Wine Tasting - The Sense of Sight
Wine tasting basics begin with knowing how to use your senses to understand, interpret, and enjoy the wine. The ability to recognize what you see, and furthermore describe it in clear terms, is a very important wine tasting skill.
Although some may say the appearance of the wine is the least important aspect with regard to the senses, it is still worth noting. When examining appearance, we are looking for clarity and color. We want the wine to be free of any sediment, leaving it clear and brilliant. Red wines tend to lose their color as they mature, while white wines tend to grow darker with age. A good quality wine generally will be intense in color. The "legs" seen running down the sides of a glass after being swirled, are an indication of flavor density. It is best to use a plain white background, and tilt the glass slightly as you observe clarity and color.
Wine Tasting - The Sense of Touch
Touch is an important category of taste sensation. This is where we try to feel the wine on the palate. Here we seek to find impressions of such things as texture, body, temperature, and astringency. The aftertaste, finish, and length of a wine are all things we feel on our palate. We are looking for how the wine feels in weight (light, medium, full) and texture (silky, coarse, velvety). Try to observe how long the sensations last in your mouth. Most will tell you the longer it lasts, the better the wine!
recommendations • winemakers • events • wineries
- Featured Winemaker:
Fred Peterson / Peterson Winery
In
1987, when I started Peterson Winery, I didn’t dream I’d
have contact with so many people. Part of what I enjoy about
being in the wine industry is meeting new people and making
friends all over the world. Having worked a harvest in New Zealand
and one in Australia, I feel like I am part of the international
wine industry, not just the California wine industry.
Telling someone what I used it do always makes me wonder where the time has gone. My career in the wine industry began during the 1970s. Please don’t start calculating my age. I am fortunate to have been both a vineyard manager and a winemaker for other wineries before starting my own winery. Those two roles combined give me a solid and comprehensive background of creating world-class wine.
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- Featured Winemaker: Grady Wann / Quivira
-
Grady
Wann brings many talents to Quivira, as Winemaker and General
Manager. A scientist, artist, and humanist, he is intensely
focused and passionate about his work. Grady's penchant for
balance and beauty is reflected in the wines he crafts.
A combination of destiny and good judgement brought Grady to the wine business and ultimately to Quivira. Born and raised on the East Coast, he came to California in the mid 1970's to earn a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Stanford University. In his free time, Grady explored the nearby wine country, discovering the wines of Chalone, Mt. Eden and Ridge Vineyards. "The Ridge Zinfandels really captured my interest." By the time he had his doctorate degree, Grady's professional interest had shifted from chemistry to viticulture and enology.
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