WTI Wine Tours International Inc
Tasting

How to taste wine, without the theatre.

Tasting is just paying attention in a particular order. Five steps, about thirty seconds a glass, and you'll get far more out of every cellar door you walk into — no vocabulary test required.

The five steps

  1. A hand tilting a glass of red wine over a white tablecloth to judge its colour
    Step 01

    Look

    Tilt the glass over something white and read the colour.

    Colour hints at age, grape and style. Whites deepen from pale straw to gold as they age or spend time in oak; reds fade from purple-tinged ruby toward brick and garnet. A hazy look isn't a fault in unfiltered natural wines, but in a mainstream bottle it can be a warning sign.

  2. Red wine swirling in the bowl of a wine glass seen from above
    Step 02

    Swirl

    Keep the base on the table and move the glass in small circles.

    Swirling coats the inside of the bowl and releases aromatic compounds into the space above the wine. Those slow-running 'legs' tell you about alcohol and sugar, not quality. If the glass is more than a third full, you have no room to swirl — pour less.

  3. A taster with their nose in a wine glass, smelling the aromas
    Step 03

    Smell

    Nose in, short sniffs, then name the first thing you notice.

    Most of what we call taste is smell. Work outward in three layers: fruit (citrus, berry, stone fruit), then other plant and spice notes (herbs, pepper, florals), then winemaking character (vanilla and toast from oak, bread dough from lees, earth and mushroom from age). Trust your own references — 'my grandmother's jam cupboard' is as valid as any wheel.

  4. A taster taking a small sip of red wine at a cellar door
    Step 04

    Sip

    Take a small sip and let it move across your whole mouth.

    Now judge structure rather than flavour: sweetness on the tip of the tongue, acidity as mouthwatering tartness along the sides, tannin as a drying grip on the gums in reds, alcohol as warmth at the back, and body as the overall weight. Then note the finish — how long the flavour lingers after you swallow.

  5. An open notebook and pen beside a glass of red wine for tasting notes
    Step 05

    Reflect

    Decide whether you'd pour a second glass, and why.

    Good tasting ends with a verdict you can repeat. Balance, length and distinctiveness matter more than any single flavour. Write one line in your phone — grape, producer, and the reason you liked it — and within a few visits you'll know your own palate better than any score can tell you.

Serving temperature

Temperature changes a wine more than almost anything else. Too cold and the aromas disappear; too warm and alcohol dominates. Most whites are served too cold and most reds too warm — twenty minutes out of the fridge, or twenty minutes in it, usually fixes both.

Sparkling
6–8 °C / 43–46 °F
Light white & rosé
8–10 °C / 46–50 °F
Full white & orange
10–13 °C / 50–55 °F
Light red
13–15 °C / 55–59 °F
Full red
16–18 °C / 61–64 °F
Fortified & dessert
10–16 °C / 50–61 °F

Tasting-room etiquette

  • Skip strong perfume, aftershave and scented hand cream — they travel across a tasting bar.
  • Hold the glass by the stem so you don't warm the wine or smudge the bowl.
  • Using the spit bucket is normal and expected, especially across several stops in a day.
  • Ask questions. Cellar-door staff would far rather explain a wine than pour it in silence.
  • Taste light to heavy, dry to sweet, so a big red doesn't flatten the wine after it.
  • Book ahead at small producers, and if you love something, buy a bottle — that's the point.
Grape Variety Guide Wine Glossary