Wine Basics

Vintages recently posted a "step-by-step guide on how to taste like a pro and get the most out of wine." Take a moment to read through it and learn about the 5 S's.

See: Colour tells you a lot about wine. White wines tend to deepen in colour from yellow to golden as they get older while red wines tend to change from purple to red to brick/orange with age. Lighter wines, white or red, are paler in appearance. Heavier, fuller bodied reds tend to be dark and opaque.

Swirl: Swirling aerates the wine thus releasing aromas for you to smell. Hold the glass by the stem and swirl in small circular motions, then smell. Hint: pour only about an ounce or two (30-45 mL) into your glass to make swirling easier.

Smell: Your nose is a powerful instrument. You can distinguish thousands of different scents with it.Wine aromas can remind you of scents you’ve encountered in the past, such as: fruits, spices, leather, earth and other organic matter. Your nose can also detect ‘off ’ aromas. If a wine smells like a damp basement, vinegar, or rotten eggs, send it back.

Slurp: Unlike the nose, the mouth can perceive only four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Sweetness represents sugar, or lack of it, in finished wines; sourness indicates acidity levels; bitterness helps you identify tannin (that ‘teabag’ feel you get in your mouth from some red wines); and saltiness, that is rarely found in wine. You may notice some wine connoisseurs making slurping noises when they taste. It is just more aerating.Try this: take a small amount of wine into your mouth; slowly suck in a focused stream of air through your teeth over the wine. Voila! The air helps the wine come alive in the mouth helping you identify the four tastes.

Savour: Savour the lingering flavours of the wine after you have swallowed. Notice how long they last – better quality wines have a longer, more flavourful finish.Tannins will also be especially noticeable here.

Originally posted on Vintages.com.