Learn how to taste wine with 4 basic steps. The following wine tasting tips are practiced by sommeliers to refine their palates and sharpen their ability to recall wines. Even though this method is used by pros, it’s actually quite simple to understand and can help anyone to improve their wine palate.
Anyone can taste wine, all you need is a glass of wine and your brain. There are 4 steps to wine tasting:
- Look: A visual inspection of the wine under neutral lighting
- Smell: Identify aromas through orthonasal olfaction (e.g. breathing through your nose)
- Taste: Assess both the taste structure (sour, bitter, sweet) and flavors derived from retronasal olfaction (e.g. breathing with the back of your nose)
- Think/Conclude: Develop a complete profile of a wine that can be stored in your long term memory.
