Wine tasting technique
葡萄农奴
So, what is wine-tasting about?
It must not be confused with sensorial analysis which is often used as a synonym. Tasting is simply the attention we give to the food and drink we absorb. So, anyone who is attentive to what he eats and drinks is a taster.
In what manner you may ask, can we be attentive to what is on our plate or in our glass?
By becoming aware of our senses. tasting is without a doubt the most sensual exercise there is.
Can a person learn to taste?
Although we taste most things from our earliest childhood, we have difficulty putting words to the sensations we perceive. I would like to offer a progressive and methodical approach to help you acquire the tools that will enable you to speak more easily of the things you appreciate.
Before starting to analyse in a methodical manner the techniques used by wine-tasters to describe a wine, it is necessary to start by defining taste. The dictionary tells us it is the sense which enables us to discern the flavours of food by using the tongue as an instrument.
But, by limiting taste to the perception of flavours this definition doesn’t seem to correspond to reality.
Today, we consider taste more as a global sensation made up of several components.
The first of these is without doubt the visual aspect. Colour is in fact an integral part of taste. Try this simple experiment. Give someone a glass of red, Grenadine cordial coloured with a neutral, green, colouring agent then observe the reaction of the person tasting it. You will see that people have more confidence in what they see than what they taste.
The way a table is laid and decorated is important and we all know that well-presented food seems more tasty.
Another essential constituent is the olfactory element. Who can separate olfactory and taste sensations? It is a well-known fact that, when we have a cold, the things we eat and drink seem to have no taste. But, in truth, only our perception of smells and aromas changes. Flavours remain intact.
The flavours detected by our taste buds are one of the essential parts of taste. The flavours, sweetness, acidity, saltiness and bitterness are the ones people know best although many others exist. For example, liquorice or ‘unami’ (sodium monoglutamate) which is used to enhance taste in Asian cuisine.
Tactile sensations are also perceived in the mouth (consistency, viscosity etc….) as well heat sensations (temperature, alcohol …). But there are other sensations we shouldn’t ignore which play an important role in our perception of taste. These are the sensations of irritability or pungency (chemical irritability) caused by sulphur, alcohol, vinegar, pepper, mustard etc.
The panorama would not be complete without the auditory perception. For example, we know that noise made by crunchy, crusty, food is part of taste. Of course, we cannot include this sensation when talking about wine, although we remark that it is difficult to taste correctly when there’s a lot of noise.
If we accept taste as the combination of all these different sensations, the examination of each one will be the framework of the method used by tasters to judge the characteristics of a wine.
All tasting sheets are divided into 4 parts.
- The Eye or Visual Aspect.
- The nose or olfactory aspect.
- The mouth or gustatory aspect.
- General impression and Conclusion.
By following this order in a methodical, progressive way and by using the appropriate vocabulary, we will be able to express more easily what we appreciate.
第三级酒庄庄主
Thanks a lot. That's a great tuition about the wine tasting for the amateur like me.To observe,smell taste the wine.
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