How to Write About Wine
Understand wine tasting., Take notes as you taste wine., Develop your wine vocabulary., Put it all together, mixing any memories or thoughts that you think might add to the descriptive quality of your text. , Tell a story., Make any recommendations...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Understand wine tasting.
This is sometimes referred to as the 5 "S's" of wine tasting:
See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Savor.
Wine writing is best when done by people who love and enjoy wine because a complex vocabulary develops slowly through appreciation.
Pour an inch (2.54 cm) of wine into a clear wine glass that is wider at the bottom than the top.
Hold the glass by the stem.
If you are tasting more than 1 wine, start with heavy red wines and work toward lighter wines.
This order will allow you to taste the complexities of wines with more sugar content as you move along.
See.
Tilt your glass into light or sun.
Judge if the color is cloudy, golden or another color.
This can indicate how old the wine is.
Swirl.
Hold the stem and swirl the wine gently for 15 seconds to aerate, or add bubbles to, the wine.
Watch the "legs" of the wine.
This is the remaining wine that trickles down after you stop swirling.
You may want to write about the legs.
Sniff.
Put your nose near the glass.
You can hold it away or put it very close to the wine to pick up the aromas.
Sniff for 30 seconds before tasting.
Sip.
Take a small sip of wine and pay attention to the immediate taste.
Savor.
Swirl the wine around your mouth from front to back and then side to side to hit different taste buds.
You can also slurp the wine through pursed lips to aerate it further. -
Step 2: Take notes as you taste wine.
Since each step in the tasting process will evoke a different vocabulary, you will need to write down the information to remember what you have experienced. , This should cover the color of the wine and its aroma, texture, taste and finish.
Describe the color.
Touch on the obvious color like red, purple or yellow, but also describe if it's deep, medium or golden.
The aroma of the wine is sometimes referred to as the "nose" or the "bouquet." The nose picks up thousands of scents, so this is where you should be the most descriptive.
Do some research on wine blogs about the common vocabulary, such as fruity, nutty, caramel, chocolate, pepper.
These are sometimes called "notes." Feel and describe the texture of the wine.
More than the taste, this is the silky, rough, thick or heavy feel of the wine against your whole mouth.
Describe the taste of the wine as it hits your tongue.
The taste of wine is usually qualified as salty, sweet, bitter and sour, along with any similarities to food or other wines.
Taste, while important, is complimentary to smell because the nose is capable of picking up thousands of aromas.
Describe how long the taste lingers and if it leaves a specific aftertaste that's woody, earthy or another adjective.
This is called the finish of the wine. ,, After you have made an impartial assessment of the taste of the wine, research where and how it was made.
A personal story is an interesting lead-in to your tasting and it takes away a scientific tone toward the tasting. , Will you drink this wine again? , Wine blogs are a very popular way to write about wine and some wine magazines take submissions. -
Step 3: Develop your wine vocabulary.
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Step 4: Put it all together
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Step 5: mixing any memories or thoughts that you think might add to the descriptive quality of your text.
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Step 6: Tell a story.
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Step 7: Make any recommendations
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Step 8: such as food pairings.
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Step 9: Post or submit your story.
Detailed Guide
This is sometimes referred to as the 5 "S's" of wine tasting:
See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Savor.
Wine writing is best when done by people who love and enjoy wine because a complex vocabulary develops slowly through appreciation.
Pour an inch (2.54 cm) of wine into a clear wine glass that is wider at the bottom than the top.
Hold the glass by the stem.
If you are tasting more than 1 wine, start with heavy red wines and work toward lighter wines.
This order will allow you to taste the complexities of wines with more sugar content as you move along.
See.
Tilt your glass into light or sun.
Judge if the color is cloudy, golden or another color.
This can indicate how old the wine is.
Swirl.
Hold the stem and swirl the wine gently for 15 seconds to aerate, or add bubbles to, the wine.
Watch the "legs" of the wine.
This is the remaining wine that trickles down after you stop swirling.
You may want to write about the legs.
Sniff.
Put your nose near the glass.
You can hold it away or put it very close to the wine to pick up the aromas.
Sniff for 30 seconds before tasting.
Sip.
Take a small sip of wine and pay attention to the immediate taste.
Savor.
Swirl the wine around your mouth from front to back and then side to side to hit different taste buds.
You can also slurp the wine through pursed lips to aerate it further.
Since each step in the tasting process will evoke a different vocabulary, you will need to write down the information to remember what you have experienced. , This should cover the color of the wine and its aroma, texture, taste and finish.
Describe the color.
Touch on the obvious color like red, purple or yellow, but also describe if it's deep, medium or golden.
The aroma of the wine is sometimes referred to as the "nose" or the "bouquet." The nose picks up thousands of scents, so this is where you should be the most descriptive.
Do some research on wine blogs about the common vocabulary, such as fruity, nutty, caramel, chocolate, pepper.
These are sometimes called "notes." Feel and describe the texture of the wine.
More than the taste, this is the silky, rough, thick or heavy feel of the wine against your whole mouth.
Describe the taste of the wine as it hits your tongue.
The taste of wine is usually qualified as salty, sweet, bitter and sour, along with any similarities to food or other wines.
Taste, while important, is complimentary to smell because the nose is capable of picking up thousands of aromas.
Describe how long the taste lingers and if it leaves a specific aftertaste that's woody, earthy or another adjective.
This is called the finish of the wine. ,, After you have made an impartial assessment of the taste of the wine, research where and how it was made.
A personal story is an interesting lead-in to your tasting and it takes away a scientific tone toward the tasting. , Will you drink this wine again? , Wine blogs are a very popular way to write about wine and some wine magazines take submissions.
About the Author
Judy Vasquez
Specializes in breaking down complex home improvement topics into simple steps.
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