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The Five S's of Enjoying
and Evaluating Wine
| Sight: |
Hold
your glass by the stem, lift it to the light or hold it against a
light background and take a good look at the wine. Wine should be
clear and brilliant, rather than cloudy or hazy. Color intensity
usually indicates good quality. |
| Swirl: |
Swirling the wine glass will introduce air, releasing its aromas and
flavors. Also, when the wine runs down the sides of the glass
quickly, it is light-bodied. If it takes longer to run down and
forms streaks on the side of the glass, that's called "legs", meaning it's full-bodied.
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| Smell: |
Take a
good long sniff of the wine to appreciate its aroma and bouquet.
Aroma originates from the fruit itself. Bouquet includes smells
created in the wine making process, such as aging in oak barrels.
Smelling the wine includes recalling pleasant aromas familiar to you... such as
lemon, berries, or vanilla. |
| Sip: |
Here
is where you finally get to taste the wine. For the first sip, roll
the wine around in your mouth, since different parts of your tongue will
experience a different sensation. For example, the tip of your
tongue can tell you how sweet a wine is, while the sides of your tongue
will feel tartness. |
| Savor: |
Finally, take a
drink as you normally would to taste the full, complex flavors of
the wine as a whole. After you swallow, notice the "finish", or the
lingering flavors in your mouth. |
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