Sommelier Julee Resendez
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Wine Tips from Julee Resendez:
Tasting like a Pro
By Jim Clarke
Tasting like a professional
comprises three major elements: sight, smell, and (of course)
taste.
Sight: The color will
help you determine whether a wine is older or younger. For
whites, a younger wine has a golden yellow hue, and in age
it will become more orange and copper. Red wines are the
exact opposite: when a red has aged for awhile, it will
lose much of its color and become orange to reddish brown,
whereas in its youth it will have blue and deep red hues.
What do “legs” mean? It used to be thought as
a determination of
sugar content in a wine, but actually it’s an indicator
of the alcohol content and therefore, viscosity.
Also look for clarity – if the wine is hazy, has bubbles,
etc. It is best to assess the wine against a white background,
making it easier to judge the limpidity (clearness or transparency).
The Nose: Smell is an
important sensory element. The nose detects odor, and with
it the mind’s library of sense memories can transport
you to a particular time, place, and moment where you can
smell the lavender in your Grandmother’s garden, or
the heady smell of jasmine from a vacation in Crete. This
library that is catalogued in your mind will help you to
identify varietals, region, or even a vintage in the glass.
Use adjectives that strike an everyday note with you –
straw, honeysuckle, pear or whatever they may be. It is
important to remember that there are no wrong answers when
it comes to smell: every person has a distinct nose. Look
for elements of intensity, aromatic characteristics, and
age.
Taste: This is the part
that we all enjoy, but it is important to actually note
what is in your mouth. Munch on the wine, chew it, slurp
it, and then spit. It is amusing to me to see serious wine
professionals bending over a spittoon; it brings a human
touch to tasting for me. Spitting is important, though,
as it allows you to determine the characteristics of a wine
without the alcohol interfering – especially when
you have several hundred wines to taste in one sitting!
In a traditional approach to wine, there are four flavor
profiles: sweet, salty, acid, and bitter. There’s
also a thermal aspect-meaning: the warmth of a wine in your
mouth can indicate the amount of alcohol in the wine.
When you learn to geographically identify
the location of a vineyard a wine came from, you are more
able to organize your flavor profiles. In wines from colder
climates the acidity level is generally higher and the alcohol
level lower. The opposite is true in a hotter climate. Think
of a hot sun baking the grape the way it tans your skin,
and brings color to your face. Remember where you are when
you taste, be transported, and don’t forget to take
notes – they’ll help when you have to reference
the wine for the future.
