How to Taste a Wine: Introduction

After the long detour dedicated to winemaking, we inaugurate a new series of articles taking up one of the central themes of our communication project linked to the world of wine: tasting.

Way back in the first few months of this blog we were able to introduce this topic - as vast as it is important - by setting some of its key points, from the importance of careful preparation to the value of continuous (and honest) comparison as a key to one's own training as taster.

Let's now resume our journey by delving into the details of the tasting technique, analysing every phase of the process: our goal, however, will not be simply a review of these steps, but we will try to show the deep connections between them to grasp the overall sense of tasting.

As we have already said, tasting a wine does not in fact mean defining whether it is good or not: tasting is an ordered analytical procedure aimed at describing a wine starting from its characteristics, which are first captured singly and subsequently put into the perspective of its entirety. 

The more we are able to grasp a conformity in this arrangement, or rather, between its individual elements, the more our opinion can be said to be positive ... beyond any personal consideration of the product's pleasantness! 

Note the completely casual use in the last sentence of the term product instead of the more specific wine: the latter will be the protagonist of future discussions, but it is good to remember how acquiring a method, or rather, understanding the meaning of the tasting technique, can prove to be of great help (and stimulus) whenever we encounter a similar product.

Liqueurs, spirits, oil, vinegar but also cheeses, cured meats and almost any food lends itself to being tasted: like our wine, in order to express a full assessment of these other products it would be necessary to master and deepen the specific parameters being evaluated, but the tasting method, or the predisposition to an orderly and objective analysis, isundoubtedly be the most precious tool we can acquire.