Tasting Etiquette

Public wine tasting events usually draw a mixture of folks, from beginners to oenophiles. When at a public wine tasting, there are a few rules that should be abided by. First and foremost, don’t wear smelly perfume or aftershave as this interferes with the wines’ aromatics. It may not matter to you but others certainly will not be happy. Secondly, depending on how serious the event, excessive talking is usually frowned upon as negative or positive comments can directly influence others’ opinions of a wine to be tasted. While actually tasting, silence is generally the norm. If you want to discuss a wine with a fellow taster, simply step away from the tasting area. Finally, it’s best to use a spittoon. Don’t swallow.

Quality in Wine

The concept of quality in wine is interesting and usually objective. Generally speaking, a wine’s structure is at the heart of quality and balance is its foremost aspect. A quality wine usually has all elements working together in harmony. The sugar and acid, or sweet and sour components, mesh. Alcohol is not too high so as to render the wine hot. Oak usage, if utilized, does not overwhelm the fruit. Tannin, in a red wine, is not too hard, unripe or bitter. With these things intact, subjectivity can then play a part and personal likes or dislikes prevail. Often, we’ll dismiss a wine as poor simply because we don’t like the style or flavour even though it’s well made. Keep this in mind when tasting.

Wine Defects

How do you know when a wine is bad? Since wine appreciation is about 75% nose, most defects are perceived through smell, rather than taste. So if you’re picking up essence of dirty sneaker on a wine’s nose, there’s something wrong with it. Defects can come from several sources - from sulphur containing compounds, through the action of bacteria; winemaking errors; using moldy or infected fruit or oak; or improper handling and storage. Aside from simply not liking the taste, if you think a wine you’re sampling, either from a shop or in a restaurant, is bad, return it to the store or address the issue with your server or sommelier. They can confirm your suspicions. Life’s simply too short to sip bad wine.

Unfiltered Wines

Filtering wine before bottling removes any minute, suspended particals like yeast and renders it clear. Other than something like pulpy orange juice, we like our liquids this way. However, some producers, in their wisdom, decide not to filter certain wines before bottling, claiming that the process removes some of it’s character. You’ll see this more in red wines than white and these unfiltered selections generally throw their deposit in the bottle over time, requiring them to be decanted before consumption. It will often say somewhere on the front or back label that the wine has not been filtered. Sometimes a selling point and other times not! Funny, but unfiltered wines always seem to cost more!