During the tours it is possible to practice how to

Evaluate a Wine

Should you like to start trying to evaluate your wines before you go on a tour, here’s the points you should check when tasting.

Remember that wines should be served at the same temperature at which they would be served with a meal. The approximate temperatures are:

• Full-bodied reds: 65-68ºF  (18-20ºC)
• Light-bodied reds: 50-65ºF   (15-18ºC)
• Dry whites: 50-60ºF  (10-12ºC)
• Sparkling and sweet whites: 40-45ºF  (5-7ºC)

Wine Information

• Type
• Vintage (year)
• Appellation
• Producer
• Cost

Wine Evaluation

APPEARANCE

- Color:

White: Colorless, Pale Green, Pale Yellow Green, Dark Green, Pale Yellow, Straw, Dark Gold

Red: Light Red, Medium Red, Dark Red, Red Orange, Medium Purple, Dark Purple, Dark Violet

- Clarity: (wines should be brilliantly clear, unless they are samples taken directly from the barrel. Residues in the bottom of the bottle are acceptable)

Positive: Brilliantly clear, Clear

Negative: Dull, Distinct Hazy, Cloudy

- "Legs": (Legs form because wines contain a mixture of water and alcohol; they evaporate at different rates and have different surface tensions. Alcohol evaporates faster than water, causing the surface layer to have a higher concentration of water. Alcohol evaporates fastest where the air and the glass meet, and so this is where the highest concentration of water and surface tension is - and thus the liquid will creep up the side of the glass until it cannot resist the force of gravity. A wine's legs are mainly water. The more alcohol a wine contains, the more legs it will generate and the thinner they will become.)

Quantity of streams: Very Few, Many, Very many

Thickness or thinness of streams: Very thin, Medium, Very thick

- Bubbles (relevant only in sparkling wines): Size, Persistency (small and very persistent is good)

SMELLING THE WINE - OLFACTORY SENSATIONS

- Aroma (pleasant odors present in the fresh grape varietals, for example either of these:)

• 1. Varietal Aromas: characteristic aromas of particular grape varieties grown under proper conditions and made carefully into wine. These aromas are typical for the variety and easy to pick out in the grape (such as gewürztraminer and zinfandel) other aromas are brought forth during fermentation (such as cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay).

• 2. Distinct: is the term for aromas that are individual in character, but not intense enough to permit varietal identification.

• 3. Complex (a lot of odors are present).

Floral - acacia, carnation, honeysuckle, jasmine, rose, violet, wildflowers, broom, and orange blossom Fruit - citrus, stone fruit, berries, cherries, red currants, apple, pear, banana, plum, tropical fruits Nuts - hazelnut, toasted almond, walnut Dried Fruit - fig, apricot, apple, pear, prune (not good) Vegetable - green pepper, eucalyptus, mushroom, dry leaves, wet straw, tobacco, tea Herbs & Spices - basil, mint, bay, cinnamon, lavender, thyme, sage, licorice, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, truffle, fennel, pine, juniper, incense, fern Roasted - toast, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, tar, smoke, burnt, rubber, tar

• 4. Vinous - no varietal or distinct aroma is detectable. It is the term to use when your reaction is: "Yes, this is wine", but not much more.

- Bouquet (odors added to wines as they are made, if aged in oak and thereafter some time in bottle, the wine will most likely have aging and bottle bouquet...)

Fermentation bouquet:

Yeasty (especially noticeable in young wines)

Aging bouquet:

Oak, vanilla, caramel, toast, burnt, tar (all odors extracted from the oak-aging containers, with small quantities of air, and the reaction between oak and varietal aromas).

Bottle bouquet:

Designates the greatly increased harmony, complexity, and mellowing of a wine's odors that are produced during the aging in the bottle.

- Off Odors (undesirable odors which are foreign to the smell of a sound wine)

Off odors as listed here may be caused by infected corks, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and so forth.

Moldy, swampy, sauerkraut, garlic, onions, nail polish remover, vinegar, oxidized, chemical...

TASTING - IN MOUTH IMPRESSIONS

When we are examining a wine we should try to distinguish between the flavor, taste and tactile sensations we perceive. These are also called structural components and are the following: Organic acids = Tartness. Sugars = Sweetness & Body. Tannins = Bitterness & Astringency. Alcohol = Sweetness, Body & Warmth. Carbon dioxide = Bubbles.

- Flavor  (the flavors should correspond to the wines odors)

• 1. Varietal

Tastes like a particular varietal or something you could identify (see above)

• 2. Distinctive

The varietal cannot be recognized but the flavor is more than "merely wine".

• 3. Vinous

Tastes like "merely wine".

It is possible to make notes about age:

• Young

Fresh, tarty, grapey, perhaps a little too rough for optimal enjoyment.

• Mature

Bottle aging character has developed, tannins are moderated, mellow, smooth, ready to drink.

• Over-aged

The oxidation process has gone on to long. Unappealing odors and flavors and a brown color.

- Taste

Acidity

• Tart (refreshes & cleanses palate)

• Flat (not enough acid. You feel like reaching out for a lemon to put a little more zip into your lemonade!)

Sweetness

• Dry (no sugar sensation - below our threshold of perception)

• Low

• Medium

• High (wines that are too sweet are described as either sweetish or cloying)

Balance (good balance between acidity and sweetness)

• Balanced (a good balance and an equal amount of either sensation)

• Un-balanced (unequal amounts of either component)

Bitterness

• Recorded only if present. In young wines bitterness may be present in small amounts. In other wines, it is considered an off flavor.

- Tactile sensations (touch)

Astringency (refers to whether or not a wine dries out your mouth)

• Smooth (low astringency - ready to drink)

• Rough (stinginess, very dry in mouth. For good red wines, it might mean that the wine needs more refining in the bottle)

• Very Rough (often this is the case with red wines right out of the barrel. Aging will diminish the roughness)

Body (refers to mouth-filling property, mouth feel or weight, viscosity)

• Thin (watery, not enough body)

• Light (good when speaking of young white wines)

• Medium (most reds and oaky whites)

• Heavy (late harvest and dessert wines)

Alcohol (refers to "heat" in the mouth, from an appropriate level to way too much)

• Warm

• Hot

• Ouch! Hurts on the tongue

OVERALL IMPRESSION

- Typicality

To complete the sensory analysis we add a note about our overall impression of the wine. We sit back and think about how well the parts of the wine relate to each other, make a judgment of how good the wine is, and consider whether the wine is typical of, for example, the type, region, producer, or vintage year.

- Quality

Among the attributes that distinguish great wines from ordinary wines are complexity, harmony, and the power to stimulate the emotions. Wines can be interesting, be well-made, possess varietal character, evidence aging bouquet, and be typical of their origins without creating a sense of awe in the mind of an experienced wine taster. Such wines are good and are expected to be somewhat complicated and somewhat harmonious, but they are not great. Great wines must have a harmonious, well-balanced combination of sensory elements: each component belongs and is present in the correct amount relative to the other components (no inconsistencies encountered in above sensory evaluations). Great wines make an impact on our emotions and will be remembered for the sense of awe it creates in us.

Life span of wine: Also the potential for greatness after refinement in the bottle should be realized.

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