Published in the June 10-23, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Cindy Adams
Cindy Adams
When most people are tasting wine they make comments like “Mmmm…this tastes good,” or “This makes my mouth puckery.” But sometimes you’re likely to hear, “The nose reminds me of dried strawberries with a hint of cinnamon. There is some acid mid-palate and soft tannins on the finish.”
There is a special wine tasting vocabulary and knowing some of the terms will help you better understand reviews, labels and lists you find in tasting rooms and restaurants. Once you become familiar with these terms, you’ll wonder how you described wine any other way.
When you pick up a glass of wine, swirl it and put your nose right in the glass and take a big whiff. Why? Because you want to determine the “nose” of the wine. The nose is a general term for the aromas found in the wine. The nose is a large part of the tasting experience and you should let your imagination roam when figuring out what you’re smelling. The nose can also help you determine if a wine is dry. In this case, “dry” is not the opposite of “wet,” but rather the opposite of “sweet.” If a wine is dry, it means all the sugar originally found in the grape has been eaten up by the yeast during fermentation, and converted into alcohol. Dry wines, overall, pair best with food.
When you take your first sip of a wine, a couple of things might happen. In addition to the general flavors of the wine, you might sense a literal mouthwatering experience. This is caused by acidity in the wine and it’s actually a very good thing and makes wine more food-friendly. It can best be described as a slight “zing” in your mouth. Another sensation you might experience is a puckery feeling on the sides of your tongue. This is telling you that a wine is tannic or has tannins. You will only feel this when tasting red wines since tannins are caused by the skins and seeds of the grape, which give the wine its red color.
No matter if a wine is red, white, dry or sweet, it will have body. This is determined by how it actually feels in your mouth so, consequently, the “body” is determined by the “mouth feel.” A wine described as having a light body will have more of a consistency of water in your mouth than one described as a heavier-bodied wine, which will coat your mouth a bit. Body is important in figuring out which food to pair it with, as a light-bodied wine should go with lighter foods, and so on. You probably wouldn’t want to pair a heavier bodied wine (like a Cabernet Sauvignon) with, say, a chicken Caesar salad. The wine would overpower the food.
After you’ve tasted the wine you will, obviously, swallow it. Once you do, ask yourself — does the taste of the wine stay in my mouth or does it go away quickly? What you’re doing is determining the finish of the wine. The finish is described as the lingering impression of flavor and tactile sensation that remains in your mouth after the wine is swallowed. A dry, heavy-bodied red wine with good tannins should generally have a long finish. See, you’re thinking like a wine person now.
Finally, what about those legs? This is a question that gets a lot of attention, especially by novice wine tasters. When you swirl a glass of wine, it often leaves a coating on the glass that separates into little rivulets. Sometimes these are thin and run down the side of the glass very quickly, or they’re thicker and move more slowly. These legs are an indication of two things: alcohol and sugar content. Most wines will have thinner, faster legs, but those sweeter dessert wines or wines with about 14 percent alcohol (considered a higher level) will move slower. There are many more terms to learn.
Interested in further study? Get a copy of The New Wine Lover’s Companion by Ron and Sharon Herbst. This book describing all things wine is handy for a quick reference. Cheers!
