A wine tasting is about more than just drinking a glass of wine. You need to evaluate a wine from all sides - smell, taste, and feel.

Identify what fruits you smell (as well as any other aromas) and note whether they are ripe or overripe. Also look for herbs and other notes.

Learn About Wine

Wine tasting is an opportunity to experience the whole range of attributes a wine has to offer. This includes flavors, textures, weight and overall “structure” – as well as a physical feel from tannins and alcohol. After perceiving the olfactory characteristics, the wine taster savors the wine by holding it in their mouth for a few seconds to saturate their taste buds. Then the taster evaluates the intensity of the flavor and how long it lingers in their mouth (the finish).

Swirl your glass to aerate the wine and release aromas during wine tasting— these are compounds called esters. By swirling, you can often find notes that aren’t apparent when just sniffing the bottle.

Take a small sip and roll it around your tongue, letting it touch all parts of your mouth, especially your cheeks and teeth. Purse your lips and suck in a little to mimic chewing, and then slowly swallow the wine – make sure to savor your wine tasting experience.

As you sip and savor, take notes of each wine – what stood out about it, the flavors, and textures. Keep these notes and use them to help you discover your wine preferences. And remember to spit when you’re done tasting – it is a good idea to bring a bucket to pour your wine into. You don’t want to be that person who gulps all the samples and ends up getting really, really drunk!

Meet New People

Wine tastings offer a great setting to make new friends. You will already have one thing in common with everyone there, a love for wine! While you can still meet new people on other social occasions, like dinner parties and bars, wine tastings give you a chance to interact and connect with people while learning about wines.

Getting to know people through a shared interest is always a good thing. And wine is a pretty interesting subject to learn about! You can use your new wine knowledge to impress your friends and make new ones at the same time.

You may think that wine tasting is a bit intimidating, especially when you walk into the tasting room and see all of those snobby somms who know so much more than you do! But wine tasting doesn't have to be that way. If you go into the experience with the mindset that it's a fun way to meet new people and learn about wines, then you will have a great time.

While you're tasting, try not to gulp down the wine in big sips. It's best to take small sips so that you can fully enjoy the taste of the wine and experience its aroma. Pay attention to how the wine swirls in your mouth and see if you notice any flavors that linger after you swallow or spit it out. Also, if you don't like a wine, it's okay to not like it. You can keep trying other wines until you find something that you really love.

Try New Wines

You may be surprised to find that you love a wine you never thought you would, but that’s part of the fun! It’s a great opportunity to try new wines, learn the difference between dry and sweet and gain a better understanding of what makes one wine better than another.

Once you’ve gotten to know the winery through their aromas (combining short sniffs with deep inhales) it’s time to taste. Take a small sip, but don’t take a large gulp. This is the moment to judge the sweetness, acidity, tannins (if it’s red) and body. Remember to swish it around your mouth, covering all of the surfaces and paying special attention to how the wine warms on your tongue and what flavors persist long after you swallow or spit it out.

The swishing is done to open the palate and aerate the wine, but it’s also an important time to notice whether the wine has “legs,” or tears, that run down the sides of the glass. This indicates high glycerin content and generally means that the wine will be fuller, richer, denser and more mouth-filling.

Discover Your Wine Preferences

As you taste wine more and more you’ll learn what styles of wine you prefer. For example, if you love the sweetness of apple juice, then you’ll probably enjoy sweet white wines. If you like the tang of grapefruit, then you might be a good candidate for dry reds. Wine tasting can also help you discover what flavors you enjoy in other drinks and foods, such as coffee, that can translate to your wine preferences.

It’s important to remember that wine is a sensual experience and tasting it best requires your full attention. To get the most out of your tasting, relax and take your time to see, swirl, smell, sip, and savor each glass. This will allow you to really notice the nuances of each wine.

Additionally, it’s helpful to practice your wine-tasting skills in advance. Use a proper wine glass – these are designed to maximize aromas – and avoid other smells or flavors that can interfere with your ability to assess the wine. This includes avoiding spicy foods or any other scents that can compete with the smell of wine.

So, if you’re looking for a fun new way to explore wine and learn about your palate, we suggest trying a wine tasting event! We offer a wide variety of tastings throughout the year, so be sure to check out our calendar and sign up for our newsletter to stay in touch.