Wine
Tasting 101 - Quick Terms To Enhance Your Tasting Enjoyment
Wine is a wonderful beverage with many different facets. Some people
only drink wine on special occasions, but if you are like me you
enjoy trying as many new wines as possible as often as you can.
In order to increase your enjoyment and wine drinking satisfaction
there are a series of terms and techniques you should become familiar
with. Wine comes in different taste, color and ingredients. Tasting
more and more of wines will make you more aware of your specific
taste and preferences and the specific characteristics of the different
varietals. Tasting wine is a sequence of event that enhances the
enjoyment of imbibing. Wine can be an intimidating subject, but
becoming familiar with the following terms in regards to the taste,
flavors, and ingredients of wine will break down the "snob
factor" associated with wine and start you on the road to becoming
a true connoisseur. The following are some basic wine words to become
familiar with.
Sweetness
The degree
to which a wine tastes sweet. Sweetness is tasted on the tongue.
Residual sugar also can change the viscosity of a wine, making it
richer. The impression of sweetness comes from either sugars, or
alcohol, or both, and can be altered in relationship to the presence
of acidity. The sweetness of the wine can be determined by the amount
of fermented sugar and fruit added to it.
Acidity
The next flavor
tasted in wine is the feel of acidity. The acid taste can be felt
to create taste and freshness in the flavor established. The taste
of acidity creates freshness, crispy and zest in a balanced manner.
Most of the drinkers prefer acidity taste of wine to come up with
the purpose of having the wine. It helps the people to enjoy the
taste and make it meaningful. The characteristic of wine differs
in each kind of taste and flavor mixed. The degree to which a wine
has sourness, or tartness, a taste perceived on the tongue. Derived
from natural grape acids, primarily tartaric and malic, but may
also include lactic and acetic from microbial action, whether intentional
or otherwise. A compound present in all grapes and an essential
component of wine that preserves it, enlivens and shapes its flavors
and helps prolong its aftertaste. There are four major kinds of
acids--tartaric, malic, lactic and citric--found in wine. Acid is
identifiable by the crisp, sharp character it imparts to a wine.
Alcohol
Essential component
of wine which gives a sense of sweetness, especially in dry wine,
and contributes to body and length of finish. Can be noticed as
warmth in the back of the throat. Big is a term used often to describe
a wine high in alcohol, usually also heavy in body. Too much alcohol
in a wine makes it hot. Its affects run from the obvious to the
not so obvious. Alcohol doesn't just provide the kick it gives texture
("body"), flavor (roundness and sweetness) and vinosity
(makes it smell and taste like wine) as well as providing balance
and a certain chemical and physical stability to wines. The primary
alcohol is known as ethyl alcohol or ethanol, but there are dozens
of other so-called "higher" alcohols which though in minute
qualities provide hundreds of flavors.
Fruitiness
The fruitiness
can be tasted more in wine, because it is product which extracted
from rich grapy fruits. It comes in crispy, freshly and tasty flavors.
Tasting term for wine which has retained the fresh flavor of the
grapes used in its fermentation. Not to be confused with sweetness.
A wine can be fruity and not sweet.
Structure
Related to
balance; all of the in mouth basic impressions of sweet, sour, salty,
bitter, along with alcohol, body, etc., but in absence of the more
complex, organoleptic impressions detectable by the olfactory bulb.
In other words, everything but the aroma.
Body
The impression
of weight or fullness on the palate; usually the result of a combination
of glycerin, alcohol and sugar. Commonly expressed as full-bodied,
medium-bodied or medium-weight, or light-bodied.
Understanding
these basics will help you to figure out the style of wine that
suits you best and will help you to be a much more educated consumer.
Soon you will be able to taste a wine and by using these wine basics
you should be able to narrow down the type of wine you are drinking
without even looking at the label. Your friends will be impressed
and your wine confidence will be sky high. CHEERS!
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