Wine Tasting Basics
Ok, so drinking wine isn't that difficult,
pour wine in mouth and swallow, but to do that you would
truly be missing out on the best that wine has to offer. And
you should never be in a hurry to end a good thing, so lets start.

Wine tasting is made up of four main
     segments. First is the appearance, how does it look to you.
Second is smell and does is appeal to your nose.
And third, this is were it gets really exciting,
enjoying the taste sensation.
And finally fourth swallowing and the aftertaste.



 Appearance

First make sure your glass is only 1/3 full
so you are able to swirl your wine (without spilling)
and this
gives the wine room to breathe.


       So lets observe the color and clarity.
If you hold your wine up to a white background
in a well lit room notice how
the wine looks,
The Wine color is affected most by:

*The age of the wine
*The grape variety
           *Whether or not the wine has had any time on oak


White wines vary from a clear to a deep golden
and gain color as they age.
        Red wines can vary from a ruby red to a brick color.
  As they age they lose color and begin to brown.
          Also notice when you sit your glass on the table and
swirl your wine, the legs running down the
glass after swirling, If the legs trickle down
slowly, it has more body. If it falls down in
sheets, it has a lighter body.


SMELL

  Ok so start by 
swirling your wine and then stick your nose
      in your glass ( another good reason not to fill
your glass too  high) and smell, what is the first
thing you smell when you smell the wine?.
There are literally hundreds of different
aromas in wine. And while different people will
smell different things in the same wine, Some
smells are characteristic to specific varieties.
Some common
aromas are floral, fruit, spice, vanilla, and
   coffee. Make sure to smell the wine several
times as a wine with complexity will offer different
aromas each time as well as several
smells at once.

TASTE


                    Alright  the overall taste of wine is a combination of smells
                       and flavors,  so don't just jump to the third step or you'll miss
 out on what the wine really has to offer.

Now swish or roll the wine throughout your mouth and
 take note of its characteristics:
What flavors do you pick up on?

Our tongue is designed to taste different things:

*Tip - Sweetness
*Sides - Sour and Acid
*Center - Saltiness
*Back- Bitter and Alcohol

                  
            Acidity- this gives the wine crispness and freshness
       without which the wine would be flat and sour
Body-is it full or thin?
Tannic- The bitterness you taste comes from
              grape skins and seeds. It is essential to the finish
of a wine. This is more obvious in reds.
Sweetness- This comes from the wines fruit
flavors as well as any fermented grape
sugars left in the wine.
If there is no perceived sweetness
then a wine will be considered "dry".
Fruitiness- Intensity is the function of the variety,
growing conditions and wine making techniques.


Swallowing


Now swallow your wine and take note of any 
flavors and how long they linger,
are they pleasing to your palate?
Try breathing out gently through your nose and
mouth at the same time, and if there is any
lingering aromas you should get those now. A good
wine will have aroma's lingering for a while after you
swallow, (good aroma's that is).