4 Quick Tips for Judging Wine

What makes a good wine? Well there are a few steps that can help you determine this. Just because you like a wine doesn't always mean that its a "quality" wine, however, it is a first step to actually enjoying it.
You may have seen pictures, movies, or people where they swirl the wine in a glass and then plunge their noses into the glass. This is actually a real thing. You really can not trust just the label. Sure the front label can entice you and draw you in with pretty colors. But reading the back label can sometimes give you an idea of what to expect, and another thing to look for are awards and accolades that may be printed. These are all ok, pre-pour indicators, but here are some simple steps to help you evaluate the wine you are about to drink.

1.) Smell: Before ever taking a spi, stick your nose into the glass. Does it smell like wine? Is there a a nice fragrance and aroma? Then the wine passes the first test. But if the wine smells like wet dog, or old wet news paper, then your wine is probably "corked" (meaning the wine has leeched some of the bitter off putting tastes found within the cork) and should probably just be poured down the drain.

2.) Balance: When a wine is in "balance" it means that the fruit, tannin, acidity and alcohol all work together and are balanced. One does not stand out over the other, they are all uniformed. You do not want the burn from the alcohol in your throat or the high tannin drying out your mouth to over shoot the flavor of the wine itself. You want it all to be cohesive.

3.) Depth: This is not referring to the color, but to the taste. When you take your first sip, really move it around your mouth and experience the wine. Pay attention to what you are tasting. Are you picking up berry, nut, coffee, notes or are you getting musty, earthy, leather, meaty notes. What is it you are tasting. Pay attention to it all. Even if you can not come up with literal name/taste comparisons.

4.) Finish: This is all about the aftertaste of the wine. If you swallow it and the taste is gone a second later, you probably have a lower quality of wine. However, if you can still taste the wine several seconds later you have a more quality of wine. The longer the linger the better the wine.

Keeping these few simple tips in mind when you uncork your next bottle will really give you a players field advantage in being able to fully determine the wines 'worth'. And if you are out to dinner or on a date, dont hesitate to ask the wine steward for suggestions. It may be a coy charming way of winning over your date.