The Phases of Tasting

In our brief introduction, we might well say that we have presented the wine tasting technique as a real intellectual exercise, undoubtedly useful for cultivating our love for this extraordinary product, but at the same time a precious tool for developing an ever more attentive look at the reality that surrounds us, or rather ... that we find daily served on the table.

We have also already defined the tasting technique as an "ordered analytical procedure aimed at describing a wine starting from its characteristics, which are first captured singly and subsequently put into a perspective of its entirety". But what exactly does that mean?

When we speak of an “ordered analytical procedure” we refer to an actual system that guides our examination, comprising different phases which, in turn, provide for an exact sequence of elements to be submitted to our judgement. But let's make the topic more understandable by going into detail.

The tasting of a wine consists of four main phases:

• Visual analysis
• Olfactory analysis
• The Gustatory analysis
• The General judgement

It is quite fascinating to note how our tasting is outlined as a dynamic procedure, in constant movement, that involves first our gradual physical approach to the wine - through the sensory analysis phases – finishing with a step back to assume the critical distance necessary to place every detail in an overall view.

This last movement inherent in tasting - which however takes place on a purely cognitive level - is in fact the passage from the specific to the general, that is, from the judgement of each aspect first in its singularity and then as part of a larger whole.

As we will see, it is precisely the congruity between all our perceptions that is one of the main aspects that contributes to determining - positively or negatively - the sign of our judgement.