March 20th, 2007
In celebration of tomorrow’s commencement of my two year foray into WSET Diploma certification, I thought I would go through a very brief overview of the basics of wine tasting. When I used to give tours at Robert Mondavi, I would go through the 5 S’s of wine tasting and it was a great learning tool for the visitors. I’m not entirely sure where the “ 5 S’s” came from and I may have actually made them up myself. In any case, here they are and I hope it is helpful to you!
The 5 S’s are See, Sniff, Swirl, Sniff and Sip
See- All wine tasting begins by holding the glass up to a good light and then, ideally, viewing the glass against a white surface. Your wine color should be clear and not opaque unless you have a very well-aged wine with a ton of sediment (this is rare). Take a moment to note the color. If it is a white wine is it: Yellow? Gold? Straw colored? Water white? If it is a red wine would you call it: Ruby? Purple? Garnet? Wines can range dramatically in color depending on the type of grape used to make the wine and how long the wine sat with the skins or macerated. As wines age they get deeper in color so a good look at the color of the wine can tell you a bit about how old it is. Also, notice the streams of water on the sides of your glass. These are called “legs.” Legs are a point of contention as some affirm that the more legs a wine has, the better the wine. Others claim that legs denote sugar or alcohol content. There are also those who would say that legs do not mean anything!
Sniff- The next step is to give your wine a nice big sniff. Don’t be shy. Stick your nose way into the bowl of the glass and try to decipher the smells. Remember that wine tasting can be very subjective and there are no right or wrong answers. Do you smell fruit? If so, what kind of fruit is it? Is it a black fruit? A tropical fruit? Does your wine smell like oak? Or… is it very difficult to smell anything at all? This is certainly possible if you have yet to swirl your wine.
Swirl- After your initial sniff, hold your wine at the base and lightly swirl the wine in your glass. Get a nice momentum going with your wrist. The swirling process sends oxygen through the wine, expands the surface area and allows the aromas to open up. This is sometimes called “swirling the esters”
Sniff- Now, smell your wine again. Do you notice a change? There should be a remarkable difference between your pre-swirl and post-swirl sniff. If not, work your wine a bit more and give it some time to open. Try your best to pinpoint the aromas and write them down if you’d like.
Sip- Finally, take a nice big sip of your wine. Let the wine spread out across your mouth, curl your tongue, and breathe in air through your tongue. This will send air through the wine once again while in your mouth and allow it to open even further. What do you taste? Sweetness? Dryness? Spice? Fruitiness? The sky is the limit! Did the taste surprise you? Was it similar on the palate to the nose? After you swallow, take a minute to notice the “finish” and the “length” of the wine. The “finish” is the after taste and the “length” is the period of time that it lingers. A really good wine will have a pleasing finish and a very long length. A poor wine falls flat very quickly.
Now you are ready to taste with the experts!
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there should be another S, for “Send” to send back the bottle if you don’t like it
What are the 5 s’s of Beer Tasting?
Is any and all wine worthy of such rigorous tasting techniques?
any wine can be judged in this manner, yes
Nerd Alert!
I gave a wine tasting to my art class and showed them these tricks as well as some others I’ve learned along my way. They were thoroughly impressed even the moldy bagel and creepy performance artist guy.
Wine really does bring people together
Fun fact: I have a new goal to be your top commentor since I’m your top sister.
Watch out Mike!
i would actually be ok with your sister being the number 1 commentor, and i might even hold back so she can take her rightful place. just keep in mind that i’m number AWESOME.
Fun fact: I have a new goal to be your top commentor since I’m your top sister.
Watch out Mike!
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You gotta wake up early in the morning to catch mikey boom in comments
[...] do not smell the cork. Smell the wine. Taste the wine as you normally would- swirl- sniff-sip and look for off-aromas like wet newspaper, mustiness, or even a complete lack of smell. These are [...]