Wine tasting is not as hard as you think. You don’t need to be an connoisseur and can even start without any recognised coaching. Etiquette come first so always serve the ladies before the gentlemen. Be ready to be given bottled water served up at room temperature at your wine sampling party. You might find this strange but the water is used to clean your palate out ready for the next taste of wine. The water is not to be very cold as this can shock your palate which can change the taste of the wine dramatically.

When tasting wine, it is important that you hold the wine glass by the base and not cup the bowl in your handle. The use of this is that it prevents you from warming the wine with your hands, you have to remember that this will also affect the overall flavour of the wine.

Sampling the wine doesn’t just involve placing the wine in your mouth and roll it about your tongue a couple of times before spitting or swallowing.

The first thing to do when wine sampling to to look at the color Being able to see the wine clearly is essential so make sure the glass you are using is clean. To be able to see the wine and its true colour clearly you should use a white backdrop, some people use a white table cloth. White doesn’t always mean white when it come to wine, you can sometimes find white wine with a brown, yellow or even green shade. When looking at the color of a red wine you will notice that they come in different shades, the older the wine the lighter it is.

The coloring of the wine will also suggest the age or the flavor, attempt doing a lip test to look at the color of the wine. Simply tip your glass and find the color of the wine, if it look like a tint of brown it will be an older wine, if it is has a shade of purple then it will be a newer wine.

Testing the scent is the next step and this is done by twirling the wine about the glass to mix in the air and then breath fully through the nostril after placing the glass just above the top of your mouth. You have to remember that the wine may have been in the bottle for six months to many, many years, by swirling the wine, you will release the flavors. It’s like cooking at home where you stir the food in order for you to blend the flavor.