Through the grape wine

When American novelist and wine connoisseur Ernest Hemingway said "Wine is the most civilised thing in the world," he sure had a point. Wine is often looked at as a status symbol, and wine tasting is regarded an art. So if you know your merlot from your shiraz, then rest assured, you have made it to the elite circle. For those who do not have an iota of knowledge about wines, do not despair, here are a few easy steps to fool even the most experienced sommelier.

ROSE-TINTED GLASSES

The first step is to carefully look at the wine. Start by tilting your glass to a 45° angle and observe three factors: colour, intensity, and clarity. Red wines have the tendency to lose colour as it ages, whereas whites on the other hand tend to gain colour. So a young red will look purple and an aged one will be more garnet. When it comes to whites, the shades range from a watery green to a golden yellow.

A DI'WINE' BOUQUET

Now it’s time to look snooty. This is the only time that you can put your nose up in the air and people will actually look at you in awe.Take your glass of wine, swirl it around, poke your nose into the glass and take short sniffs. All you need to do is identify whether the wine smells floral, fruity or spicy, depending on the notes. Not too hard is it?

TONGUE-IN-CHEEK

This is the easy part. What is a glass of wine, if you can’t tell how sweet or sharp it is? While tasting though, please try hard not to pucker up your nose if you don’t like the taste. Now, the sweetness of the wine will be detected at the tip of the tongue. The acidity of a wine will be felt on the sides of your cheek bones. A good wine should achieve a balance between the two, and the flavour will last beyond the first hit. It should fade, not disappear. The balance refers to tannins and acids, which are present in all wines. Tannins are naturally found in grapes, especially the skins and crushed seeds. High tannin content is ‘hard’, giving a puckery taste and even feeling like the teeth are getting coated. Wine with too much acidity may be tart. Simply put, tannin is a mouth-drying feeling; acidity is a mouth-watering sensation.

SUM OF ALL WINES

Now that you have understood the art or should we say act of tasting wine, remember to enjoy your glass. You don’t need to be an expert to know if you like what you drink; seriously, it is just a matter of your olfactory senses working. Don’t get intimidated by the socialites around you, truth be told, they are probably as much of a novice as you are. Now that you have cracked the code; enjoy your wine tasting with verve and remember that like wine, even the process of tasting gets better with age and experience.