Tasting wine is an art which requires time and above all, a lot of practice. Sampling or tasting, also called organoleptic of sensory analysis, is the appreciation of the fine qualities of a wine across the senses, principally, sight, smell and taste. To sample (or to taste) and “to drink” is to take in liquid (in our case, wine) and “to sample or taste” is to present the liquid to our sense to analyze, describe, judge and classify. Before tasting the wine, it’s a good idea to have a look at the cork as it can tell you something about the wine. It is a good sign if it is moist at one end; however, not such a good one if the moisture has spread throughout its length, as the wine could be oxidized. If the cork is dry, you are either dealing with a young wine or a wine whose bottle has been standing vertically. If it is coming apart, it would be of a rather mediocre quality or perhaps the wine is very old. The second stage is to look at the color of the wine. To appreciate properly this part of the tasting, you ought to serve the wine preferably in a tulip –shaped wineglass, and hold it in a well –lit area and against a white surface. Simply by looking at it, you will be able to gather information about its intensity (pale, intense, deep, dull, bright…) and about its color tone (the red wines can be described as red, ruby, violet, cherry, garnet, tile red…; and the whites as pale yellow, green –yellow, amber, golden…). You will then analyze the aroma or “bouquet”. Inside just one glass, you will perceive a combination of several aromas which co-exist in perfect harmony. You will hold the glass firmly and slightly swirl it to oxygenate the wine and for it to unleash its different aromas slowly. When guiding your nose into the glass, our sense of smell will tell us if the wine is, for example, fruity (hints of peaches, apricots, apples, raspberries or plums, almonds…), caramelized (notes of honey, butter or caramel) or floral. At this stage you should be looking for harmony, fruit, intensity, wood, and ageing. The final stage is to taste the wine. You shall take a sip, enough to fill the mouth and we shall hold it for a few seconds trying to suck in a little air for the wine to oxygenate and release all of its flavor. At this point, the aromas will go up to the nostrils, giving the impression that you are tasting and breathing the wine at the same time. Then, the wine is swallowed or spat, but the palette will still contain an important lingering flavor, since a wine is judged by its persistence in the mouth. So, there are “short finish” wines (flavor persists for up to a maximum of 11 seconds) and wines of “long tasting and lingering finish” (maximum of 25 seconds). At this final stage, you should be looking for length of finish (short or long in the mouth, velvety), balance, acidity, body (light, medium, heavy), sweetness (dry or sweet), tannins and the flavors in general (intense or weak flavors in general (intense or weak flavor, fruity, floral). In order to assess a wine correctly, wee should taste a wine with a fresh palette which doesn’t smell of tobacco, strong alcohol or spicy food. The use of strong perfumes can also alter our perception.