Preparation is Everything: 8 Wine Tasting Tips to Get the Most from the Experience

Isabelle Lesschaeve Author

8 wine-tasting tips to augment your wine-tasting experience, especially if you are pursuing your wine education journey.

I was once invited to judge a national wine competition. It was a unique experience on many fronts, especially when I discovered that the local wine judges had some unexpected practices.

They started each day by sipping a cup of strong coffee and, for some, smoking a cigarette.

Then, after judging two flights of 10 wines, judges would take a break; tea, coffee, and pastries were available and some judges would take a smoke break as well.

As a sensory scientist, my heart sank at seeing these fantastic wine talents wasting their senses in such practice.

Whether you are judging wine at a competition or not, here are my eight wine-tasting tips to ensure you attend the wine-tasting event with a fresh nose, clean palate, and focused mind!

Wine Tasting Tip #1: Avoid consuming strongly flavored products BEFORE tasting

It's advised not to drink coffee or flavored drinks at least two hours before the tasting. The same applies to very flavorful or spicy-hot foods.

Why?

Intense flavors, creamy texture, or pungent sensations can linger in your mouth for a long time. Besides, they prevent you from smelling or tasting specific wine sensory attributes.

I once discovered that one taster had trouble identifying bitterness in a beverage. She wasn’t blind to the bitter taste; she had passed the screen test. 

No, I discovered that she liked having a cup of strong coffee before coming to the tasting session. 

The lingering bitterness of coffee interfered with her ability to detect the other beverage bitterness.

Another flavored product that ladies may not think about.

Lipstick flavor and texture can mix up with the wine flavors and mouth feels.

Wine Tasting Tip #2: Do not wear any perfume, cologne, or fragrant lotions.

While your senses will become adapted to the scents, the other tasters will be able to smell them and will be distracted by them.

Similarly, if you use a fragrant softener for your laundry, consider switching to a non-fragrant brand for these days you plan on attending a wine tasting.

Wine Tasting Tip #3: Do not smoke one hour before attending the tasting

As for strongly flavored beverages and foods, it’s advised not to smoke before a tasting or to wear any clothes you had on a smoking day. Smoked tobacco scents persist on clothes.

Know that smoking may not necessarily alter your sensitivity to smells. The smoked tobacco odor persists on clothes that could disturb the other tasters.

Wine Tasting Tip #4: Be excused if you have a cold

A stuffy nose will block any attempt to detect wine aromas.

Mucus accumulated in nasal cavities prevents aromatic compounds from reaching their target, the olfactory receptors located in the top of the nasal cavity. This will be true whether you smell the wine directly or take a sip. Retro-olfaction [LINK] will be altered as well.

Wine Tasting Tip #5 Follow the tasting instructions

When I lead a tasting, I approach it differently from the traditional rituals. I focus on the tasters, not the wine specifically, so you, the taster, can experience the wine flavor nuances for yourself.

I don’t tell you what you should smell and taste, you tell me what you experience and your ah-ha moments.

So, follow the tasting instructions to be sure to get the most of the tasting experience.

Wine Tasting Tip #6: No chit-chat

That’s one of my pet peeves.

We must focus on the smelling and tasting tasks to fully experience what a wine offers. 

So chit-chatting is a big no-no, whether it is the tasting leader or the tasters. We need silence for our senses to focus on the wine.

If you finished your evaluation early, do not chat with your fellow tasters before the end of the tasting. Your whispers will distract those who are still focusing on the task at hand.

Wine Tasting Tip #7: Nobody is right…or wrong

What we perceive when tasting a wine, its aromas, tastes, and feels, are interpreted based on previous experiences.

That’s why two individuals will experience the same wine differently: the intensity of a sensation, how to name a sensation, and whether the sensation is pleasant or not. 

Wine tasting is a very subjective experience unless you’re a sensory taster with 100 hours of training and calibration practices.

So, let’s respect what everyone has to say. There are no right or wrong answers.

Trust your senses and share your perceptions!

Wine Tasting Tip #8: Ask questions

Tasting wine is about discovering the power of your senses to appreciate the beverage and learning about the wine, e.g., why a wine may exhibit specific flavors. 

So, please ask questions. There’s no dummy question.

In Summary

These eight wine-tasting tips will augment your wine-tasting experience, especially if you are pursuing your wine education journey, judging wine in a competition, or even tasting wine at a winery tasting room.

However, when you have a glass of wine with a meal, don’t analyze, just enjoy. 

If I can disconnect my analytical brain to enjoy a meal with friends, you can, too.

Published July 22, 2024

Categories: : Best practices

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