A Guide To Wine Tasting Notes: What To Look For

Do you take pride in being able to tell the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon? And would you like to learn how to improve your wine-tasting skills? If the answer is yes, you’re at the right place.

Wine-tasting notes are one of the most important things to focus on when trying to improve your wine-tasting skills.

Plus, according to the research, taking wine-tasting notes can help your brain function better! That’s because it helps you remember the flavors in the wine and helps your brain categorize them.

It also improves your ability to recall details about what you’ve tasted, which is needed to identify wines as either similar or different from one another.

This guide will help explain what each note means so that you can take your tasting skills up a notch! But before that, you can click here to check out some great deals and offers on wine.

Appearance

Appearance is one of the first things that you should observe when it comes to wine tasting. This refers to how the wine looks in the glass, including its color, clarity, and viscosity (thickness).

Hues

A wine’s hue is determined by the type of grape used, as well as its ripeness and how long it was aged.

Some examples include Pinot Noir (which ranges from light cherry red to deep purple), Riesling (which ranges from very pale yellow to almost clear), and Chardonnay (which can range from straw yellow to deep gold).

Softer wines like Pinot Grigio tend to have lighter hues than bolder ones like Cabernet Sauvignon.

Clarity

Clarity refers to how clear or cloudy the wine appears. Usually, this is an indication of aging or storage conditions, but if it’s still hazy when you open a bottle, there could be an issue with your bottle or cork quality.

Clarity can also indicate whether a wine has been filtered or not — unfiltered wines will have more sediment in them, which may be visible at the bottom of the glass after pouring it into a decanter. Filtered wines will appear clearer and more transparent than unfiltered ones.

Viscosity

The viscosity of a wine refers to its thickness or thinness when poured into a glass. Stronger wines tend to be more viscous than weaker ones because they have more tannic acid and alcohol content (which are what give the wine a strong flavor).

The Nose (Aroma)

The nose (also called aroma) is the second most crucial part of wine tasting because this is where you can really get an idea about what flavors are present in the glass.

The nose (or aroma) of a wine describes what it smells like while you’re sipping it. The best way to describe this is with examples:

Fruit – If you smell fruit, think of fresh grapes or berries (blackberry, raspberry). If there are other fruits involved, like melon or citrus (orange), those should be listed separately.

Spice – Does the wine smell like cinnamon or nutmeg or clove? That’s spice! Spices can also be paired up with herbs and flowers like rosemary or lavender.

Earthy – This includes smells like soil, minerals, or wet leaves. You’ll find this in Cabernet Sauvignon, which has more tannins than other red wines (and which is why it pairs well with steak).

Taste

Taste is the actual flavor of the wine, as opposed to its smell. The taste isn’t just sweet or sour — it also includes the body and texture of a wine. While there are many different ways to describe a wine’s taste, here are some common terms:

Sweet: These wines have high levels of residual sugar after fermentation and before bottling.

Ripe fruit: This can be described as jammy, red fruit flavors like cherry or strawberry with an alcoholic kick.

Tart: These wines have high acidity and low levels of residual sugar after fermentation; they often have a sparkling quality like Champagne.

Dry: Dry wines are not sweet at all. They usually have more alcohol than sweeter wines because they haven’t been refined by adding sugar during fermentation. Dry wines typically don’t have a fruity flavor either — they contain just tartness and acidity instead.

Body

This refers to how heavy or full-bodied the wine feels in your mouth. A full-bodied wine has more tannins and alcohol than its lighter counterparts, so it will stay with you longer in terms of flavor and aftertaste.

Texture

This is to tell how thick or thin the wine feels on your tongue — whether it’s crisp and light or velvety smooth with a rich texture that lingers on your palate for minutes after each sip. The thicker the wine, the better it is.

The Finish

The finish is the last thing you taste when you swallow a sip of wine. It’s the lingering taste in your mouth, and it can last anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or more.

A perfect wine finish should be clean and smooth, with no bitterness or sourness.

Plus, the length of a wine’s finish is determined by its structure: a high-acid wine will have a shorter finish than one with lower acidity. The best wines have crisp finishes that don’t linger — they just disappear as soon as they’re swallowed.

And That’s A Wrap!

There are many different types of wine, and each has its own flavor profile. In this guide, we’ve explored how to evaluate the appearance, aroma, taste, and finish of different wines so that you can find one that suits your tastes.

Whether you’re a novice wine taster or an expert connoisseur, there’s no reason not to take advantage of this guide. When you know what to look for, you can get more enjoyment out of every glass of wine!