The Taste Process

Just this morning, while tasting a bunch of red wines, I caught myself reflecting on my particular tasting process, the first move being the observing of the color and weight (or viscosity) of the wine in the glass and I realized how much that first test of appearance influenced my appreciation of a particular wine

In the natural order of things, it is obvious that the first sense brought into play by wine is the sense of sight, and for me, there is much more to it than a beguiling or beautiful color: I can tell whether the wine is young or old, full bodied or light, immature, approaching its peak, going downhill or out of condition; the color can give a clue to the style of the wine, the varietal and sometimes even the area from which it comes.

Generally speaking dry young white wines look cool, fresh, mouthwatering, inviting; sweet white wines have a golden hue, anticipating their honeyed richness of smell and taste, as for the reds, the variations are endless: from the light, pink purple of fresh young Beaujolais, through claret garnet, to the rich robe of a great Burgundy; then for a rosé it can vary from the pale onion-skin of Provence, the orange pink of Anjou to the pink red of the Rhone Tavels.

Of course all the natural colors of wines are enhanced by beautiful table settings like candle or perfect lighting and especially the proper glassware as I recommended in a prior column.

However, apart from aesthetic consideration, it will be the relative depth of color and the variations in hue which, in combination gives us so much advance information that we supplement later by our sense of smell which is confirmed and enhanced on the palate.

Let’s examine how these observations can be made: once the wine is poured, the tasting glass is tilted at an angle over a mat white background, like a napkin or a regular piece of paper and after having appropriately swirled the liquid, I will check for the viscosity of the wine –we call them legs! -, telling me how extracted and concentrated the wine is, the meatier and heavier wines being usually the richer and probably the most expensive.

I will not buy a wine without viscosity and no legs as it will tend to be insipid and the flavors watered down, simply because that’s what it is: colored water, a step above resides Two Buck Chuck!

Voila, see you soon at Mille Fleurs and Mister A's