06/28/05 Assessing wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and on today's program we are going to briefly discuss how you go about assessing a wine. When sizing a wine up you must take into consideration three main aspects of assessment of the wine. The Appearnce, The Aroma and the Taste. First the appearance of the wine can give you lots of information about what grape or grapes the wine is made from and whether or not it was filtered. The intensity of the wines color can give you an indication of its age and how it was made. For example a red wine with a bluish tint is youthful as opposed to a wine with a bit of an amber highlight which would indicate a more mature wine. Next consider the aroma or the smell of the wine. Since our ability to perceive flavor comes primarily from our sense of smell we can learn a lot about the wine. Such as what grape it is made from, if it was aged in oak and if it has any flaws or off odors. Finally tasting the wine is when you determine its balance. The level of sweetness to acidity is important. This is also when you evaluate the wines body or the texture of the wine. And of course what kind of a finish it has or how long the flavor lasts in your mouth. Practice makes perfect so keep evaluating and you will continue to learn. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.