthonasally (a fancy way of saying smelling through your nose), try retronasal tasting {LINK}.
Kits such as Le Nez du Vin can help you identify aromas more accurately. A cheaper way is by smelling what you have around you. Smelling the produce at the grocery store is one good exercise. When you smell something, say it out loud if you can, “this is what a Red Delicious apple smells like.”
Regular wine tasting will help you build a mental database of wine characteristics. I recommend building an actual database as well. A cloud-based spreadsheet is ideal, so you can take notes any time you get a chance to taste. When you’re writing your notes, they should be complete enough to be able to identify the wine a month later. In addition to your tasting notes, include the place of origin as specifically as you can, the varietal(s), the vintage, and the producer.
Each data point serves a purpose as you expand your wine knowledge. Place of origin helps you understand how geographic and other natural features influence a wine. Vintage helps you understand how changes in weather show up in the glass. Producer profiles are important too; not only can the name on the label indicate the quality level, but each producer has their own philosophy and approach to winemaking and that will be evident in the bottle.
If you are tasting frequently, you may want to invest in a wine preservation tool. I like using a Coravin. It allows me to buy one bottle and pour 5-7 tastings before the wine gets tired. Once you hit the halfway point on the bottle, it’s time to finish it. The Coravin pays for itself, even over a short time period. There are other options, such as RePour that work well, too. The simple vacuum pump closures work well enough if you are going to finish the bottle within 2-3 days for white wine and 3-4 for reds.
If any of the above feels overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. Start with a bottle of wine, a glass, and a notebook. The difference between drinking and tasting is smaller than it seems and perfection is not required to cross it. In a short time, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t been tasting all along.