Temecula Wine Tours: Wine Tasting Tips
Temecula Wine Tours has put together a very quick and concise guide to wine tasting for beginners for you, because if you're here, you're likely to want to learn how to enjoy a wine tasting without having to get a degree on the art and science of it! It's true that there are infinite intricacies to wine tasting, but you don't necessarily need to get that in-depth to enjoy an outing in Temecula Valley wine country. Here are Temecula Wine Tours' top tips for having a wonderful time during your first wine tour in Temecula!
DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE RULES. Some people think that adherence to all the rules of wine tasting is a must. The truly knowledgeable (and all of us at Temecula Wine Tours) would disagree. It's good to know when to break the rules. In fact, it's good to know the rules of wine tasting so that you can break them properly. Some of the greatest discoveries were founded by people who were brave enough to take risks and break the rules. That's why we have electricity and so many other modern conveniences as we know then today. The same principle apples for wines. You can mix different wine and food combinations for pleasantly unpredictable results. For instance, red wine with steak, white wine with chicken? Not always. A more complex white wine can be the perfect complement to a delicious steak, and if you enjoy a sweet red with your chicken, then why not? All of us at Temecula Wine Tours recommend that you don't spend your day of wine tasting trying to remember all the rules. Just sip, enjoy, and have fun!
KNOW THAT COLOR INDICATES QUALITY. You can tell a lot about the wine that you're tasting by simply looking at the color of it. A red wine will become lighter as it ages, and it will also taste a lot better. A darker wine is less flavorful when it hasn't been given the chance to age. White wines are the opposite. They actually ruin as they get older. It's probably a good idea to consume your white wine selection while it's still good. This way you can taste your white wine in the way that it was meant to be.
HOLD THE GLASS BY THE STEM. If you wrap your hand around the glass, you'll heat the wine and that will affect the flavor. You want your wine to be immaculate with every sip. Additionally, when you hold your wine glass by anything other than the stem it looks somewhat barbaric. It also screams to those drinking wine with you that you don't know what you're doing. This could be detrimental to you when trying to build your social status. Everyone wants to build their social climbing whether it's for personal, professional or political reasons. Hold your wine glass carefully by the stem. You'll preserve the integrity of the flavor in your wine glass. On top of that, you'll look like a distinguished wine pro too! Save yourself the embarassment of ridicule and the degradation of your wine and hold your glass by the stem. You will be thanking yoursef you did so in the long run.
SMELL THE WINE BEFORE SIPPING. Swish the glass around before you take a sip, and smell the delicate aroma. This helps your taste buds to be able to decipher the delicate flavors that are hidden in each sip. Which ultimately heightens the experience of your wine glass. Some people take one fast sniff of the wine, take in that first impression, then take a longer sniff, take in that impression, and then take a sip. Others eliminate the first quick sniff and just do the deep sniff and sip. Try it both ways and see what you prefer, but never skip the sniff! It's so important to the art of wine tasting, and you miss out on so much of the experience if you don't.
TAKE YOUR TIME IN TASTING. Let each sip stay in your mouth for a moment, swishing it around and letting it stay on your taste buds a bit longer. Wine is meant to be savored. Sip your glass, do not guzzle it. Let the wine hit all your tastebuds. You should also try to draw in a little air. Oxygen greatly heightens the flavor of your wine selection. Note if the wine is light or rich, and what flavors you're able to perceive.
SHARE YOUR TASTE EXPERIENCE. Turn to your date or to your friends and talk to them about what you tasted. Compare their experience with yours. You'll quickly learn just how individualized your tastes are and how uniquely each of you can experience the same bottle of wine.
When you travel with Temecula Wine Tours, we'll provide you with further information on how to enjoy your wine tasting experience to the max, but primarily, the tips above will serve you very well. The first tip is the most important one, so keep that in mind. Let Temecula Wine Tours take you to all of the finest wineries in Temecula Valley wine country! Next up, we'll tell you all about them.
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