How to Taste Wine Like a Pro: A Step-by-Step Guide

To taste wine you look, smell and sip with attention, in that order. First the colour against a white background; then the aromas, with the glass still and then swirled; and finally a small sip where you notice sweetness, acidity, tannin, body and how long it lingers. You don't need to be a sommelier: you need a method.

Before you taste: what you need

No lab equipment required, but four things help:

• The right glass: thin, clear, with a stem and a bowl that narrows towards the top. It concentrates the aromas.
• Daylight or white light, and something white behind the glass: a tablecloth, a napkin or a sheet of paper.
• A room without strong smells: no perfume, no fresh cooking, no scented candles.
• The wine at the right temperature: whites cool, not icy; reds cool, not at living-room temperature in August.

Pour a little, a finger or two. With a full glass you can't swirl, and swirling is half the tasting.

Step 1: look at the wine

Hold the glass by the stem (hold it by the bowl and you warm the wine and cover the glass in fingerprints) and tilt it over the white background. Look for three things:

1. Is it clear? Bright, with no odd particles. A little sediment in an older red is normal.
2. Intensity. Can you see the white background through the wine or not? Pale, medium or deep.
3. Colour. Whites go from lemon-green to gold and to amber with age. Reds go from purple to ruby, garnet and brick.

Look at the rim too, where the wine thins out. In a young red it's violet; in an older one, orange. It's one of the best clues to age.

Step 2: smell the glass without moving it

Before swirling, bring your nose to the still glass and sniff for a couple of seconds. This is where the lightest aromas show, the ones that escape first. Ask yourself just one thing: does it smell a lot or a little? That's aromatic intensity.

Step 3: swirl the glass and smell again

Now rest the glass on the table and swirl it for a few seconds. As it moves, the wine takes in air and releases more aromas. Put your nose right into the glass and breathe calmly; no need to snort it.

Search by families, from general to specific:

• Fruit: fresh or ripe? Red (strawberry, cherry), black (blackberry, plum), white (apple, pear), citrus or tropical?
• Flowers and herbs: violet, orange blossom, cut grass, mint.
• Spice: pepper, liquorice, clove.
• From winemaking: bread, yeast, butter.
• From ageing: vanilla, coconut, toast, leather, tobacco.

Don't worry if nothing specific comes to you at first. Saying "red fruit and a bit of oak" is already tasting.

Step 4: take a small sip

Take a small sip and move it all around your mouth, as if you were chewing it. Different parts of the mouth notice different things. Check them one by one:

1. Sweetness: dry, off-dry or sweet?
2. Acidity: does it make your mouth water? The more it waters, the higher the acidity.
3. Tannin: does it leave your mouth dry and grippy, like stewed tea? That's tannin, mostly in reds.
4. Body: does it feel light like water or rich like whole milk?

Step 5: slurp some air (yes, noisily)

With the wine still in your mouth, part your lips and draw in a little air. It sounds odd and it's exactly what professionals do. The aromas travel up the back of your nose, the retronasal route, and nuances appear that you didn't catch by smelling.

Step 6: spit or swallow, and count

If you're tasting several wines, spit: it's what professionals do, not something weird. Then count how many seconds the flavour stays in your mouth. That's the finish: short if it vanishes straight away, long if it's still there after ten or fifteen seconds.

Step 7: draw your conclusions

Now put it all together. Is it balanced, or does something stick out, like alcohol or oak? Is it young or does it have some age? And the most important question: do you like it? Tasting isn't passing an exam; it's knowing why you like what you like.

The steps of wine tasting at a glance

Common beginner mistakes

• Filling the glass. A finger or two. No more.
• Talking before writing it down. If someone says "vanilla", everyone smells vanilla.
• Looking for what's on the label. Read "notes of blackcurrant" and you'll find blackcurrant even if it isn't there. That's why you learn far more tasting blind.
• Tasting ten wines in a row. After six, your nose gets tired.
• Thinking everything has a right answer. Aromas leave room for interpretation; acidity and tannin, much less.

How to keep learning

The method takes an afternoon. What takes time is memory: knowing that black fruit with pepper often means Syrah, or that razor-sharp acidity comes from a cool climate. You only get there by tasting often and comparing, ideally two or three wines at once rather than one at a time.

And the fastest way is to taste without seeing the label. With the practice tasting you can do it with one wine, guided step by step just like this guide. And if you get the bug, Winegang turns it into a monthly competition: four covered wines, the scoresheet on your phone and a ranking against your friends. It's the difference between knowing the steps and having a good eye. Or rather, a good nose.

FAQ

What do wine legs mean?

The drops running down the glass are mainly down to alcohol and, to a lesser extent, sugar. They don't indicate quality: a wine with lots of legs isn't better, it's usually just stronger or sweeter.

Can you taste wine from any glass?

You can, but you'll notice the difference. Ideally use a thin, clear glass with a bowl that narrows at the top to concentrate the aromas. A tumbler lets most of them escape.

How long does it take to learn to taste wine?

The method takes an afternoon. What takes time is building a memory of aromas and flavours, and you train that by tasting often and comparing wines, ideally blind.

Why do people slurp wine when tasting?

Drawing air in with the wine in your mouth sends the aromas up the back of the nose, the retronasal route. You pick up nuances you can't get just by smelling the glass.