Tasting - Learn about Wine

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The Art of Tasting

Olfaction and Aftertaste

The Perfume of wine

The Role of the Eye

The taste on the tongue

The wine in the mouth

The Art of Tasting

The art of tasting is not the privilege of a few. All human beings can taste proficiently, provided they have interest in learning the basic techniques and how to make basic notes on the wine to be examined. The only requirements needed are logic and the capability to formulate a judgement as objectively as possible.

The Tasting Technique
The taste reveals the feelings in different phases: visual, olfactory, tactile, and taste phases. The final judgement is based on the correct balance between the different sensorial components. The different feelings are linked to one another and sometimes one influences the other, revealing judgements and allowing important comparisons. And so the phrase “a promising wine at the smell, but still young at the taste” is a classic.

The Right Sequence
It is necessary to start the tasting from the lighter and younger wines, to finish with vintage, full-bodied wines. The right sequence to taste the wine is:
White wines
Rose’ wines
Vintage reds
Sparkling wines Charmat method
Sparkling wines traditional method
Sweet wines
Aromatic wines
Sweet sparkling wines Charmat method

The environment for the tasting is important:
• The room where the tasting happens must be bright (no neon lamps) and the table covered with a white cloth, to allow the correct test of the colours and clarity.
• The glass must be held by the stem, to avoid spoiling the transparency of the glass.
• It is advisable to have unsalted bread and crackers to neutralise the taste in the mouth.

The Right Glass
The glass is the working tool and needs to respond to some technical characteristics to allow the assimilation of as much information as possible.
This information can be compared with those obtained by other tasters, if the same sort of glass has been used and if there is a common system of judgement.
I.S.O. (International Standard Organisation) codified a glass, which is used worldwide by professional tasters and which is suitable for every type of wine.
The main limit of this glass is that it was created to highlight the defects and this is particularly true for sparkling wines. In fact the bubbles, to be able to evolve continuously and consistently, need to cling on micro roughness of the glass, which in the flute are created by the producer, but that are completely absent in the tasting glass. Moreover the bubbles develop well if there are at least 7 cm of wine, while the perfumes are more elegant and fine if there are at least 4 cm free from the top of the glass and the wine.

Olfaction and Aftertaste
Olfaction is the most important sense for the tasting, because it is more sensitive than the other senses (about 100 times more than taste itself) and it can recognise infinite sensations, both in quantitative and qualitative values, both pleasant and unpleasant odour.

Olfaction can perceive perfumes because the odorous substances are volatile.
It is a very complex and delicate sense, which starts from an olfactory mucosa of 3-5 square centimetres, located on the top of the nostrils and ends with a part of the brain which can be considered as the archive of all the tasting and organoleptic memories.

Olfaction can perceive the odours in 2 different ways: direct aspiration (via nose) and indirect (behind the nose).

The direct aspiration happens while smelling continuously to identify the sensation.
The indirect perception happens when, removing the wine from the mouth, you breath out and the volatile substances hit the mucosa on the back of the nose.

The odours perceived on the back of the nose can be similar to the ones perceived with direct aspiration or completely different.

With olfaction it is possible to perceive the following sensations:
Intensity: power of the perfume.
Wideness width?: presence of different perfumes independently from their intensity
Frankness: a neat and tidy sensation, with no unpleasant notes.
Fineness: qualitative delicacy of the sensation

The volatile substances of wine can be divided into three categories:
Aroma
Smell
Perfume

The aroma or primary perfume is formed by the smelling substances which come directly from the grapes (moscato, malvasia, brachetto, traminer aromatico etc).

The smell or secondary perfume is formed by volatile substances which are formed during the fermentation of the must and the re-fermentation of the wine. Examples are the fruitiness which reminds us of fresh fruit and the vinous aroma which reminds us of the wine when the fermentation has just finished.

The perfume or tertiary perfume is due to the substances which are formed during the maturation of the wine, following both the ageing and the refinement. The perfume reaches the maximum complexity when the wine is fully mature (spices, vanilla, dried fruit, jams…)

For the most complete tasting, the wine should be smelled first with a steady glass: in this way it is possible to perceive the most volatile substances and a first impression of the perfumes. Then the wine should be swirled in the glass; after this the thin layer of wine on the walls of the glass evaporates and with an immediate inhalation, the taster can perceive all the volatile elements contained in the wine.

The Perfume of wine
What the nose smells is decoded by the brain and, according to the already stored memories, a taster can associate perfumes from the vegetal and animal world to each wine.
Some perfumes are more recurrent than others, therefore we can say that each wine typology owns a series of characteristic perfumes that blend with other perfumes deriving from the vineyards or from the environment. Here are the main perfumes.

White Wine and Sparkling wines

Fresh Flowers	Fresh Fruit	Herbs or Leaves	Dry flowers	Others
Orange Acacia Lily Narcissus Honeysuckle Wisteria Broom Hawthorn Peach Elder Linden Violet	Apricot Peach Pear Apple Melon Lemon Grapefruit Banana Pineapple Mango Papaya Date Lychee Kiwi Bitter almond	Grass Mint Sage Lemongrass Eucalyptus Tomato leaf Green pepper Asparagus Rosemary Hay Tea Dry oregano Dry thyme Mushroom	Linden Hawthorn Lavender Wild fennel Dry fruit Apricot Peach Date Fig Nuts Hazelnut Almond Walnut Spices Vanilla Anise Carnation cloves Coriander Juniper Ginger	Honey Butter Yeast Green coffee Truffle Incense Talcum Toasted bread Cat’s urine

Red and Rose’ Wines

Fresh Flowers	Fresh Fruit	Herbs or Leaves	Dry flowers	Dry fruit	Nuts	Spices	Others
Rose Violet Jasmine Hyacinth Cyclamen Iris	Apricot Peach Raspberry Blackberry Mulberry Cherry Strawberry Wild strawberry Currant Blueberry	Grass Bay leaves Eucalyptus Mint Pine Musk Rosemary Dry mint Dry oregano Dry thyme Tobacco	Rose Ibiscus Violet Linden	Plum Cherry Peach	Hazelnut Almond Walnut	Vanilla Liquorice Black and green pepper Nutmeg Cinnamon Carnation cloves Coriander Cumin Juniper	Leather Honey Fresh and dry mushrooms Truffle Green coffee Cocoa Tar Resin

Sweet Wines

Fresh Flowers	Fresh Fruit	Herbs or Leaves	Dry flowers	Dry fruit	Nuts	Others
Orange Acacia Honeysuckle Wisteria Broom Hawthorn Peach Elder Rose Jasmine Cyclamen Hyacinth	Apricot Peach Pear Apple Melon Orange Mandarin Lemon Grapefruit Banana Pineapple Mango Papaya Date Lychee Kiwi Bitter almond Apricot	Sage Eucalyptus Rosemary Bay leaves Pine Musk Mint Dry oregano Dry thyme Tobacco Tea	Linden Hawthorn Lavender Wild fennel Rosehip Ibiscus Violet	Apricot Peach Date Fig Plum Cherry Raspberry Blackberry Mulberry Strawberry	Hazelnut Almond Walnuts Spices Vanilla Saffron Liquorice Cocoa Nutmeg Cinnamon Carnation cloves Coriander Juniper Ginger	Honey Butter Biscuit Yeast Incense Toasted bread Leather Wax Dry and fresh mushrooms Coffee Cocoa Resin

The Role of the Eye

The look of the wine is very important and it is the result of the contribution of 3 elements:
Colour
Clarity
Possible effervescence

COLOUR
The colour is due to particular substances and allows the first basic classification of wine: white, red, rose’.
The tone of the colour gives some clues on the age of the wine: e.g. the young red wines have a purple tone or ruby red with purple tones. Through ageing, the red wines become ruby red, then ruby red with garnet tones, then garnet red with few ruby red hints, then garnet red, then garnet red with orange hints, the orange red, then brownish red. The white wines start with paper white, then straw yellow, then straw yellow with golden tones, gold yellow, amber yellow, brownish yellow.

Main colour related parameters:

Red Wines	Rose' Wines	White Wines
Purple tones Ruby red with purple tones Ruby red Ruby red with garnet tones Garnet red with few ruby red tones Garnet Red Garnet red with orange tones Orange red Brownish red	Pinkish with purple tones Pinkish Pinkish with yellow tones Pinkish with orange tones Pinkish with brownish tones	Paper white with greenish tones Straw yellow with greenish tones Straw yellow Straw yellow with golden tones Golden yellow Amber yellow

CLARITY
The wine must be clear. If it is not, it means that there is a biological alteration (disease of the wine) or a chemical-physical alteration. The last one is often due to a bad making of the wine.
Clarity is the essential characteristic of a healthy and stable wine.

Main clarity related parameters: Bright, Clear, Obfuscated, Opalescent

EFFERVESCENCE
The effervescence in a wine is due to the carbon dioxide that it contains. It is a defect in the still wines, while it is good in sparkling wines.

Main Effervescence-related parameters:

Effervescence
Quiet
Lively
Sparkling
Frothing

Froth
Persistent
Fleeting
Evanescent
Colourful
Lively

Bubbles
Very thin
Thin
Coarse

The taste on the tongue
The papillae on the tongue are responsible for the tastes. They are stimulated when the wine is in the mouth. There are 4 basic tastes: Sweet, Salty, Acid, Bitter

Their perception happens in different times and with different persistency, because the related papillae are located in different parts of the tongue:
The sweet taste is perceived only on the tip of the tongue;
The acid taste is perceived all long the edges of the tongue;
The salty taste is perceived all along the internal top part of the tongue;
The bitter taste is perceived on the back of the tongue.

All these 4 tastes are perceptible in the wine, but the main ones, also from the quantitative point of view, are the sweet and the acid tastes.

The sensations are due to the acids contained in the grapes: the most important are the tartaric, malic, citric and lactic, and they give freshness and a slight itching.

The sweet sensations are due to different substances, such as sugars (glucose and fructose), the alcohol and the glycerine. In the dry wines the sugars are not responsible of the possible sweet sensation, which is instead given by alcohol and glycerine.

The alcohol is also responsible for a slight burning and warmth, while glycerine is rather mellow.
The sensation of bitter is particularly strong and more perceptible than the other three tastes and it is characterised by a pronounced persistency.

The sensation of salty is due to the salts contained in the wine: their quantity is rather variable. The alcohol, the acid and the volatile substances mask the taste, which is only perceptible when the salinity level is not correct.

The wine in the mouth

Once in the mouth the wine creates a series of sensations that allow it to be qualitatively judged.

The touch
The wine transmits sensation to the skin in the mouth. The most important are:
• Burning and heat, which are caused by alcohol and are the first to be felt.
• Astringency, which is caused by the combination of the tannins present in the wine with the saliva.

The structure
The structure identifies the richness of extracts of a wine, its texture and wholeness, which can be minor or major according to the wine.

Persistence
Persistence expresses the duration of the sensations, after the wine has been spat. Persistence is measured in seconds and it is the time when sensations are felt in a uniform manner before a sudden fall.

Sensation of balance, harmony
The balance, as perceived by the body, depends on a correct relationship between the sensation of acidity, softness, astringency, warmth.
All these sensations together must bring a pleasant feeling, which is technically called balance or harmony. The balance is fundamental for the final judgement of the wine.

The back taste
After swallowing the wine, it is possible to feel sensations different from the ones perceived when the wine was in the mouth. It can be positive, when it is an extension of the overall feeling, and negative, when a different sensation emerges, which is unpleasant.

The taste-smell sensations
These sensations highlight the perfumes through the oral cavity: they can be different form the ones perceived by the nose, or similar. In this case there is a nose- mouth correspondence.