Wine is probably one of the world’s most popular beverages, and with good reason too. For one thing, wine can be enjoyed at any occasion, and for another, it comes in a dazzling array of variations so that everyone is sure to find the one they love. Whether you are partial to red wine or white wine, however, every wine lover should be familiar with the wine tasting process even a little bit. It is a fine art so to speak, not to mention quite impressive. Whilst it does take some time to get the hang of it, with enough practice and know-how, it soon becomes second nature. To start you off, here are a few essential wine tasting tips for those who are new to it.

Smell Is Everything

A good way to understand what exactly this means is to pinch your nose close and take a swig of wine at the same time. For the most part, you will find that you could not really taste anything. That is because your sense of smell is just as much a part of taste, though you may not immediately catch onto this little fact. Hence, the first step to proper wine tasting is to train your nose to sniff out the delicate nuances of the wine, separating all the notes so you prep your brain for what is to come. Soon enough, you will learn to identify them on their own, and together with other flavours.

Focus

Sure wine tasting is an incredibly fun activity, and generally not a subject to be treated too seriously especially if you are out at a winery with friends or family. However, if you are planning on heading into wine tasting as a professional, you need to train yourself to focus. You need to develop the ability to concentrate solely on the glass of wine in front of you, shut out all distractions, and simply focus on the task at hand. If you are talking and joking at the same time, it becomes difficult to do your job right. Whether you are looking for the best red wine (or white for that matter), practice this from the beginning, since this is one of the first steps to the process. With time, it will become more natural.

Look Beyond Taste

Anybody can drink some wine and decide whether they like it or not simply based on taste. Wine tasting is not just about that though. It involves many other elements, including being able to deduce what sort of grapes have been used, where they come from, the fermentation process and much more. In other words, you should be able to identify what the main flavour of the wine is, what its supporting components are, and at the same time pick out any issues that may be floating about as well.

Patience

Good things come to those who wait they say, and that is no different in this instance. Wine tasting is something that you perfect with patience and practice, and not done overnight. It requires learning from the maestros, making mistakes, and continuously keeping at it. Patience is a very big part of the process. You may not initially be able to distinguish between the different wines, they may taste the same to you, or they may even not seem to have as much depth as you thought. Do not give up, just keep practicing, and the rest will come to you.