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October - Pinot Wine

Pinot Wine For Your Reading Pleasure

How To Master The Art Of Wine Tasting

Even though many just assume that wine tasting is sipping, swishing, and swallowing - many are amazed to find that it is actually a bit more. Wine tasting is more of an art, an art that is used to distinguish the taste of fine wines. Wine can be a tasty and refreshing drink - if the bottle was stored correctly and aged properly.

Wine tasting begins with the swishing. The reason why wine tasters swish the wine around in their mouths is to get the taste. Both the front and the back areas of the tongue contain taste buds, although neither one has any distinct sensation in taste. Taste buds can detect food and liquid that is bitter, salty or sweet, without a problem. To get the proper taste from wine however, you need to swish it around in your mouth and allow your taste buds and sense of smell to bring out the unique and fine flavors in the wine.

When you have a cold however, the wine can taste very different. When tasting your wine, your sense of smell has a major impact on the taste. What many fail to realize, is that over 75% of our taste is due to our sense of smell. When we have a cold, our sense of smell is affected. Therefore, when eating or tasting wine with a cold, the taste will appear different. Wine tasters all over the world will tell you that tasting wine is more about a sense of smell than the actual taste buds.

The art of wine tasting is indeed an art. Wine tasters do however, follow some general guidelines and rules that judge how great a wine is. These techniques can help you bring the most out of your wine, providing you follow them and know how to bring out the taste.

The first thing to do with wine is to look. With wine, you can tell quite a bit about it by looking at it. You should always start by pouring the wine into a clear glass, then taking a few minutes to look at the color. As far as the color goes, white whines are not white, but actually yellow, green, or brown. Red wines on the other hand are normally a pale red or dark brown color. Red wine gets better with age, while white whines get more stale with age.

Next, is the smell of the wine, which you should do in two steps. You should start with a brief smell to get a general idea of the wine, then take a deep, long smell. This deeper smell should allow you take the flavor of the wine in. The more experienced wine tasters prefer to sit back a bit and think about the smell before they actually taste the wine.

Last but not least, is to taste the wine. To properly taste the wine, you should first take a sip, swish it around in your mouth, and then swallow. Once you swish the wine around in your mouth, you will bring out the rich and bold flavors of the wine. After swallowing, you will be able to distinguish the after taste of the wine, and the overall flavor.

Once you have looked at the wine, smelled it, and finally tasted it, you will be able to evaluate the wine from the standpoint of the taster. This is the easiest way to determine the quality of the wine, and whether or not it has been properly stored and aged. As with all things in life - the more you taste wine - the better you will get at distinguishing the unique flavors.

About the Author

Paul Duxbury writes extensively about Wine. You can read more of his articles at Fine Wines

A Short Pinot Wine Summary

How To Master The Art Of Wine Tasting

Even though many just assume that wine tasting is sipping, swishing, and swallowing - many are amazed to find that it is actually a bit more. Wine tas...

Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Pinot Wine Items For Viewing

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Labels: Wine Sauce | Wine Sauces

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8:33 PM

Wednesday July 02, 2008 - California Wines

California Wines For Your Reading Pleasure

Semillon Grapes, The Unsung Hero In Wine

Semillon is one of the world?s leading varieties of grapes, even though it seems to always be a second tiered grape because its is usually blended with other varieties, rather than marketed on it?s own. It's extremely difficult to come up with a list of defining tastes and aromas that are characteristic of this grape, nonetheless, Semillon is still worth a second look and hopefully this extract will shed some light on this unappreciated fruit.

Semillon originally made itself at home in France, particularly the Bordeaux region where holds the title of being the majority white grape grown. Often blended with other wines, Semillon can be found in classic Bordeaux whites, as well as the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac. It is a rather hearty wine and easy to cultivate with consistent production of between six to eight tons per acre. It is fairly resistant to most diseases, with the exception of the fungal infection, Botrytis cinarea, also known as ?noble rot.? This is due to Semillon grapes having tightly packed bunches and relatively thin skin. If this rot attacks ripe grapes, it causes them to shrivel, and these moldy looking grapes yield small quantities of extremely concentrated juice that is then used in making mouth-watering sweet white wines of great complexity and longevity. Semillon is the key component in making these wines. In fact, Semillon grapes make up 80% of the blend in Ch?teau d'Yquem, the most expensive and famous dessert wine in the world.

While Semillon is the majority white variety in Bordeaux, Graves, and Sauternes, more grows in Chile than anywhere else on Earth. Early in the development of Australia, Semillon (often incorrectly labeled as Riesling) dominated as the major white variety, although the vineyards are mostly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc today. The Hunter Valley in Australia, however, is still known for producing this grape in numbers and was one of the pioneers in the country in cultivating it. A unique minerally, lemony style is produced, which is crisp and lean when young and is made without the influence of oak or malolactic fermentation. However, the wine transformations with age, evolving into a complex, nutty, honeyed wine with great complexity and depth. Hunter Semillon is one of the few Australian white wine styles that ages gracefully over extended periods.

While it can be said that wines that are dominated by Semillon lack youthful aroma, they tend to have a fairly full body and be low in acidity. It is because of this that Semillon makes a wonderful ?second? grape in blending of wines producing some wonderful flavors. Semillon even works well when blended with the well-known loner, Chardonnay, giving richness and weight without sacrificing the aromatic delicacy.

Even though this wine may be seen as a second-class wine to many, it is hard to understand why when it is so versatile. The ability to create some of the highest quality dessert wines as well as its ability to be combined and compliment wines such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc prove that this is more than some ordinary grape. Semillon is the unsung hero of many bottles of wine, and now it?s time for this underestimated grape to shine.

About the Author:

Ken Finnigan is the CEO of Finest Wine Racks a website specializing in quality decorative wine racks and durable wine storage systems.

A Short California Wines Summary

Semillon Grapes, The Unsung Hero In Wine

Semillon is one of the world?s leading varieties of grapes, even though it seems to always be a second tiered grape because its is usually blended wit...

Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

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Price: 78.99 USD

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Labels: Wine Sauce | Wine Sauces