Flavors in Wine
When getting started with wine tasting, developing a keen sense of taste and smell to identify the flavors in wine is a step-by-step process that requires constant practice and accumulation. Here are some specific methods and suggestions:
1. Develop a keen sense of smell
daily practice
Observe and record the surrounding environment: Consciously remember the smell of the surrounding living environment, such as asphalt roads, gardens, woods, kitchen spice jars, vegetable markets, etc. These exercises will help you categorize various smells, such as floral, fruity, balsamic, burnt, etc.
Smell with eyes closed: Collect various fruits, spices and other items, smell their smells with eyes closed, and try to remember them. This helps improve olfactory sensitivity and discrimination.
Use professional tools: such as the “Wine Nose”, which is an aroma bottle set specially designed for wine tasters to practice their sense of smell. It contains smells that often appear in wine and is helpful for daily training.
Smell application during wine tasting
Smell concentration: Put the wine under your nose and take a quick sniff to judge the intensity of the aroma.
Distinguish aroma types: Hold the wine closer and smell it to identify specific aroma types, such as fruity, herbal, floral, oak, etc.
Pay attention to details: Pay attention to the freshness, maturity and other special smells of the aroma, such as earthy, mineral, etc.
2. Develop a keen sense of taste
Understand the basics of taste:
People’s sense of taste is mainly completed by the taste buds on the tongue. Taste buds in different parts have different sensitivities to the four basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty. The two sides of the tongue tip are sensitive to salty, the two sides of the tongue body are sensitive to sour, the base of the tongue is sensitive to bitter, and the tip of the tongue is sensitive to sweet.
Basic taste exercises
Prepare standard solution: Use purified water, sugar, white vinegar, salt, alkaloids, etc. to prepare a standard solution in proportion, representing the four basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
Taste and record: Taste each solution and record its taste characteristics so that you can accurately distinguish them during subsequent exercises.
Mixing flavors practice
Prepare mixed solutions: such as a mixture of sweet and sour flavors, a mixture of bitter and sour flavors, etc., to simulate the complex flavor combinations in wine.
Taste and Compare: Taste the mixture and note the changes in taste, noting the differences in how each area of your tongue feels.
Alcohol and Sweetness Exercise
Use purified water and neutral alcohol (or colorless and odorless vodka) to prepare alcohol solutions of different concentrations to feel the burning and sweet sensation of alcohol in your mouth.
Sugar or other sweeteners are added to the solution to simulate the changes in sweetness found in wine.
