Our eyes are delighted by the ruby red of a Pinot Noir, our nose by flashes of fruit, oak and spice. Taking a sip, we notice the grip of tannins on the palate, the warmth of the alcohol, the soft sweetness of Pinot Noir; plum, blackberry, and a touch of refreshing acidity.
Done right, wine is a treat to all the senses (even hearing if you count popping the cork), but appreciating good wine in all its nuance and complexity takes close attention, and many hours of wine drinking practice.
Put that way, it sounds pretty nice.
But whether you’re looking to join the ranks of the wine professional, or just to enjoy a fine bottle now and then, if you’re buying wine from Burgundy, you’ll want to make the most of it. In this article, we’ll lay out the four step process for tasting wine like a pro. It only takes about a minute, and will give you a great overall sense for the profile of the wine in your glass. It'll also help you remember the taste of specific bottles, and start building out your mental map of the grape varieties.
And unless you're on the clock; no, you don’t have to spit the wine out.
See
The first step to assessing your wine is simple; look at it.
First, note the viscosity of the wine, which is determined by a mix of sweetness and alcohol. These lend richness and substance to wine, and the little ‘legs’ or ‘tears’ running down the side of your glass are a great way to assess that visually. Lots of tears means your wine is higher in alcohol content, say 12 to 14%. The more slowly these run, the more sugar is in the wine.
Next, note the color. Red wine gets paler and browner as it ages, white wine gets darker. For instance, if your red is vibrant and richly colored, it’s probably on the younger side. Alternatively, if your white wine is golden or amber colored, you’re probably drinking a mature wine. Older reds tend to develop a brick-colored edge that can be seen when viewing a very thin section of the wine, like the very top of the wine in a tilted glass. It is commonly used to assess a wine still in the bottle, by shining a light underneath/through the neck of the bottle to see the “bricking”. Clarity can also be a factor when it comes to judging a bottle. Most wines will seem clear, not cloudy. Cloudiness isn’t necessarily a problem, particularly in white wines, and the cloudiness should pass if the bottle is allowed to rest for a few weeks. Unfortunately, in some cases cloudiness might instead indicate a problem with the wine. Possible causes include oxidation (faulty cork) and microbial/bacterial activity, neither of which suggests that the wine will be enjoyable.
Then, take a look at the bottle and see what type of grape you’re drinking and what region the wine is from. You can also verify the age and alcohol content to see how well you did in your visual assessment.
Anticipation is building.
Smell
Next up is aroma. From the hot summer sun to the techniques of the winemaker, much of a wine’s history can be deduced from its scent, and since the majority of our sense of taste comes from smell, you’ll want to get a really good impression of that smell before you take your first sip.
Wine’s aromas are usually broken down into three categories: primary aromas from the fruit, secondary aromas from the winemaking process, and tertiary aromas from aging.
When you go in for a sniff, try to get an overall sense of what you’re smelling. There are over 1000 different scents coming out of your glass, so feel free to keep it simple. Does it smell fresh and fruity, indicating a young wine? Or does it smell more like dried fruit, with savory tertiary aromas of leather, tobacco, and mushroom instead? For white wines, is the fruit more reminiscent of green apple, gold melon, or pineapple? For the reds, is it more cherry, plum, or blackberry?
If you notice a musty or moldy smell, the wine is likely corked, which means the cork failed and too much oxygen entered the bottle. Cork is a natural product which sometimes has flaws. Often though, the original cork is fine and the problem arises due to poor storage; if bottles are stored upright, there’s no contact between the cork and the wine, and eventually the cork will dry out and shrink or crack, letting too much oxygen in. Remember to store your bottles sideways if you plan to keep them for more than a year! (Incidentally, sniffing the cork itself is not generally considered worthwhile, as it has its own odors which may not have an impact on the wine - you’re looking to enjoy the wine, not the cork!)
Sip
Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Take a small sip. Swirl it around in your mouth, let it warm up so the volatile aroma compounds can vaporize. Suck a bit of air in, giving the wine a burst of oxidation and bringing those aroma compounds to the back of your throat and up into your nose.
Note the tannins - are they soft and smooth like driftwood, or harsh and astringent, like biting into a grapevine? Tannins are naturally astringent and slightly bitter, but they grow softer and smoother with age. In the right quantities, the astringency of tannins plays a very important role providing structure, texture and grip to the wine, while rounding out the flavor of the sweetness and acidity.
If your wine is a tad too astringent, try swirling your glass for a few seconds, or pouring the bottle off into a decanter. Oxygen speeds up the lifecycle of tannins, causing them to mellow out more quickly.
Next, note the balance between acidity and sweetness - a good wine should be well-balanced on both fronts; not so sweet as to be syrupy (with an exception for dessert wines) and not soacidic as to make you pucker - only enough to bring some zip and liveliness to the glass.
You can also note the finish of the wine, the flavors and aromas that linger on your palate, like echoes, a few moments longer than the rest.
Savor
Step four is savor; enjoying and reflecting on the full experience. Was the wine well-balanced? Did all the elements flow seamlessly into one another, or was there something unpleasant that stuck out; distracting you from the other elements like the wrong note in a song? Was there more tannin than you liked? Did you find the wine too dry, lacking in sweetness? Or maybe there wasn’t enough acidity, and the wine felt flat, flabby, and lifeless.
Think about the different characteristics you noted in your tasting, and see if they make sense together. Were you surprised by the fresh fruit taste given the faded color? Did the aromas match up with the taste as you expected? Place the wine in your memory, thinking about what grape it was, what you enjoyed most, how it might have compared to previous vintages or other wines by the same producer.
Lots of thinking, I know. But humans have been making wine for 8,000 years, reaching such a state of perfection that a little nuance is called for - especially if you’re drinking Burgundy.
Conclusion
It’s as simple as that - sight, smell, sip, and savor. With a clear and distinct impression of your wine, next time you’re shopping you’ll have a much better idea of what you like, even if you don’t remember the bottle perfectly.
It should go without saying that you don’t have to follow the full tasting process for every bottle you drink (though you certainly could); you might get a few strange looks if you start gargling the $10 bottle of plonk that your friends picked up for your weekend barbecue.
But if you have the chance to drink a better than average bottle, taking a few minutes to properly acquaint yourself with the wine will make a big difference in how much you appreciate, enjoy, and remember it. These steps don’t all have to be done at once either. Often I’ll do them here and there over the course of a casual bottle as the wine softens up and my palate grows accustomed to the wine. Indeed, especially with older bottles, the wines change over time in your glass and you’ll want to check in and capture the complexities as they roll out.
A big benefit of a proper tasting is that it’ll help you find and explore new wines. Did you really enjoy the tannins in your red? Try a red Burgundy made with whole cluster fermentation. Did you enjoy the richness and oak of your Chardonnay? Try a bottle of white Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune, the region of Burgundy best known for that style.
In all cases, happy drinking!