Taste with all your senses to decide if you like a wine, Modesto columnist advises

I realize the wine tasting ritual may seem to be a bit snooty or silly but let’s face it, everyone can drink wine but how many can actually taste wine using all of their senses? There are six basic steps, all beginning with the letter S, that will help you determine if and why you like or dislike a particular wine.

SEE: Look at the wine while tilting your glass at a 45 degree angle against a white background. You are looking for clarity and color. Is it clear or hazy? Is the color intense, brilliant or dull? White wines should be pale yellow or green to straw-yellow or yellow-gold. Red wines should be dark pink to ruby red to inky to dark purple. White wines take on color as they age, while red wines lose their color with age. Does the color of the wine suit the type of the wine you are evaluating?

SWIRL: Mastering this step might take some practice. My advice is to leave your glass on the table, hold the stem and move the glass in tight circles on the table top. Swirling the glass releases the aromas due to the increased oxygen, releasing esters (aroma compounds). So when you get to the next step there will be all kinds of good or bad stuff to smell.

SMELL: Your tongue can only taste salty, sweet, bitter and sour but your nose can detect thousands of scents. Stick your nose in and breathe a second or two. What do you smell? And wine is not the answer. You will likely pick up a fruit component like red berries or black berries or plums. Some wines will have some earthiness, floral, herbal, spice and/or vanilla aromas.

SIP: Take a sip of wine and slosh it around in your mouth, chew it and coat the entire inside of your mouth with it. Hold it for 10 seconds or more. How does it feel? Do you notice any fruit flavors? Is there a sense of acidity? Do you feel the tannins coating your teeth or drying out your tongue?

SPIT/SWALLOW: When tasting a number of wines it’s a good idea to use a dump bucket or a cup to spit the wine into. You might want to practice this, maybe with a bib. Most of us enjoy the second option, just swallow.

SUMMARIZE: What is your overall impression of the wine? Do you like or dislike the wine. Why? How was the acidity? The sweetness? The astringency (tannins)? The alcohol? After swallowing did the flavors of the wine linger in your mouth or stop immediately. Was the wine in balance? Would you buy this wine or recommend it to a friend?

If you’re not quite ready to hit the wine tasting trail, try buying two bottles of the same wine from two different producers. Go through the six steps and compare the differences or similarities between the two. Most important is to have fun and drink what you like.

What’s on our table

The 2022 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir from Costco and the French 2022 Loudenotte Pinot Noir from Trader Joe’s were bargains at $12.99. It was a good battle, a new world wine vs. an old world wine. The Kirkland scored 3.5 points out of 5 to the Loudenotte’s 3.0. Both were good wines but the difference was the bright red fruit flavors and spices in the Kirkland. Cheers!

Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.