Wine Tasting and
Evaluation
5 Basic Steps
1. Sight/Color 2. Swirl 3. Smell
4.Sip/Taste 5. Savor
Wine Components/Elements
• Acids
• Tannins
• Alcohol
• Sugar
Sensed Used for Tasting and Evaluating W
• Sight
• Smell
• Taste
Parts of the Tongue that identifies Tastes:
• Tip - sweet taste
• Side – acid taste
• Middle – salty taste
• Black – bitter taste
ms Used to Describe How Wine Looks:
oudy – the wine is hazy in appearance
ras (literally “fat” in English) – the wine is fully bodied, s
mpid – the wine look perfectly clear and pure.
rupeux – the wine has syrupy consistency.
atery – the wine looks more more like water, lacking in dep
Term used to Describe How the Wine Smells:
• Balsamic – the wine smell like raisin or balsam
• Barnyard Smell – some old red wines smell like meat or
venison
• Odeurs etherized – wine smells like ether or alcohol or nail
polish, yeast fermentation
• Flinty – burnt, smoky or cooked. Caramel toast, gunflint
rubber, cocoa and coffee.
• Floral – the wine smells like flowers and many possibilities.
• Fruity – the wine smells like fruits – many possibilities
• Mineral Smells – wine smells like flint, chalk, limestone, earth
or dust.
• Spicy – wine smells like spices or herbs
• Vegetable smell – wine smells like grass, leaves, fresh or
moldy greenery.
Terms Used to Describe How the Wine Tastes:
• Acidic- Used to describe wines having high acidity.
• Bitter - An acrid aftertaste that signifies the fruit of
immature vines or overabundant tannin.
• Dry (sec) – the wine has nor percitable trace of sugar
• Extra – Dry (brut) the wine is extremely dry, with no trace
of sugar.
this term is generally used to describe Champagne
• Lively (vif) – wine taste fresh, dominant but not excessive
acidity.
• Soft (mou) - the wine does not have acidity or vivacity.
• Sweet (doux) – the wine taste naturally, generally the
sugar level is somewhere between semi-sweet and syrupy.
• Syrupy (liquoreux) – the wine is very high in sugar and
usually very smooth in texture.
Common Sensory Descriptors
1. Red grape Variety
a. Babarnet Franc – tobacco, green bell pepper, raspberry,new mown grass
b. Cabernet Sauvignon – blackcurrants, eucalyptus, chocolate, tobacco
c. Gamay – pomegranate, strawberry, red fruits
d. Grenache – smoky, pepper, raspberry
e. Malbec – violet, fruit, beer
f. Merlot – Black cherry, plums, tomato
g. Mourvedre – thyme, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, violet, blackberry
h. Nebbiolo – leather, tar, stewed prunes, chocolate
i. Norton – red fruit, elderberries
j. Petite Sirah – (Durif) earthy, black pepper, dark fruits
k. Petit Verdot – violets (later) pencil shavings
l. Pinot Noir – raspberry, cherry, violets, “farmyard” (with age), truffles
m.Pinotage – bramble fruits liqourise, roses
n. Sangiovese – herbs, black cherry, leather, earthy
o. Syrah – (Shiraz) tobacco, black/white pepper, blackberry, smoke
p. Tempranillo – vanilla, strawberry, tobacco, spices, chocolate, red fruits
q. Zinfandel – black cherry, peppermixed spices, mint
2. White Grape Variety:
a. Albarino – lemon, minerals
b.Breidcker – apple, pear
c. Chardonnay – Butter, melon, apple, pineapple, vanilla (if oaked,
e.g. vinified or aged in new oak aging barrels)
d.Chenin Blanc – wet wool, beeswax, honey, apple, almond,
e. Gewurztraminer – rose, petals, lychee, spice
f. Gruner Vetliner – green apple, citrus Marsanne almond,
honeysuckle, marzipan Melon de Bourgogme lime, salt, green
apple
g.Muscat – honey, grapes, lime
h.Palomino – honeydew, citrus, raw nuts
i. Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) – white peach, pear, apricot
j. Prosecco – apple, honey, musk, citrus Riesling citrus fruits,
peach, honey
1.Sauvignon Blanc – gooseberry, lime, as, asparagus, cut
grass, bell pepper, (capsicum), grapefruit, passionfruit
m. Semillon – honey, orange, lime
n. Trebbiano – (Ugni Blanc) lime, herbs
o. Verdicchio – apple, minerals, citrus
p. Vermintino – pear, cream, green fruits
q. Viognier – peach, pear, nutmeg, apricot
