Preparing carefully to best taste wine is a useful approach if you’re really trying to analyze a wine in detail.
The proper temperature for the wine matters. What you’re eating before and while you’re drinking matters. When there’s more than one wine to be tasted, the order in which you taste them matters.
What sort of glassware you use matters. Water matters. Who you’re tasting with shouldn’t matter, but sometimes it may.
Reading what the wine is expected to smell and taste like before you taste it also shouldn’t matter, but it can really make an influential difference. Distracting smells in the room (flowers, perfume, candles, cooking aromas, etc.) matter.
Even your mood can matter. Each one of these variables and more, are worthy of an entire article.
But there are also a few simple suggestions that may enhance your wine appreciation if you’re just wanting to relax and enjoy a glass without all that extra thinking.
One thing we do regularly at home is to dismiss the first sip, even if it’s some super special bottle you don’t want to waste a drop of. That first sip will be affected by whatever you just ate or drank. And even if you haven’t eaten or drank anything at all, that “warm-up” sip always seems to taste different from the ensuing sips, as it sort of wakes up your taste buds before they’re really ready to go.
I know that doesn’t quite sound too scientific, but it’s true. The first sip generally doesn’t taste quite like the second.
If you switch wines while drinking, most people understand the value of cleansing your palate with water or plain white bread. This works. The same thinking should apply to those few drops of wine remaining in your glass after you think it’s empty. The glass deserves a rinse just like your palate does, however, don’t do it by rinsing with water, some of which will remain and dilute the next pour. Rinse (and swish) with the smallest amount you can pour of the next wine you’re going to drink, then drink it. Now you’re ready to pour a full glass, with a happy palate.
Ernest Valtri of Buckingham is a sculptor, graphic designer, and a former member of the PLCB’s Wine Advisory Council. Contact Erno at ObjectDesign@verizon.net.
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