How to Taste Wine
It is extremely important to make sure that the glass, from which you drink, is clean and odourless. Sometimes washing up liquids leave a fragrance as well as an invisible film of dried soap. Thoroughly rinse the glass and just allow the left over water to drip on to a sheet of paper towelling.
What you have eaten in the last hour is going to affect your taste buds. Before you do any serious tasting, whether it is food or drink, you should have a glass of water, to cleanse the palate.
When tasting white wines, do not have them too cold. Most wine bars and restaurants do serve their white wines too cold. It is only when a white wine warms up a little, that it begins to open up, blossom and really show its character. Its bouquet and flavour become more prevalent.
With the red wines, particularly the Clarets and Burgundies, they need to be opened at least half an hour before drinking. If they are from really old vintages then they may require two or three hours, depending on the temperature at which they were stored. Some older red wines may have a large gap between the cork and the wine (Ullage). These wines will often require decanting prior to drinking, to enable you to remove the sediment that has formed at the bottom of the bottle over the years.
After pouring some wine into your glass, first smell the bouquet and allow your imagination to remind you of where you have smelt that aroma before. When you have done that you will also be more aware of what flavours may be contained in the liquid. When you taste the wine do not take a large gulp. Take a small sip, which should be slurped (try to take in some air in your mouth without spilling the wine) and then swirl it around your mouth allowing it to completely cover the tongue as well as getting it into the roof of your mouth. This process will take about half a minute. During that time you will experience all the different flavours of the wine. Write down your thoughts. You should soon begin to gain the experience and ideas as to which wine best supplements which foods.
How the wine has been stored is important. Wine unlike spirits is "Alive" in the bottle. If white wines are stored too cold, at near freezing temperatures and then allowed over a period of weeks to come back to room temperature, it is not uncommon to notice bits of crystals floating in the bottle. These are tartrates. Whilst unsightly they are very good. Most wine-makers know they cannot sell bottles containing these crystals (they use to call the crystals WINE DIAMONDS), but they love to keep them for their own consumption, as those wines will be the richest in character.
With a red wine that has been stored in too cold a temperature and then brought up to room temperature quickly, the wine can sometimes go cloudy. Some of the tannins in the wine together with the tartrates will have solidified. To try and bring some brightness back to this wine, you will have to pour it through a folded muslin cloth and into a decanter. The problem here is spillage and the time it takes for the wine to settle. If too much air is allowed to come into contact with it, the wine will oxidise and might become quite unpleasant.
Generally speaking wine should best be kept at about between 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 8-12 degrees Centigrade. If the wine is kept in a colder condition its development will be slower. If the temperature is slightly higher, then its development will be faster. At all times remember wine does not like vast temperature changes.
Always store wine on its side whether it is red, white, rosé or Champagne. The cork should always be in contact with the wine. And remember; don't forget about your wine in storage, its there to be drunk. Enjoy it before it tires.
How to Taste Spirits
Spirits General
When tasting spirits make sure the glass is clean. Have a glass of cold water to cleanse your palate. Some of the plainest, still mineral water should be added to the glass. If one does not do this, it will be virtually impossible to taste and smell all the flavours and aromas in the bouquet respectively because of the extremely high level of alcohol. Wines will contain from 9 to 15% alcohol where as most spirits will be at least 37.5% or more. The more alcohol, the more the numbing the effect of the alcohol on the taste buds.
One will also become more intoxicated by the alcohol the more the more diluted it is because it is easier for the digestive system to break down the enzymes and allow the alcohol into the blood stream.
Whisky
Pour some of the contents in the clean glass. Dilute it. See how the adding of the water affects the whisky. It will appear to be slightly oily. All spirits will display this characteristic. Allow the glass to stand for a few minutes. Sniff the aromas of the contents. They should slowly become more prevalent. Then taste the contents. Allow the whisky to swirl around your mouth and to also enter the roof of your mouth. Chew it, but do not swallow it. You will begin to enjoy its flavours. Your senses will be more alive to the character of the product.
The older the whisky the more naturally mellow it will be. It will become more apparent to you the more experienced you become at tasting, that age is a wonderful thing. You will also gain knowledge as to which types of whisky you prefer. Each different distillery produces a completely unique product.
In fact, all spirits (but to a lesser extent in the case of Vodka) are unique in taste and style, much like wine, except much stronger than wine and there is no change to the spirit once it has been bottled. One should therefore taste spirits as one tastes wine in order to discover the style and flavours that one enjoys the most.
