How to Drink Wine 101

From the Shuswap Wine Journal - by Jake Ootes, 2014

It is not necessary to squint, swirl, swish and gurgle to enjoy wine. But using the following low key steps will help you appreciate the wine you drink. A glass of wine can bring a lot of pleasure to life. Here is a simple strategy to enjoy the taste of wine and put your senses to full use.

Look at the wine - grasp the glass by the stem you want to see the wine clearly and you don't want to warm it up by letting the bowl of glass sit in the palm of your hand. Some wine geeks hold the glass by the base I think it's a bit much hold the glass up to the light so you can see the wines colour. Whites can vary from colorless to straw-coloured. Reds can range from deep ruby to pinkish. Colour is an important aesthetic impression wine can make - just like appetizing food taste better than a poorly presented dish as an example: a deep ruby-coloured wine can seem richer and more flavorful than a pale one.

Smell the wine - Just as every rose has its own scent, so does almost every wine. Good wine smells wonderful. Its fragrance is called the bouquet or nose. With a little bit of experience you may find hints of plum, apple, strawberries, pepper or chocolate to name just a few. After you have inspected the wine swirl it around in the glass. This brings the wine in contact with the air which releases the esters - liquids that contain the wine aromatic qualities. More air means more bouquet.

Taste the wine - take a sip and swirl it around in your mouth, over your tongue, around the sides of your mouth. Suck some air and gurgle (don't do this at the dinner table) This seems silly but it puts more of the wine in contact with the air and brings out delicious flavors and sends flavors up towards your olfactory bulb, which is behind the top of your nose. It's the spot where you get a headache when you eat ice cream too fast. You will likely recognize sensations of sweetness and acidity. Is the wine crisp, with acidity balancing out the sweetness or fruitiness? How does the wine feel in your mouth? Do you like the taste and feel of this wine? Try to describe it to yourself. Then swallow.

The Finish - Don't tune out the moment you swallow. Some sensations remain in the mouth for a relatively long time which creates the pleasure of drinking them. Some wines have very little finish which doesn't mean they aren't good wines, just that a long finish isn't their style. But the finished should be pleasant and clean tasting. Turn on your senses. As you drink wine over time your senses will become more attuned to the subtle aromas and taste, and you'll become more confident about deciding what you like.

Winemakers aren't satisfied to simply make wonderful wines and have them sit in bottles. Winemakers are only truly fulfilled when appreciative people open the bottles and savor a glass or two.
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