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5 S's of wine tasting I'm not a wine buff by any means, but I do enjoy an occasional glass. Wine tasting is intimidating to many, but doesn't have to be. Here's a simple rule to remember the five steps that constitute a successful tasting (or that will make you look like you know your stuff): Sight: The first step is to look at the glass of wine. Take a really good look -- turn the glass to make sure you observe it from all angles. Some people actually hold up a contrasting background against the glass (I think this is overkill). What you're looking for is a clear liquid with even tones and the absence of sediment. Swirl: The next step is to swirl the wine around in the glass. Practice this step well -- I've found that the most effective way to do this is to place the glass on a flat surface and move it gently in a circular motion with a quick movement of your hand. The purpose of this is two-fold: (1) to "wake" up the aromas/flavors of the wine and (2) to observe the strands of wine as they trickle back down (this tells you how much "body" the wine has - i.e., how thick or thin the liquid is) Sniff: Now that you have woken up the flavors and distributed the wine to other parts of the glass, put your nose right at the tip of the glass to smell the aromas. Don't be shy, really get in there and take a good whiff. You may notice smells of fruit and oak. As you drink more wine, you are supposed to discern other aromas. Personally, I smell wine! Sip: Finally, you get to taste wine. Tilt the glass and take a good sip. Swirl it around in your mouth to distribute the flavors evenly on your tongue and try to discern all the flavors you taste. You'll most definitely taste wood (oak) and fruit, because wine is essentially fermented fruit aged in oak barrels. You may be able to identify other flavors as well. Folks, I'm in the camp that will advise you to just say what you taste -- if the wine tastes of leather, leather it is. When I'm among wine virgins, I find that saying "Hmmm ... oaky" usually does the trick. Spit or Swallow: If you must, spit out the wine into the spit bucket (you might remember this from the movie Sideways). I personally always swallow -- I'm here to drink wine dammit!

© Vineeth Subramanyam 2006

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