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| The basics of wine tasting. |
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Our website is designed for the wine novice, the wine lover and for those that appreciate wine – not for the wine expert or wine snob. Here you will not find condescending language or attitudes – just honest, plain talk and opinions. As with our Wine with Food attitude “If it works for you, go for it”, we strongly believe that you should drink what you like, not what you think you should like – and never let anyone ever TELL you what to drink. The old adage “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” was never so true when it comes to wine.
So what humble advice can we at Global Wine Services give you regarding wine tasting (and drinking).
Our Top 10 Tit Bits of advice are:
1. Be open minded about different varietals – if you didn’t like it on one occasion it doesn’t mean that you won't like it the next time. Keep experimenting from time to time.
2. Develop an interest in wine so that you will know what you like. Develop a vocabulary to explain wines so you know how to describe what you want.
3. If you are not finishing a bottle in one sitting, invest in a Vac-u-vin type of closure that will keep your wine fresher than just re-corking it. If you haven’t one of these, re-cork the bottle and keep it in the fridge – (yes – even red wines). This will preserve it for a couple of days.
4. Up sell to yourself! – Everyone has a budget in life, and the purchase of wine is no exception. The majority of wine sold is between £4.00 - £15.00, and amazingly, a little extra spent on wines at this price, will reap massive rewards in terms of quality and value for money. If you usually buy wine at a price £5.00, next time try one around the £7.00 mark, you will appreciate the extra spent. Likewise if your price point is normally £8.00, go for £10.00. Over about the £20.00 mark, a few pounds will not make a great difference, you need to look at adding 50% plus, but it is the lower priced wines where the greatest benefit is achieved.
5. Never let any one tell you what to drink – make up your own mind – know what you like and trust your palate - quality is in the mouth of the beholder!
6. When storing wines, remember these 3 things:
• Avoid sunlight
• Avoid vibration and excessive movement
• Keep at a constant temperature, but always below 15oC
7. Don’t drink white wines too cold, nor red wines too warm. Dry, crisp wines should be cold, but some fruitier whites benefit from being removed from the fridge early. Whilst reds should be drunk at room temperature, central heating and modern homes are normally too warm and this results in reds being drunk almost tepid! Some reds benefit from a quick spell in the fridge to bring them to the perfect drinking room temperature of 16-18oC.
8. Different Vintages will differ from year to year. The beauty of wine is that it is alive and inconsistent, and some years are better than others. If one year is a disappointment, don’t let that put you off trying the following year’s vintage – you just might be pleasantly surprised!
9. When tasting and deciding on a wine all you need to take into consideration are 4 things that we call FATS
• Finish – once drunk, how does the mouth feel?
• Appearance – what does the wine look like in the glass?
• Taste – how does it taste (all important!)?
• Smell – What does the wine smell of?
Next time you try a wine, do the FATS test, and you won't go wrong.
10. And lastly remember – Drink Wine Everyday (but please drink responsibly)
There is much more that can be said about wine tasting and drinking wine, but who needs it. The basics are all you need, and the courage of your own convictions to drink what you want, and what you like.
Cheers!
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