Now that you have that glass of wine in your hand, what are you going to do with it? Ah yes, swirl and sniff is the obvious answer. But here are some helpful tips to make you appear like a true wine expert, a veritable sommelier, and will have your friends clamoring for your sophisticated advice and expertise.
One of the first things you may notice about wine “aficionados” or those “in the business” is the way they handle their wine glass. The glass is but a tool, but it plays a very important role in the enjoyment of your wine.
To begin with, when pouring wine, start with a very modest amount so you can evaluate the wine to see if you even like it. All too often people will “fill-er-up” and then, if the wine is not to their taste, start looking for a plant to dump it in So shoot for an ounce or two; this also gives you sufficient space in the glass to do that all important swirling and sniffing.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, the holding and grasping the glass is important, too. I have seen everything from the ham-fisted grope, with the fingers all the way around the bowl of the glass, to the itty-bitty bird perch, where the drinker is holding on by the very edge of the base. Both of these have potential for disaster.
When handed or picking up a wine glass, aim for the middle of the stem. Grasping it securely, you can now evaluate the wine for color and clarity, smell and taste. While I see many people thrust their glass skyward, toward the sun or some other light source, a better way to view the wine is to find a solid color background, preferably a white tablecloth, and tilt your glass somewhat to see the wine’s true color.
Next comes the smelling, sniffing, or whatever you would like to call it. Instead of holding the glass in your hand and swirling with so much force that it flies right out into space (or worse yet, onto someone) find a flat surface where you can place the glass to swirl. This will keep the wine in the glass as it goes round and round and, as a bonus, you will look cool, too. Give it a couple of good circular spins.
The purpose of all this motion is to both release aromatic components that are in the wine by introducing oxygen into it, and by coating the insides of the glass. This gives the wine a larger surface area to in which to “volatize” or release its aroma. As an example of the effectiveness of this, pour some wine into a glass, and do not swirl it, but take a smell. Then, swirl and try again, viola! Smell the difference?
The one caveat to not holding the wine by the bowl is if you have a wine that is too cold. This happens most often with white wines direct from the refrigerator, and such a wine will not have much nose, regardless of all the swirling you do. So, feel free to start the warming process with the “under bowl hold,” best practiced by experienced swirlers. Or try the more common “mitten hold” with both hands planted securely around it. Doing so should bring it forth from the ice age in short order.
It’s now time for the tasting, and, you’re on your own! Cheers!
Greg Taylor is the proprietor of Taylor & Norton Wine Merchants, at 19210 Sonoma Highway and taylorandnorton.com
