Big Fat Wine

Color    -    Swirl    -    Smell    - Taste    -    Savor

SMELL BIG!

This is the third part in our series on the “Big Fat Taste”. Smell cannot be overestimated! I know you have tried it, smelling an orange and taking a huge drink of water. The affect is overwhelming!

The smell of a wine can be very interesting and can be almost as enjoyable as drinking the wine! When you pour a wine, only fill the glass to a third full. The best wine glasses are those that close in towards the top to trap the aroma. Once you have swirled to your lifes content, stick your nose into the glass, breath in and concentrate on what you can smell. Remember to open your mouth at the same time. You’ll ingest even more aroma and enjoy it that much more. You can even compare what you are smelling with the winemaker’s description on the label. Being a wine enthusiast for only about 4 -5 years, I know the more I pay attention to what I am smelling, the better I am able to discern the various aromas. Take your time! Really focus on the smell! Take notes. Refer to the Wine Aroma Wheel. Get yourself a pocket guide to help you identify the many aromas.Wine Tasting Notebook

This is such a critical period in the tasting process and it can be rather intense to stop and enjoy the smelling before the taste. This is “foreplay” for wine tasting! Slow down and smell the roses, or tobacco, or plumbs, or wet dog. Next you will be able to take a drink but don’t be in a hurry. Unless you walk away from your glass, it will be there when it comes time to sip.

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Color    -    Swirl    -    Smell    - Taste    -    Savor

Now that you have taken a good look and admired the colors of the wine, the next step is the swirl it. There are those that believe swirling is unnecessary partly because wine lovers tend to perform wine swirling habits – swirling whatever they happen to be drinking at the time including iced-tea and coffee. It is important to feel comfortable swirling.

It seems almost natural to start rotating your wrist and swirling your glass of wine. You’ve seen it done in movies where the person doing it usually ends up with an unbelievably beautiful woman at the end of the night. Is that enough of a reason for you? Everybody’s doing it. We’ve been watching people do it all around us. There really is a purpose, however, to swirling: aerating a glass of wine.

Big Fat Swirl

There is a term that applies to what is happening when you are swirling a glass of wine. It is called “volatizing the esters” and it is what produces the many aromas and bouquets in the wine that are so appealing to our nose. The wine hasn’t had much contact with oxygen (hopefully) since it was put into the bottle. Just opening the bottle and letting it sit for a few minutes isn’t going to allow enough air into the wine to let it breathe. It’d be like giving a straw to someone who was drowning to help them breathe.

Red wine glasses have a much wider and deeper bowl than white wine glasses. That’s because it’s necessary for more surface area of the red wine to come in contact with the air. The process of decanting a wine follows along the same concept as swirling a glass of wine.

Take a few seconds to just look at your wine before you swirl your wine. You want to observe its colors, bits of sediment resting in the bottom of your wine glass and if the color changes from one spot in the glass to another. Next place your nose as closely to the glass and sniff the wine. Note: There will be a significant difference after you swirl.

Swirl your glass of wine. When swirling your wine it is important to be very careful to swirl gently. If you are too enthusiastic with your swirling the wine may slosh over the sides of the glass. Pinch your wine glass between your fingers; don’t grasp it so hard that you snap the delicate glass. I hate that!

Rotate your wrist gently in a counter-clockwise motion. Rotate with just enough speed that the wine starts to swirl along the sides of the glass. I read recently that it looks less cumbersome if you focus more on moving your elbow rather than your wrist.

Look for the wine trails on the sides of your wine glass. These trails indicate the wine’s alcohol content. The higher number of trails, which are called “ legs”, the more alcohol your wine contains.

Place your nose near the glass’ brim and inhale. Notice if the swirling changed the wine’s bouquet. Our next chapter is one of the most important aspects of tasting. (not drinking yet) “Smelling”.

Check out this video of Matt Skinner from www.chow.com;

Wine tasting can be somewhat intimidating until you just do it. Golf was that way for me. Those stuck up, fancy pants, snobby, egotistical stiff shirts, turning up their nose at the sight of your inexpensive clubs your wife bought you on fathers day 15 years ago. When my buddy Joe first invited me out for a round of golf, that’s what I expected, and that is what I got. But I had a blast!

You’ll always have snobs wherever you go. If you have a difficult time ignoring them, do what Jona and I do…laugh at them! They really don’t look like they are enjoying themselves.

Wine tasting is simply having a great time, looking for wines YOU enjoy. Unless you were flown in on Robert Parker Jr.’s private jet to sample a new up and coming wine, it is an experience you should enjoy and savor for yourself. There are no rules, just some simple guidelines that can help you fully appreciate all that wine brings to life.

Color    -    Swirl    -    Smell    - Taste    -    Savor

Take a Big Fat Look

COLOR – Wine tasting isn’t a beer bash. Take your time and make it worth your while. Look at the wine. Slightly tilt the glass and observe the many different shades of color. There is more than just red, pink or white! If you have a white napkin or piece of paper, hold it up to the glass and look at the depth.

The color can give you a clue as to the age of the wine. White wines tend to gain color as they age. Red wines get lighter or lose color. You’ll be amazed at just how many colors you can see if you just stop and observe. If you aren’t a carnivore I apologize because I draw a similar parallel to enjoying a great beef filet. The first thing I do is look at it. I look to ensure the meat is pure and not too overcooked. The color is revealing and using our sense of sight, adds to the entire experience.

You can even take the sight of wine to a different level by comparing glasses of wine next to each other. This often helps you distinguish even minor variations in color. Once I find a good picture of the many variations of wine colors, I will make sure it is posted somewhere on this site.

All the steps in wine tasting are equally important. That is why we are presenting them one at a time. Appreciate each step, enjoy each piece of the tasting session. Above all, enjoy the people you are with.