Good Wine Guide

The Art of Wine Tasting
For those who don’t know about wine tasting, it is indeed an art. Those who partake of this
activity do so in the same way an artist may look at a painting or an author might evaluate a
book. It is not just a quick tasting of the wine but rather an entire process upon which the taster
embarks. In fact, one must know a great deal about wine to be a wine taster—it is not simply
tasting to see if the wine is fit for consumption but rather actually becoming involved in the
process and taking it all to heart.
There is not an entire glass of wine provided for wine tasting but just enough in the bottom of
the glass to provide the taster with a good sample. After swirling the glass back and forth, the
taster will take a small amount of the liquid in his mouth and swirl it around like mouthwash. The
purpose of this is to take in all of the wine’s flavor and discover the full tasting process. The wine
taster does not drink any of the wine but only grasps the flavor on his tongue and in his mouth.
Since your tongue is the organ that contains the taste buds, it is unnecessary for the wine taster
to drink the wine in order to evaluate its flavor.
In most cases a wine taster will be tasting many different varieties of wines in the course of the
day—another good reason for him to only swish it around in his mouth and not attempt to drink
it. Even though the glasses only contain small amounts of wine, the taster may be asked to
taste ten or more varieties in the course of a day. The purpose of wine tasting is for the taster to
determine if the flavor and aroma of each wine is up to standards and not to drink the wine for
recreational purposes. Some wine tasters also participate in contests that are created for the
sole purpose of comparing various wine varieties, and again they do not actually drink the wine
but swish it around on the tongue and the inside of their mouth to grasp the entire flavor of the
wine. It is not something one chooses to do in order to feed a need for alcohol but to become a
critic of good wines.
The Importance of Serving the Proper Wine
Although many people don’t become overly concerned about what wine they serve with dinner,
the reality of it is that the proper wine choice will complement your dinner. If you have a favorite
wine that you always have on hand, you are certainly free to serve it with your dinner but if you
want to have a great party that is going to receive rave reviews, you want to make sure you
have the right wine to go with the meal you are serving. For instance, even if you don’t care for
red wine, if you are having a party and are serving beef, steak or veal, you want to be sure to
serve red wine and not white wine. That does not mean you cannot serve white wine to the
guests who prefer it, but you want to make sure you have the right wine available to go along
with your meal.
If you’re just serving dinner for friends, is your choice in wine really that important? It could be if
some of those friends talk to others, especially if you are in the professional field where you
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dinner parties, however informal, may make a difference in your professional career. Wine can
add just the right touch to your party and allow your guest to relax and enjoy the meal you, a
cook or caterer has prepared. Only in an informal setting that includes only your family should
you fail to adhere to the rules of protocol for serving wine. In some cases serving the wrong
wine with a meal can cause a change in the flavor of the food. Although this may not make a
huge difference if you are feeding only your family, it can make a big difference if you are
serving guests, especially if there are some you have not met before the party.
What may not seem important to you is of great importance to other people. Look at parties you
attend and see what kind of wine is served—you can be sure it is based upon the contents of
the meal. Make the choice to be informed about serving wine before you have your first party
and you will achieve greater success. When it comes to serving wine at parties lack of
knowledge is no excuse—it is too easy to find the answers you need.
The Wine Making Process
Very few people ever give a thought to the winemaking process—some don’t even realize that
all wines begin with grapes. The difference in wines is in the type of grapes, the fermentation
process, the aging process and even the processing of the grapes. Some wines are aged as
long as one hundred years and even more to give it the best flavor, and of course, the older a
wine is, the more it will cost because it is a higher quality wine. Although the days of putting
grapes in a vat and stomping on them, replaced