Smell, Sight & Taste – 3 easy ways to test wine.

When you order a bottle of wine at a restaurant and the waiter pours you a sample to taste, do you know how to tell if the wine is good or bad? Here’s what you need to know when testing wine.

1. Sight

   First look at the wine sample in the glass and make sure it’s the right color.
   Color: White wine should not be brown or orange in color. Red wine that is 1 or 2 years old should not be brown. Red wine will brown if it has been exposed to too much air. It’s ok for old red wine to have a brownish color, corks allow some air in over time which helps the aging process and can enhance red wine. Most white wines are made to be consumed right away and don’t usually get better with age, but there are some exceptions.
   Bubbles: If you open a bottle of wine and if it has bubbles it’s bad. It means that the wine has fermented in the bottle. The only wines that have bubbles are Champaign or Sparkling wine.

2. Smell

   Swirl the wine around in the glass to release the aromas then take a sniff. 
   If your wine smells like a barn yard or band-aid it’s probably because of a yeast called brettanomyces or “brett” and is a sign of a dirty winery, or this yeast could have been carried in on the grapes.
   A vinegar smell means acetic acid bacteria was present in your wines fermentation process and it produced volatile acidity, or VA.  A little bit of VA can be good because it adds complexity, but when it dominates, it becomes a fault. Still, it won’t harm you to drink it, but it may give you a burning sensation.
   If your wine doesn’t have an aroma, check the temperature. If the wine is too cold it hampers the smells. Warm the glass with your hands while you swirl the wine to help raise the temperature, then sniff again.
   Smell the cork, if it smells bad it may have had mold on it at one point that caused your wine to go bad.

3. Taste

   Finally take a sip of the wine and swirl it around the entire inside of your mouth. Different parts of your mouth are more sensitive to flavors such as sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.
   If your wine tastes like wet dog or cardboard there’s a good chance it’s “corked”. This means that your cork has had mold growing in it at some point in time and left a chemical called TCA. Even if the mold is gone, the chemical will have left an awful flavor behind and ruin the wine.

If you do get served a bottle of wine that has gone bad let your waiter know so he can bring you a another bottle. You may want to opt for another vintage to help alleviate the chance of getting another bad bottle.

Cheers – Carrie