How to Taste & Describe Wine

The following are brief analytic instructions on how I taste wine.  There are also desciptors I like to use on how to descibe the color of wine as well as descriptors to describe the smells and flavors.

(1) SITE Hold the wine against a white backdrop and look at the wine assessing the color and clarity. Swirl the wine to observe the viscosity or “legs” (aka tears) as they form down the side of the glass. Fast, slow, clear, or colorful— legs do not mean anything in regards to the quality of the wine it just helps to determine the weight and body!

(2) SMELL Swirl the wine to release the aromas and smell in small sniffs. (Just like a police dog!) Repeat several times. FEW! Fruit, Earth, Wood! First think of fruit smells, then earthy (floral) smells, then wood (baking spice) smells.

(3) TASTE Take a small taste of the wine letting it coat your tongue. Repeat if necessary. What is the body of the wine—LIGHT, MEDIUM, FULL? FEW! Fruit, Earth, Wood! First think of fruit tastes, then earthy tastes, then wood tastes, if any.


SITE & COLOR SPECTRUM

WHITE WINE: PALE YELLOW-GREEN →YELLOW-STRAW→YELLOW-GOLD→GOLD→YELLOW-BROWN→BROWN
RED WINE: PURPLE→RUBY→RED→GARNET-RUST→BROWN
(I believe this is stolen from Kevin Zraly's great read...)

WINE DESCRIPTORS words & verbs to descibe wine



FRUIT

ORCHARD-APPLE, PEAR, QUINCE

CITRUS-LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, POMELO, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINE, CLEMENTINE

STONE-PEACH, APRICOT, NECTARINE

TROPICAL-PINEAPPLE, GUAVA, BANANA, STAR FRUIT, LYCHEE, MANGO, PAPAYA, KIWI, PASSION FRUIT

RED/BERRY-STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY, BLACKBERRY, GOOSEBERRY, CRANBERRY, POMEGRANATE

BLACK/DARK-PLUM, CHERRY, CURRANT, FIG, CASSIS, DATES



EARTH

HERBS-ROSEMARY, SAGE, THYME, PARSLEY, EUCALYPTUS, CILANTRO, LAVENDER, FENNEL, GREEN PEPPER, OLIVE, ASPARAGUS, TOBACCO, BLACK PEPPER, WHITE PEPPER, CUCUMBER, BLACK TEA, WHITE TEA, LEMONGRASS

FLORAL (FLOWERS)-ORANGE BLOSSOM, VIOLET, ROSE, LILAC, TULIP, HIBISCUS, GRASS, HONEYSUCKLE, BEES NEST, BEES WAX, CHAMOMILE, YEASTY, BREAD DOUGH, BISCUITY

EARTHINESS-MUSHROOM, FOREST FLOOR, CEDAR, PINE, MULCH, CHANTERELLE, MOREL, COMPOST, TRUFFLE, PETROL, DIESEL

ANIMAL-BACON FAT, LEATHER, BARNYARD, SWINE, CAT



WOOD

(OAK INFLUENCE IN WINE)

VANILLA-VANILLA BEAN, VANILLA EXTRACT

NUTS-HAZELNUT, ALMOND, MACADAMIA NUT, COCONUT, WALNUT, PECAN

BAKING SPICE-CINNAMON, NUTMEG, ALLSPICE, CLOVE, ANISE