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The reason to taste wine is to emphasize its pleasures. Actually, there is no right way or wrong way to taste wine. However, let us look at two methods for tasting wine. The wine experts’, critics’ technique. The old timers or old wine makers’ method of judging wine.

The critic’s techniques are observed at wine tasting events. They utilize four senses, site, smell, taste and touch. Take a good look at the wine to see its color and tones, clarity, and fluidity. Smell wine and its character is revealed. Taste and touch go together, and they detect the basic flavors.

Let us take the connoisseurs approach step by step.

Remove the cork and smell it. The aromas from the cork should say taste me. Hold a tulip shaped glass by the stem. Now, tilt it at a forty-five-- (45) degree angle and poor the wine slowly, down the side of the glass. Fill the glass about one quarter (1/4) of the way. As the wine trickles down the side (don’t laugh) is it red, white, pink sparkling. It must be clear and notice the tones. Slowly twirl the wine around the glass to reevaluate the color. It should say try me.

Now is when we absorb the essences of the wine. Swoosh the wine around inside the glass and put your nose to the rim of the glass. Take a deep breath through the nose. The fragrance should say, "that is good".

Take a second breath. This time open the nasal passage and the brain to the essences in the wine. You may take in and recognize one flavor or a cluster of flavors, and each grape will produce a wine that has its own core of flavors. A few of the savories that may surface in a glass of wine are walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, mushrooms, cherries, berries, apples, peaches, violets, roses, oak, forest air, sea breezes, etc.

Sip a little wine and the essences should be pronounced and new savories surface. As the wine enters the mouth, the body of the wine comes to life. When the wine hits the tip of the tongue sweetness and or dryness is determined. As the wine flows to the back of the mouth the sides of the tongue reveals acidity and bitterness. When the wine touches the pallet its texture, body, wholesomeness comes to life. At the rear of the pallet the taste is finished with an aftertaste and the longer the aftertaste the better the wine. However, to say it like it is, there are times when the wine enters the mouth and the taste is offensive. —No good.

The old timers way with wine

The old timers way with wine is fun and quite efficient. Forty-five or so years ago, I was most impressed by Mr. Gallo and his quick and easy method to determine the color and clarity of a bottle of wine. (Yea, yea, it was one of THE GALLO’s, Ernesto himself.) He observed the meniscus formed by the wine between the bottle and the glass. If the center is clear and in essence you can see though it, the wine is clear and fluid. The outer rims determine the color, tone and tint.

I first observed the next method to determine the purity, essence and wholesomeness of wine when I was a little boy. My Nonno Joe (grandfather) and his friend Yozzo would taste wine that they made in a fourteen- (14) foot diameter vat. Nonno had his method and Yozzo’s method was just a wee bit different. Both methods, I have used time and again. First they would taste the wine to determine if it was ready for bottling. Latter they would taste the wine to determine when to uncork the bottles.

OK, read carefully. Nonno would pour "due dito de vino", two fingers of wine into his glass. Cup it closed with the palm of his hand. Shake the glass, and remove his palm from the top of the glass. Now, he would study how the wine slid down the sides of the glass, and then put his nose to the glass. Yozzo would pour three fingers of wine, cup the glass and shake it. When he removed his hand from the glass, he would lick the palm of his hand as he watched the wine slide down the glass. Yozzo would put his nose to the glass and nod to Nonno yes or no. If they both nodded yes they would sip the wine. Should they nod yes again, they would drink the wine in their glass, and we would go on to the next stage of wine making.

I have seen folks open an aged bottle of wine, and use the same procedure as Nonno and Yozzo. Try it you will love it.