Tasting wine at home doesn’t mean turning it into a ceremony. It means paying attention for a few minutes to what you see, what you pick up on the nose and what happens in your mouth. Doing it regularly is the fastest way to find out what you like and to choose your next bottle better.
Before you taste wine at home
Serve the wine at the right temperature, in a clean glass filled only a third of the way. It helps to have natural light and a pale background, like a sheet of white paper or a tablecloth, to judge the colour.
1. Sight
Tilt the glass against a white background. Look at the colour and its intensity. A white can range from pale yellow to deep gold. A young red is usually purple or cherry red, and with age shifts towards brick and garnet. It doesn’t tell you whether the wine is good, but it does tell you how much life it has left.
2. Nose
First, without moving the glass. Then swirl it gently and go back in. There are three broad families of aroma: fruit and flowers, which come from the grape; spice, leather and toast, which come from ageing; and anything earthy or mineral. If no word comes to mind, don’t worry: start with impressions like “red fruit” or “white fruit”.
3. Palate
Take a small sip and let it travel across your whole tongue. There are five things worth noticing:
- Sweetness: whether the wine is dry or has residual sugar.
- Acidity: the freshness that makes your mouth water.
- Tannins: in reds, that grippy feel that dries out your gums.
- Body: whether the wine feels light like water or full like milk.
- Finish: how long the flavour lasts after you swallow.
4. The verdict
Pregunta’t si t’ha agradat, per què i amb què ho beuries. Escriu dues línies a una llibreta o al mòbil: amb deu ampolles, ja tens el teu mapa de gustos.
Si no saps per on començar, el sommelier virtual et pot proposar ampolles segons el que t’agrada, i el catàleg mostra la nota de tast de cada vi per comparar el que has notat amb el que diu el celler.
Tastar un vi a casa amb regularitat és el millor entrenament: cada ampolla t’ensenya una mica més del que t’agrada.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to spit the wine out when tasting?
At competitions tasters spit so they can work through many samples. At home, with a glass or two, there’s no need.
Why do you swirl the glass?
Because it aerates the wine and releases more aromas. Do it gently, and keep the glass on the table if that’s more comfortable.
What if I can't pick up the aromas on the label?
That’s normal. Tasting notes are a guide, not an exam. Write down what you notice, however simple.
How long should a tasting at home take?
Ten minutes per glass is enough. Come back to the wine after a while: it changes with oxygen and temperature.
