Tasting

Tasting a wine requires us to draw upon our feelings, our emotions. It awakens both olfactory and gustative sensations. The main piece of advice for appreciating our wines – trust yourself and listen to what your sense of perception tells you!

The different steps in tasting a wine

Visual aspect is our first contact with a wine. It gives us information about colour and can give indications as to its age or varietal. Clearness, brilliance, transparency, intensity and colour nuances are other signs that can be noted.

The nose in two steps. As an odour is defined by what it evokes, the bouquet of the wine calls upon each individual’s memory to appeal to our own personal “library” of scents and aromas.

First nose: The aromas emerge, giving an overall impression of the nose which can be closed, open, discrete, exuberant…

Second nose: after the wine has interacted with oxygen (by rotating the glass to swirl the wine within), further aromas are released yielding more precise aromatic nuances.

Aromas can be classified according to their origin

• Primary aromas are linked to and characteristic of the grape varietal.
• Secondary aromas are linked to vinification, and more precisely, the fermentation process.
• Tertiary aromas are linked to the ageing of the wine.

Aromas may be classified according to family

• Fruity (red berries, white-fleshed fruit, jammy fruit, dried fruit…)
• Floral (acacia, linden, rose, hawthorn, peony…)
• Vegetal (green bell pepper, truffle, mushroom, freshly cut grass…)
• Spicy (pepper, liquorice, cinnamon, clove…)
• Empyreumatic (smoke, coffee, toast…)
• Animal (leather, fur, musk…)
• Food (honey, caramel, butter…)

Palate

The ultimate pleasure in wine tasting; the synthesis of all the sensations.

The basic flavours – sweet, salty, acidic, bitter, astringent – are expressed within an intense, complex palette and impact the memory more than the visual impression does. Flavour, a simultaneous perception of taste and smell, is perceived in the back of the mouth (retronasal olfaction) and lastingness: short, long or very long, the sign of a great wine which is counted in caudalies (seconds).

Serving temperature

In order to bring out all of the aromas and flavours of our wines, it is best to serve the whites and rosés between 10 and 12°C and the reds between 15 and 17°C.

The wine glass

It is important to unveil all of the wine’s nuances – its colour, brilliance, aromas and flavours. Opt for a fine, tulip-shaped glass to allow for better concentration of the aromas.

A few guidelines for food pairing

Sweet, acidic, full-bodied or tannic – what dish would it best be served with?

Harmony between a wine and the dish it is served with is essential. It is not only a question of balance, but also of personal taste.

A few basic guidelines to assist you:

 

Tannins emphasize bitterness and saltiness. 

Sugar emphasizes bitterness.

• tannic red wines with green vegetables or chocolate – the tannins emphasize bitterness •tannic red wines with salty foods – the tannins bring out the saltiness
• sweet wines with vegetables or milk chocolate – excessive bitterness

The acidity of white and delicate red wines is a good alternative as it tones down sensations of saltiness and bitterness. Also keep in mind that vinegar, eggs, and tomatoes are capable of “killing” the wine.