How to taste wine like a professional

Scent of the wine

What you initially perceive from the wine are the most volatile aromas. From your first sniff, you should be able to determine if a wine has an unpleasant smell and is therefore faulty due to oxidation, acetic acid (vinegar) or corkiness.

If you think the wine isn't faulty, take a deep smell and try to work out what you perceive. The Aroma Wheel (left) can help you in identifying the wine’s aromas.

Experiment by varying the distance between your nose and the glass. Notice how the intensity of the aromas increase or decrease as you move the glass closer and further from your nose. Wine aroma is often spoken about as "layered"; doesn't the wine seem more complex when your nose is buried deep in the glass?

Formal Tasting

Take a sip and keep it in your mouth. Think about the wine’s initial impact (what's your first impression?), mouthfeel (how does it feel in your mouth?) and finish (what's your last impression, how long does it last?).

Here is a good list of criteria to further assess the taste:

• Sweetness: bone-dry, dry, subtle, medium-dry, sweet, heavy, syrupy, honeyed, plump
• Acidity: hollow, thin, refreshing, lively, crisp, vigorous, tart, aggressive
• Tannins: silky, velvety, tender, rounded, fine-grained, raw, hard, coarse
• Astringency: subtle, smooth, mouth-filling, integrated, furry, coating, coarse, harsh, abrasive 
• Bitterness: subtle, light, medium, firm, dominant
• Body: hollow, light, lean, round, powerful, muscular, voluptuous, fat, heavy
• Alcoholic Strength: watery, thin, light, balanced, warm, hot, vigorous, intense, spirity
• Consistency: diluted, light, medium, concentrated, rich, heavy, thick, pasty
• Aroma Intensity: faint, delicate, subtle, pronounced, concentrated, intense, exuberant, explosive
• Finish: abrupt, slight, short, medium, expanded, long, lingering, infinite

To intensify the tasting, you can chew the wine to release tannins or suck air through the wine to release sealed aromas. Wine is unique because we both smell and taste aroma, so you can again use the aroma wheel to help label what you taste.

If you are tasting a series of wines, keep in mind that any consumed alcohol will impact your sense of taste. Drink water to neutralize your palate between wines, as eating dry bread or crackers can affect your sense of taste.

Having tasted your wine sample, have a smell of your empty glass. You will find new aroma structures that can provide you with additional information about the wine.