Terrazas

Winetasting is an art and learning it requires time and, above all, lots of practice.
Tasting, also known as organoleptic or sensory analysis, consists in appreciating the qualities of a wine through the senses, mainly the sight, smell, and taste. Tasting is not the same as drinking. “To drink” is to take a liquid (in this case, wine) into the mouth and “to taste” is to subject it to our senses in order to analyze, describe, judge and classify it.

Tasting is a good time to examine the cork, because it can tell us something about the wine. If the inner part is wet, that is a good sign, but if the outer part is wet, it is not. If the cork is dry, the wine can be very young or the bottle may have been stored vertically. If it crumbles, it may be a bad quality cork or the wine may be too old.

The second step is to observe the wine color. To appreciate it better, it should be poured in a transparent crystal glass, preferably a tulip-shaped one, and you should raise the glass in a well-lit place and against a white surface. The look will tell us about its intensity (pale, intense, deep, dull, bright…) and tone (red wines can be red, ruby red, violet, cherry red, maroon, brick red…; white wines can be pale yellow, greenish yellow, amber, golden...)

We will then perceive the aroma or “bouquet”. In the same wine, we perceive a combination of several aromas which live together in harmony. We take the glass firmly and swirl it to oxygenate the wine and let it unleash its aromas little by little. When guiding your nose into the glass, our sense of smell will tell us if the wine is, for example, fruity (it may have hints of peaches, apricots, apples, raspberries or plums, almonds…), wooden (with notes of vanilla, oak, smoky notes) 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 palate will still contain a lingering flavor, which is important, 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, fruity or floral flavors).
In order to assess a wine correctly, we should taste it with a fresh palate which doesn’t smell of tobacco, strong alcohol or spicy food. The use of strong perfumes can also affect perception.