Some General Information
Welcome back! This post will run down the set up of the blog posts as well as go over some of the terminologies that will be used. Hopefully this will clear up some intimidation that can come when people start throwing out wine words...
Formating of the blog: The blog right now is going to be a little "tasting journal." I'd encourage you to keep your own journal with your own notes on the wines that you try! This can help you organize your thoughts and pick out things that you like. In my posts, I'll include some general info about the wine followed by some notes and tasting notes. Simple as that!
Here are some wine buzzwords/concepts explained that might help you in the future.
Tannins: THE TRIGGER WORD FOR EVERY SINGLE "WINE PERSON." I don't know why in the world everyone is expected to know what these stupid (really important) things are, but here's the skinny (AKA more than you really wanted to know)... Tannins are a really bitter compound found in nature that work to deter animals from eating the plant. We care because they are found in grapes and in the wood barrels used for aging. For reference, if you've ever had a crappy red wine these are the things that make you pucker or smack your lips. And if you've ever had a really tasty red wine, these are the things that add a nice zing to the taste and linger on your tongue as you swallow. Tannins, if not overwhelming and aggressive, can add a really lovely element of bitterness that is so common across food and beverage (think coffee). There ya go, easy as that.
TL;DR: They're bitter compounds found in plants.
Vintage: When the grapes in the wine were harvested. This can be important in a few ways. Most generally, an older vintage (especially in red wines) will result in a "softening" of the tannins, thus resulting in a more mellow and smooth wine. More specifically, vintage is important because every harvest is different. The weather, soil quality, etc. all play key roles in the wine's taste and change year-by-year. Certain years are much tastier than others.
Varietal: The specific grape type.
Region: Where the grapes were grown. This affects the taste because every region's climate, weather, and soil are totally different.
Expert Ratings: People that drink too much rate wines on a scale of 0-100. 90-100 is a fantastic wine (most of the wines on this page will be in the 90's). Below 85 you should probably start to be a little concerned. There's a lot of wine critics in the world, so the ratings are sadly not always standardized. I'll use this same scale for my personal ratings of wines.
Tasting Wine: Ok, here's a quick rundown of how to "properly" taste wine. Give it a swirl. Yes, this actually does something. It allows the wine to breathe and release a lot more of the flavor notes and scents. Get your nose down in the glass and give a nice smooth inhale. Note some of the things that you're smelling. Since 90% of taste is smell, oftentimes these scents are going to be the things you're going to taste too. P.s. if someone says "on the nose" that means the smell. Now take a nice sip. Slurping it is preferred because it helps to coat your tongue. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET THE WINE REST IN THE BACK OF YOUR MOUTH. THIS IS WHERE THE BITTER TASTE RECEPTORS ARE, AND IF YOU HIT THOSE WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO TASTE, EVERYTHING WILL TASTE BAD. Make note of the flavors and also how the wine feels in your mouth (mouthfeel). When trying to identify tasting notes, it's ok to be really specific. Tasting is really quite subjective and some of the best advice I've gotten is to 1) don't question yourself, and 2) tasting notes can be super specific to your experiences. Something that I do when working on tasting is to compare what I'm tasting to some of the winemaker's tasting notes. This can help you start to understand some of the things that you're looking for.
Ok, that's all for now. As I come across terms that show up in some of my notes, I'll try to explain. If I forget something or don't explain something, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer!
bere solo vino buono,
db
Formating of the blog: The blog right now is going to be a little "tasting journal." I'd encourage you to keep your own journal with your own notes on the wines that you try! This can help you organize your thoughts and pick out things that you like. In my posts, I'll include some general info about the wine followed by some notes and tasting notes. Simple as that!
Here are some wine buzzwords/concepts explained that might help you in the future.
Tannins: THE TRIGGER WORD FOR EVERY SINGLE "WINE PERSON." I don't know why in the world everyone is expected to know what these stupid (really important) things are, but here's the skinny (AKA more than you really wanted to know)... Tannins are a really bitter compound found in nature that work to deter animals from eating the plant. We care because they are found in grapes and in the wood barrels used for aging. For reference, if you've ever had a crappy red wine these are the things that make you pucker or smack your lips. And if you've ever had a really tasty red wine, these are the things that add a nice zing to the taste and linger on your tongue as you swallow. Tannins, if not overwhelming and aggressive, can add a really lovely element of bitterness that is so common across food and beverage (think coffee). There ya go, easy as that.
TL;DR: They're bitter compounds found in plants.
Vintage: When the grapes in the wine were harvested. This can be important in a few ways. Most generally, an older vintage (especially in red wines) will result in a "softening" of the tannins, thus resulting in a more mellow and smooth wine. More specifically, vintage is important because every harvest is different. The weather, soil quality, etc. all play key roles in the wine's taste and change year-by-year. Certain years are much tastier than others.
Varietal: The specific grape type.
Region: Where the grapes were grown. This affects the taste because every region's climate, weather, and soil are totally different.
Expert Ratings: People that drink too much rate wines on a scale of 0-100. 90-100 is a fantastic wine (most of the wines on this page will be in the 90's). Below 85 you should probably start to be a little concerned. There's a lot of wine critics in the world, so the ratings are sadly not always standardized. I'll use this same scale for my personal ratings of wines.
Tasting Wine: Ok, here's a quick rundown of how to "properly" taste wine. Give it a swirl. Yes, this actually does something. It allows the wine to breathe and release a lot more of the flavor notes and scents. Get your nose down in the glass and give a nice smooth inhale. Note some of the things that you're smelling. Since 90% of taste is smell, oftentimes these scents are going to be the things you're going to taste too. P.s. if someone says "on the nose" that means the smell. Now take a nice sip. Slurping it is preferred because it helps to coat your tongue. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET THE WINE REST IN THE BACK OF YOUR MOUTH. THIS IS WHERE THE BITTER TASTE RECEPTORS ARE, AND IF YOU HIT THOSE WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO TASTE, EVERYTHING WILL TASTE BAD. Make note of the flavors and also how the wine feels in your mouth (mouthfeel). When trying to identify tasting notes, it's ok to be really specific. Tasting is really quite subjective and some of the best advice I've gotten is to 1) don't question yourself, and 2) tasting notes can be super specific to your experiences. Something that I do when working on tasting is to compare what I'm tasting to some of the winemaker's tasting notes. This can help you start to understand some of the things that you're looking for.
Ok, that's all for now. As I come across terms that show up in some of my notes, I'll try to explain. If I forget something or don't explain something, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer!
bere solo vino buono,
db
So I thought when you were tasting you were supposed to smell and taste and THEN swirl. And then smell and taste again?
ReplyDeleteYou can! It just saves you a step to swirl first. Swirling won't change the profile of the wine at all- you're not gonna get different notes if you swirl or not- it just allows it to breathe and opens up the flavors a lot more, which will make smelling things easier for you!
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