Three aromas to savour when 'tasting' wine

The Sniff Test

by Angela Lansbury

More wine is sold before Christmas in the UK than at any other time of year. Whether you are tasting wine at a huge multi-national such as Majestic, or at a vineyard cellar shop, or at a Christmas dinner, in a restaurant or at home, you should first swirl the wine around in the glass to release the aroma.

How do you do it without spilling it? Depends whether you have the right amount of wine in the right shaped glass selected by somebody who knows. If your wine has been filled beyond half or to the brim, and you are already feeling decidedly merry after finishing off a couple of pre-dinner drinks, it is not a good idea to wave your glass in the air and send the wine spiralling upwards.

You hold the glass securely, and start slowly watching it as you increase speed. If it is warm red wine, you may be holding it by the bowl. Yes, in snowy weather it's good to warm your hands on a glass of mulled wine. But usually what you are trying to go is warm the wine which has not reached the correct temperature, or keep it at the correct temperature.

Conversely, if the wine, usually still white wine, has been chilled, you will not want to warm it by clutching the bowl, but will hold it securely by the stem. 

To be sure of no accidents, keep the base of the glass on the tablecloth and swill it gently. 

The Sniff Test

First you need to sniff a wine to be sure that it hasn't gone off.

Next, good wine has an aroma as well as a taste. You may be able to detect three kinds of aroma.

1 The grape juice variety providing the fruity perfume.
2 The secondary fermentation, adding more of the skin for flavour and aroma.

3 The aromas added, for example: a) the smokiness of the oak barrel, the mixing with another grape to counteract over dry or over sweet wine and add variety - like sweet and sour Chinese food, so the flavour is not to sharp and acid, nor too sweet and sickly or flaccid, needing more bite.

Savour that moment of sniffing before dining the wine. That enhances your enjoyment.