A wine journal is a great way to record your impressions of different bottles. A wine journal can be as formal or informal as you wish, but take wine-tasting notes to better evaluate and compare wines. Over time you may discover that you develop an increasingly sophisticated palate and that you appreciate the taste and complexity of wine more all the time.
Instructions
1. Decide whether you want to record wine-tasting notes in hard or soft copy. Many bookstores, gift shops and web sites sell beautiful bound paper wine journals. These are both aesthetic and portable and have some basic formatting that can help you get started. However, there are also some great web sites for wine tasting. If you so choose, you can share your notes with other wine aficionados in an online forum.
2. Realize that there are no absolute rules in wine tasting. It should be fun and you should do what works best for you.
3. Read the label. Write down the name and variety of the wine, the year it was produced and the vineyard that produced it. Also include any other distinguishing or interesting information about the wine. Indicate where you bought the wine or where the wine tasting took place.
4. Use your sense of smell. Write your impressions of the wine's "aroma" or "fragrance." See if a word like "floral" or "grassy" comes to mind. Perhaps a specific flower scent, like roses or jasmine, suggests itself. If the scent reminds you of fruit, list the fruit fragrances. Berries, apples, pears or citrus are common scents for wine. Maybe the aroma makes you think of candy like caramel, butterscotch or chocolate. Other wines have a nutty or coffee scent. Definitely make a note if you taste chemicals or mold, since that indicates something is wrong with the wine.
5. Taste the wine. You may need more than one sip.
6. Make up you mind how sweet or dry the wine is. Note the degree: sweet, semi-sweet or dry.
7. Evaluate the acidity. A good balance leaves a wine tasting fresh or crisp. Too much acid makes the wine too tart or bitter; too little acid creates a flat or dull taste.
8. Note the alcohol balance. If the wine feels "hot" and difficult to drink, there is too much alcohol and you won't taste subtle undertones of fruit, nuts or chocolate. A good balance lets you taste all the wine's complex flavors.
9. Describe the "body" of the wine. Get a sense of the consistency of the wine. A wine with more body usually has more alcohol, sugar or tannin. Decide if the wine is "light," "medium" or "full-bodied."
10. Identify tannins in red wines. If your mouth "puckers" from the dry astringent taste, you are experiencing tannins. Notice if the tannins make the wine taste bitter or if they create pleasurable sensation of substance. Young red wines tend to have the most pronounced tannins.
11. Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the main varietals. This gets easier the more tasting you do. For example, pinot gris/pinot grigio grapes are typically light and fragrant with floral or citrus tones. Depending upon when they are harvested and the methods of production, these wines range from light and fresh to rich and substantial.
12. Recognize any aftertastes. Once you swallow wine, you may notice a new sensation. For example, a wine that tastes very smooth at first sip can leave behind a pleasant "bite" of citrus or apple.
13. Think of foods that would compliment the wine. Make a note.
14. Write down the price by bottle and by case.
15. "Score" the wine as a whole. You can come up with your own rating system or simply summarize your notes. Explain the overall virtues and flaws of the wine and whether you would buy a bottle of it or order a glass of it.
16. Expand your wine-tasting notes to observe how a particular wine matures. For example, if you buy a few bottles of a vintage and taste it every 6 to 12 months, you can discuss your different impressions of the wine as it reaches different stages of its life cycle.
Tags: wine tasting, wine-tasting notes, good balance, impressions wine, wine journal, Write down