Wine tasting 101

Guests at last year’s South African Wine Festival and Tasting try out the different wines. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

Wine tasting. These two words seem so ordinary till you see people, who are well acquainted with what it really means, at it. We compiled some notes on what tasting wine really entails

Later today, those who got the invite will spend the evening sampling a selection of South African wines at the fifth annual South African Wine festival and tasting. You have a task ahead of you. Figuring out the tasting part.
You may be going, “c’mon, it is tasting wine, how hard that be?”
According to my panicked googling, it is more than taking a gulp and saying “I like this one. This one is sweet! Give me more of it.” Actually that is the kind of talk that will lock you out of next year’s invite list and we do not want that now, do we. Here’s why you should take it more seriously;

1. You taste with more than your tongue.

Wine tasting will require all of your senses and the organs endowed with them. At least three of them should be active at the same time. Your nose should be smelling, your eyes seeing, your tongue tasting. What’s more? You need to be dramatic about each of the sensations. You are supposed to at least scrunch up your nose and take a long whiff, then make a long drawn out sucking sound that will alert anyone within five feet that your taste buds are at work. It is employing multiple senses that will tell you the true taste of wine. If you are shy, here is where you drop out of the tasting game and head straight to where the other amateurs are happily drinking. Tasting is not for the self-conscious.

2. You have to learn new words

Like bouquet, and no not of flowers smart guy, and other references that make wine sound like a living organism. By the way it does breathe, but an organism it is not. It is does have legs though, but not for walking, rather this refers to its ability to mess with your own ability to walk straight. Wine legs are actually droplets that form on the inside of a wine glass. Wines with higher content form more legs than those with lower content.
It also has a body, it can be anything from delicate to full bodied. Here’s what these new terms will save you from saying. “The smell of this wine is so sweet!” Total fail!

3. You have to know how to get the best from the wine you are tasting
Yes, it is in that cool bottle and yeah, it is ready to drink. But apparently there is an art to draw further flavour from the wine. From the way you hold the glass, stem, not bowl, to how far it is filled. Here’s where you learn to trust the sommelier (the one serving) and not ask for a few more dashes to fill your glass. You need space to swirl the wine, which releases the aroma in younger wines, or bouquet in older wines making for a full tasting experience.

4. Traditionally, you are not even supposed to swallow

Yes, you read that right. After employing all your senses and making those dramatic sounds at the back of your throat you should actually spit it out. Wait, not on the Serena grass, into a spittoon, which is a vessel made for that purpose. Okay, maybe this provision will not be there so you may actually get to swallow. Anyway, they say a more quality wine will leave an after taste longer while a lower quality wine’s aftertaste will disappear quicker.
When done with tasting one wine, it is advisable to clean your palate with some water before moving on to taste another one. You will find this piece of advice handy as there will be dozens of varieties to taste at today’s event. Fifteen wineries are participating,15!

5. Don’t smell everything that is passed on to you
So when a bottle of wine is opened, the person with a complicated name passes the cork to you. The most logical thing would be to smell it, right? What with all the smelling that is going on? Wrong! Whatever you do, do not apply your nose to it. Look at it, turn it around, write a song about it, probably make a craft necklace but do not smell it. Then return it with a satisfied nod which will indicate you find no fault with it. This is an if situation though. Many South African Wines, and indeed many wines nowadays have the modern plastic cork and typically does not develop mold and other undesirable characteristics which is what you were initially supposed to be looking for when examining the cork.
With these few tips, you are ready to get your tasting on this evening.