Most tasting rooms are similar in the way they operate. When entering the tasting room, a tasting room staff member will greet you. Walk up to the tasting bar and say you would like to taste some of the wines. Some wineries charge for tastings and others do not. Occasionally a souvenir glass is included when you pay a tasting fee. You may have a choice to taste all the wines you would like on their list, or to choose a certain number of wines to taste, such as five wines.

Let the winery consultant guide your tasting. We have experienced consultants who pour the wine and tell us what we are about to smell and taste. Others will ask us what we observe about the wines. However, the latter is less frequent. There is a certain risk that winery staff takes if they ask your opinion. I recall a look of disappointment when one tasting consultant asked me what I thought a wine tasted like and I replied, “Leather.” The consultant thought it tasted like coffee. I do not drink coffee and now I have a sneaky feeling that it must taste like leather.

If you go to a tasting room on a less busy day (usually in the middle of the week), you will enjoy the opportunity to talk about the wine, winery and vineyards. Most tasting room staff members are knowledgeable about the wines they are pouring. A mere one percent of the wineries we have visited had a staff member who admitted that he just helps on the weekend and pours the wine. He told us he did not know anything about the wines he was pouring.

Most of the time, you will stand at the tasting bar. Some tasting rooms have bar stools next to the tasting bar. This is a very welcome addition if you are tasting at your third winery of the day. Some wineries use tables for wine tastings. At McGregor Vineyard and Winery along Keuka Lake in New York, you will sit at a table. The wine consultant will bring a plate of bite-sized food and will discuss the wine list with you. We also had a “sit down and be served” experience at Gloria Ferrer in California.

The “sit down at a table” theme continued at Schramsberg in California. After a tour of the caves at Schramsberg, the tour group gathered in a small dining room that had three tables set for a group of people. Our tour filled two of the tables. The wine consultant talked about the sparkling wines and then served us at the table. This afforded a great opportunity to talk about the wine with the other people at your table. This intimate approach occurred after group tours at Pine Ridge Winery and Quintessa in California.

Occasionally the winemaker will be on hand and may give a tour and conduct your tasting. Our most memorable tour was at The Lenz Winery on Long Island in New York. The winemaker had us taste his wines from the stainless steel tanks. He asked us what we thought and more often than not agreed with us. His tour proceeded to the barrel room and with thief in hand had us taste the wine from some of the barrels. Tasting wine from the barrels or tanks can give you an idea if the wine is ready or what more aging will do to it. The winemaker at Prince Michel Vineyards and Winery in Virginia has special barrel tastings. He discusses his wines and the stage they are at when you taste them.

One of our favorite tastings was during the tour at Del Dotto Winery in California. The tour led our group through the over one hundred year old candle-lit tunnels. Our guide stopped along the way and had us taste wines from the barrels. If we liked the wine, we took a ticket attached to the barrel. After the tour, we could order any of the wines we tasted. The wine would be bottled and shipped to many destinations.

Visiting winery tasting rooms is a great activity. Try to limit the number of tasting rooms you visit in one day. We try to visit two or three in a day. Tasting rooms are less crowded on the weekdays. Call ahead or check their times on the Internet before you start your adventure.

Author: Terry Sullivan is a retired educator and wine enthusiast who designed the website Wine Trail Traveler. He looks forward to relating his travels about wineries to website visitors. Wine Trail Traveler also offers educational modules and wine recipes.

For a fun and enjoyable trip to the California wine country, you can consult the many resources that are available to guide you in your planning. In addition to touring the wineries and wine tasting, there are many other activities to make your adventure unforgettable. In some of the counties you can include activities such as a mystery theater, mountain biking or resort accommodations in your tour plans.

Activities such as wine tasting seminars and walking vineyard tours are offered by family owned wineries in Santa Barbara, Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley and the Medocino area. Many of these places also have shops where you can purchase some of the endless varieties of wine and wine accessories you will see on your tours.

As everybody knows drinking and driving is not advisable, and for that reason you can tour the California wine country in a variety of ways, including by limo, bus, jeep, plane, train or for the adventurous, by hot air balloon. You will be able to find a tour package that satisfies your desires and fit your budget.

Most tour operators offer very flexible vacation packages, and if you are prepared for the unknown, you can even select to go for a surprise package that combines a variety of activities. Naturally in this era we live in, you can get information and quotes and make reservations online.

When you are planning a trip to California wine country, you may want to start your planning by searching for specific places you have in mind, like Sonoma Valley, Santa Cruz, Paso Robles and so on. Or you can look for popular tours or specific activities. There are many websites, like winecountrygetaways.com, that can give you good information.

California wine country is massive and covers most of the state and if offers different experiences throughout the year. Check with your tour operator and destination wineries to find out about weather conditions and what they would recommend to make your trip fantastic.

However, as you can imagine, these places are extremely popular and you need to do your research and reservation well in advance. There is an almost infinite number of ways for you to see, experience and enjoy a visit to California wine country. You can make your trip as unique as you want. From a romantic getaway to a quaint little bed and breakfast, to a joyous group tour of the wineries, there is something for everybody.

Author: Evert DuToit is a writer and website publisher from Pittsburgh, PA. For more on the enjoyment of wine and Napa Valley Wine Tours – visit us at http://www.wine-articles.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Evert_Du_Toit

From its earliest known origins in Europe in the Middle Ages the Pinot gris grape has become a popular choice for wines all over the world. It is a white wine grape that is thought to be a clone of the Pinot noir grape. Its name, “pinot gris” is the French for grey pinecone and this accurately reflects the color and the shape of the bunch as it grows on the vine. However, the color of the fruit can vary dramatically, as can the color of the wine produced from it, which can range from a deep yellow to a copperish color.

There are clones of this popular grape grown all over the world and the wines produced from Pinot gris can vary dramatically, depending where the grape is grown.

Two areas in particular stand out for the quality of wine made from the grape. Alsace in France is the traditional home of the grape, while Oregon in the United States has more recently produced Pinot gris wines of particularly high quality.

In Alsace, it is popular as a full-bodied wine, while in Italy there are some distinguished producers who produce some excellent wines. However, the bulk of Italy’s Pinot grigio producers harvest early to produce less satisfying results.

Pinot gris is often blended with Pinot noir wines to improve their flavor. It goes well with chicken, pork and seafood and remains a very popular choice, with only Chardonnay being more popular.

History

It has been recently discovered that the Pinot gris has an almost identical DNA profile to Pinot noir and that the difference in color is caused by a genetic mutation that is thought to have happened hundreds of years ago.

Earliest records of the cultivation of Pinot gris go back to the Middle Ages in Burgandy, France where the grape is thought to have been known as Fromenteau. Pinot noir was grown here around the same time and the popularity of both spread eastwards over time.

It was popular in Switzerland and Hungary, and was discovered being grown in Germany in the 1700s by the name of Rulander. A number of bad harvests threatened the use of the grape in many parts of Europe but certain strains of the vine proved more resilient and its cultivation continued.

Pinot gris is now grown in almost all of the major wine producing regions of the world, including France, Australia, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, Romania, Moldova, Belgium, the United States, and New Zealand.

As the list of regions above would suggest, the Pinot gris vine favors cool climates and is known to mature early. This can result in a sweet flavor or high alcohol content, depending how long it is fermented.

The color of the grape itself can also vary depending on the region in which it is grown. It can be found to show a greyish color, or else a pinkish brown.

The flavor of the wine it produces can also depend on where Pinot gris is grown, and of course from the wine making style. In Alsace, they are generally medium-bodied wines, often with lightly citrus flavors.

The German varieties are more full-bodied, while in Italy, where it is known as Pinot grigio, it produces a crisp, light-bodied taste. The newly popular Oregon Pinot gris wines are medium bodied with fruity flavors.

Regions

Alsace

The Alsace region is considered the home of the Pinot gris grape and is different here from anywhere else it is grown. The cool climate and soil of the region makes for a very high quality grape.

Australia

Since its grape’s introduction to the country in 1832, the southern state of Victoria has been producing wines going under the names of Pinot gris and Pinot grigio depending on the sweetness of the wine. Again, the temperate climate there and long autumns suit the grape and Australian Pinot gris wines remain popular.

Italy

Pinot gris is a long established and popular grape in Italy, where it is known as Pinot grigio. It is found growing in the north of the country in Lombardy and Alto Adige.

New Zealand

New Zealand’s cool climate also lends itself to the growing of Pinot gris. On the North Island it is to be found in Martinborough and Hawkes Bay, while in the South Island it is grown in Central Otago, Nelson, Marlborough and Waipara.

Oregon and California

After Alsace, Oregon is probably the most successful Pinot Gris growing region where the wine became quite a hit locally as an accompaniment to the generous amounts of fresh salmon caught in the region.

It was introduced to the region as recently as 1966 and within 30 years all of the main wineries in the region were growing the grape. There are more than 1,797 acres of Pinot gris being grown in Oregon today.

There are also healthy amounts (1,620 acres) of the grape grown in southern and central coastal regions of California. The wine is similar to the Italian Pinot grigio in taste, and often goes by the same name. However, the California variety has struggled to match the quality and the popularity of its Oregon counterpart.

About the Author: Susan Banks Sr. is a regular contributing writer to Fuzing.com. This article is brought to you by trade leads from the Wine Sellers section of our website.

There are no set formulas for choosing the right wine for that special meal, event or person. In fact people have their own partialities when it comes to wine preferences. We have listed a few suggestions below to help you pick the right wine for the right moment or special meal. We hope it gives you some helpful insights to serving wines that should please any palate.

1. The Whites:When your guests first arrive and are enjoying the appetizers a white wine is always the perfect choice. They are commonly lighter and drier and leave the palate fresh for the main entree’. Some of the whites such as the Chardonnay can also be introduced during a rich dinner such as “Coq a Vin”, with its beautiful creamy wine sauce. Another suggestion is the Sauvignon Blanc that is excellent served with a first course salad or shrimp cocktail or even a plate of delicate fish.

When toasting that special event in your life or the life of a loved one the whites are a perfect choice. The more common toasting wine for weddings and anniversaries is of course the more elegant choice of Champagne.

2. The Reds: Now you are ready to serve that special dish you have worked on all day and planned especially for your dearest friends you must choose just the right wine. This is when you go for the full bodied red. One of the most popular is a Merlot. Being a lighter red but still full bodied it is perfect for sautéed chicken, grilled pork or roasted lamb.

The Pinot Noir, while not as commonly served as a Merlot or Cabernet, is a unique blend of plum, vanilla and blackberry. Oregon produces Pinot Noir where the blackberries grow wild and are sweet and juicy. This wine will certainly be a hit.

When hosting a spicy Mexican meal the Shiraz is a perfect compliment with its peppery flavor that brings out the spiciness of your enchilada suiza or chili verde.

Italian food with its hearty and robust tomato sauces requires a Chianti. A Chianti can range in price and quality. You may be able to find one that is rather inexpensive but the quality is perfect for you.

A robust Burgundy would be the red to choose for a fine standing rib roast or delicate filet mignon.

As you can see from the suggestions above you may wish to have both a white wine and a red wine on hand when hosting a dinner. Some guests will most likely pick the wine they prefer and stay with that choice for the entire evening. Another may choose a white for the start of the evening and finish with a red. So always be prepared.

If you are a true wine connoisseur you may want to experiment with your own creations. Producing your own wine at home can be quite rewarding. You can make a variety of fruit wines that would actually be a great addition with most desserts.

Author: Swanson, M. (2007, December 8). Be The Perfect Host By Selecting The Perfect Wine. Retrieved November 24, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Be-­The-­Perfect-­Host-­By-­Selecting-­The-­Perfect-­Wine&id=872103

The world of red wines is a heady, rich and wonderful world filled with everything from the nuanced subtlety of a gentle South African Merlot to the peppery richness of Sangre de Toro, “Blood of the Bull” from Spain. In general, many of the “rules” of wine drinking have been cast aside in today’s world, making it more accessible to every person, and with the increased demand supply has soared, allowing for inexpensive and very delicious wine available to all.

Still, there are many who feel that the world of wine loving is not as yet open to them. With so many wines to choose among, where do you begin? How do you properly enjoy a red or white and with what meals would they be best?

Let’s look at some very basic tips to maximizing your exploration of red wines.

Don’t spend a ton of money on a bottle of wine. Leave that for later, once you’ve begun to explore beyond the brands and varietals that you like. There are so many wonderful and delicious wines that are available for somewhere between $5 and $8 a bottle, that you really should not need to drop $20 or $30 for a bottle of wine…at least not yet.

Don’t buy local, yet. Often, your local wine store is stocked with bottles from the local vineyard (if there is one). These can be wonderful, or they can be vinegar. It really can be something of a crap shoot. So, unless you live in the Napa valley, or some other area that is renown for its wine-making efforts, stick with something that is nationally or internationally distributed.

Stick with a varietal, for now. In other words, pick a wine that is primarily made from one type of grape, i.e. a Shiraz, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc. Try to avoid blended reds to begin with, though they can be quite delicious. By learning the flavors of the varietal grapes, you’ll better understand what it is about the blend that you like. Avoid flavored wines or coolers that you can get at your local convenience store. These are little more than non-bubbly soda pop with alcohol in them and can lead to a nasty headache as they are hastily made from the least pure ingredients.

Start with a nice Merlot from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand or Chile. These vineyards are usually able to balance cost with quality quite nicely. The reason I recommend Merlot is that of all the red varietals, it is the gentlest, and complements a broad menu of meals.

Reds like to breathe. Open the bottle and let it sit for ten minutes or so. This allows oxygen to get at the wine and mature it quickly. For that matter, pouring the wine into the glasses and allowing it to sit for ten to twenty minutes accelerates this process. You’ll find the flavor is much enhanced by this approach.

Reds at Room Temperature and Whites Chilled. A simple rule that does not always apply but is a good guide, nonetheless. Chilling a red removes many of the subtleties of flavor for which you buy the wine in the first place and slows the wine’s ability to mature with exposure to oxygen. Keep them room temperature.

I mentioned earlier that many of the “rules” of wine loving have been discarded, or at least loosened, such as ‘red wine with red meat or pasta and white wine with fish or poultry.’ While these are not bad guidelines, they really are not carved in stone and nowadays waiters and even the seasoned gourmand will not turn up his/her nose at a guest who asks for a red with fish or enjoys a nice, tart Chardonnay with a burger.

Merlot with what? While a Merlot can be a perfect complement for a spaghetti dinner (particularly if you have a nice buttery garlic bread), it can easily sit beside a pork chop or fried chicken dinner. A Merlot is a lovely, non-pretentious start to your journey and should open the door nicely to a journey of wine loving.

OK, Now What? Try a few different brands of Merlot from competing vineyards. Note the differences in style and substance. I’d recommend sticking to those south of the equator to begin with. Once you feel like you’ve tasted a number of Merlots and are acquainted with the differences, then move on to a Cabernet Sauvignon and begin your journey anew. I’d hold off on Shiraz, Syrah, Petite Syrah or Beaujolais until you have a basic appreciation of Merlots and Cabernets, but once you do, then dive in to the heavy, heady, peppery joy of the stronger reds. Once you feel like you really understand and can note the differences of the red varietals, start exploring the blends or the truly excellent California varietals. Good luck and enjoy!

By: Dana Roberts
Article Source: http://www.articlescondo.com/article29838.html

How about teaming up your favorite meal with the best of wine this weekend? It sounds a great idea but don’t you think you may overindulge? Well, you may not mind this but what about the hangover you have to face, the other morning. How about spending you entire Sunday afternoon sitting inside the bathroom, with one hand on your forehead and the other on your stomach? Scary isn’t it?

Hey, hold on! I am not trying to scare the life out of you. I am just showing you the real picture of a hangover that you may require to face the following day after you have overindulged in your favorite wine.

This sounds really bad but don’t worry, there are many tips you can follow in order to get rid of a wine hangover. All you need to do is to follow the instructions given below:

a) Water, water and water:

Water is the key to get over the wine hangover. Drink plenty of water. Alcohol has a tendency to dehydrate your body. This is the main reason that most people end up having a lot of liquids in the form of plain water, lemon water, coffee and black tea without having pee for a single time. If you want to stay away from the temptation of overindulging in wine, the best way is to have a glass of water for each glass of wine you desire to have. Wine is a great source of water, but the presence of water tends to produce adverse effects on the body. Hence, it is necessary to keep hydrating your body with water.

b) Binge in:

Sounds great! Believe me, it really works. Eat your favorite meal or some snacks an hour before a drink. This will save you from getting involved into overindulge and the hangover. The meal or snack should include bread or pasta.

c) No prescription drugs:

So you want to save money! It’s a good idea but you should not save money via mixing your glass of wine with prescription drugs for more effects. This will only damage your body. Drink less if you really want to save money.

d) Milk:

Drink a glass of milk prior to consuming wine. This will provide a protection coat to your stomach and helps you absorb the alcohol in the wine.

e) No salt:

Salt will prove dangerous as it tends to maximize the process of dehydration. You should stay away from salt when having margarita…

f) An aspirin:

An aspirin will help you to remove headache. Avoid taking ibuprofen or paracetamol. These medicines usually have adverse effects on the body especially after the consumption of wine.

g) Avoid dark drinks:

The major hangover you experience may be due to combining red wine with whiskey. You should mix whiskey with soda or water. Avoid mixing it with cola and tonic.

Hangover is due to over indulgence in wine. Try to stay away from it. Follow the instructions mentioned above you would feel better after a wine party with your friends.

Author: Jack Wells is a regular contributor and editor for WineHappy.com social networking site. You may read his wine reviews at http://www.winehappy.com/winereviews/

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/7-tips-to-get-rid-of-a-wine-hangover-266392.html

There have been many articles written about the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. And there have many debates and researches that referred to this issue.

Some experts say moderate drinking during pregnancy is okay, but there are others who believe taking even one drink is like very dangerous for the baby’s health.

The thing that is not debatable is that whatever women eat or drink while pregnant goes directly through your bloodstream into the placenta so literally if a pregnant woman takes a drink — a glass of wine, a beer or a cocktail — the unborn child takes the same.

For the unborn child, the alcohol interferes with his ability to get enough oxygen and nourishment for normal cell development in the brain and other body organs. Research has shown that a developing foetus has very little tolerance for alcohol and infants born to mothers who drink during pregnancy can have serious problems. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of mental and physical defects which develops in some unborn babies when the mother drinks “too much” alcohol during pregnancy. A baby born with FAS, or even with the lesser Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), can have serious handicaps and therefore could require a lifetime of special care. There is even some research that indicates that women who plan to get pregnant should stop drinking before they even conceive.

The debate raised by the Department of Health is about how much is “too much” because until now it was said that the only safe limit is no alcohol at all. The Department of Health said that pregnant women and those hoping to conceive can safely drink up to two glasses of wine a week without harming the foetus.

Dr Raja Mukherjee, an expert on the disorder who works at St George’s hospital medical school in Tooting, London, called for pregnant women to cut out alcohol completely, and said the UK’s binge drinking habits were of particular concern: “There is an increasing literature of evidence, however, to suggest that binge drinking as well as low doses of alcohol can cause damage.”

The Department of Health said the research cited at the conference had been reviewed in March as part of the government’s alcohol harm reduction strategy, and that the two units a week limit was considered to be safe.

Author: Alison White

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_53218_17.html

Are you looking forward to pair your favorite meal with a good quality wine, then you require to have an extensive knowledge about pairing the wine and food in a correct order. In case, you fail to do so, you will spoil the whole fun. In fact you would be spoiling the taste of the best quality wine and the best food item.

The bad qualities you may introduce via pairing wine and food in an incorrect form include extra sweetness, bitterness, alcoholic properties and non-desirable metallic flavors.

You can easily adopt several foolproof methods to pair food and wine in correct form. First and foremost, you should remember that the food and wine you want to pair should have similar characteristics. You should think of a porter if you want to have red wine in your lunch or dinner. The reason is that both these items have strong flavors. You should not mix and pair food and wine that consist of characteristics different from each other. Most people try to pair sweet wine with steak and end up getting undesirable results.

Mixing wine and food of different characteristics will prove to be a very bad experience for you. Proper pairing will work towards providing a distinct and pleasant element to your overall wining and dining experience.

Experts believe that wine with citrus taste will go well with chicken laced with butter and garlic sauce. You would simply love the outcome.

You should follow certain rules before starting off to prepare new dishes for wines with high alcohol flavor. High alcohol flavored wines should be combined with barbecued dishes such as barbecued meats. If you happen to pair your favorite wine with light flavored dish, then chances are that wine will overpower the dish. You will end up feeling that you have been just having a glass of wine for so long.

In case, you like wines that consist of a lot of tannin, then you should pair them with dishes rich in salt or protein content.

You can also enjoy desert wine via mixing sweet wine with your favorite dessert that is sweet in moderate amount. Do not look for sweets that have too much sugar content. This will over seventeen your dish.

You should also trust you own instincts prior to combining foods and wines together. Try to figure out what you want to drink and eat. Thereafter, slip some wine and take a bite of the food you have prepared in order to figure out what will suit your taste buds.

You should not go for wine that you don’t like or a dish you have never tried before. Experimenting is good but don’t try to go for anything that may provide you bad taste.

Best food and wine pairings result from a lot of research and experiment. You should learn a lot about wine, different types of cuisines and the results these provide when in combination. You would definitely be able to make great pairs if you make some efforts towards research work.

Article Source: http://www.harvardarticles.org

Jack Wells is a wine enthusiast and regularly publishes wine reviews. He has a profile at WineHappy.com – A wine social networking website. Hit him up and add him as your friend!

Do you and your college mates sit up late at night drinking can after can getting smashed? This has been the pastime of generations and generations of students. But it’s all about to change. Or at least, you can start to change it if you want to.

The biggest benefit to choosing something other than beer is that it will make you appear much more of an intellectual. This is a great way for not only attracting girls, but attracting friends as well. People look for interesting people to associate with and by drinking something other than beer automatically makes you different. The best choice? Wine.

There are almost an unlimited amount of varieties of wine, so that’s what makes it a great choice. Take some time and learn the basics by reading up on the internet and then go out and buy a few bottles. Learn about all the different choices you have and figure out which fit your taste buds. Some bottles of wine can cost a lot of money, so start out cheap and work your way up.

Once you know what you like, start ordering it when you go out to restaurants. This will definitely impress your date or friends and will at the very least be a great conversation starter. In other countries, you’ll probably have been drinking wine since you were really young, so if you ever meet someone from, say, Europe, they’ll know all about wine. If the person you’re with knows a lot about wine, too, then you’ll both have something to talk about and can only help to bring you closer together. You’ll even be able to share different types of wine with each other. Something else that’s fun to do is host your own wine and cheese party.

Of course there are other alternatives to wine, but why would you even consider anything else? A huge majority of the world’s population drinks wine with every meal. Some people celebrate with wine; others drink it on Sundays during mass at church. It can be used for all sorts of things.

It’s also a very healthy alternative to other forms of alcohol. Wine has been known to help fight heart disease and gives you lots of anti-oxidants to help clean out your system. This is, of course, assuming that you don’t overdo it. Drinking too much of any alcohol can damage your liver and eventually be a cause of destroying it. Wine typically contains less alcohol than other hard liqueurs, though, so there is generally less to worry about.

So, all in all, if you want to become more attractive and have people flocking to you, switch to wine. Learn about all the different types and figure out which ones you like. Not only will you appear to be more intellectual, in doing all that research, you’ll actually become more of an intellectual. This will help you out in many different ways throughout life and you’ll be able to appreciate lots of different events a lot more.

About the Author: Dexter Bedd – Wine Tasting

Attending a wine tasting can be very entertaining, however there are a vast majority of wanna wine connoisseur’s out there who don’t like to attend these gatherings as they do not know what they are supposed to do or what way to act when sampling the wine. With wine tasting there is no great mystery, below are just a few things you should keep in mind.

To keep proper etiquette, usually the ladies are served before the gents. With some wine tastings there will be bottled water on offer, this is simply for you to rinse your mouth out before each sample of wine you try so your mouth is clear of all the flavours from the previous wine. Plain crackers are also provided at such wine tastings for this very same purpose. When handling a wine glass attention to should given to where you are holding it, always hold the glass by the stem, this will ensure the wine is not affected by the warmth of your hand and thus the flavour is not altered.

When at a wine tasting try not to smoke as smoking blankets ones sense of taste, also try and steer clear of chewing gum or eating mints as this will distort the taste of the wine as well. Try not to wear a perfume or after shave that is quite strong as this could throw off not only your sense of taste but also your neighbours.

You can tell a lot about a wine just by it appearance. When attending a wine tasting the wine glasses you be crystal clear so you can hold it up to the light and check the body of the wine, also the wine glasses should be set on a white linen table cloth so everything is visible. Do not let the wine category mislead you, for example, white wines are not really white in color, they usually vary in colour from yellow to green and even brown.

Red wines also vary in color from a light red colour to a deep brownish red and often become lighter with age. One easy way to tell the age of a red wine is by doing a rim test. Tilt the wine towards the rim of the glass and look at the colour of the wine.A younger wine have a purple tint to the wine colour and an older wine will have a more brown shade of red.

One of the more common actions you see people who know anything about wine doing is swirling the wine in the glass, this is done to release the flavours and aromas of the wine. Remember, these wine may have been bottled anywhere from 1 year to 20 years and some some rarer cases even longer. Swirling the wine in the glass is synonymous with cooking at home and stirring the food to help blend the various flavors.

The colour of the wine is just one area that should be paid attention to when you attend a wine tasting, you will also need to pay particular attention to the wines aroma. After swirling, sniffing the wine is the next step in the tasting process. You have probably observed this done before and wondered what purpose it served, well your sense of smell is very important in the way we taste different things. When this subject was researched it was determined that over 3/4 of what we can taste is due to are sense of smell and the way we perceive the aromas.

Smelling wine is done in a couple of ways; you can takes a short sniff then a longer 1, or just take a long sniff. After smelling the wine, think about it for a minute and the flavours that are being processed by you nasal receptors. Do not taste the wine straight after smelling the wine, but instead let the aroma hit and think of flavours you are experiencing.

Finally, you will need to know is how to taste the wine properly. Your tongue has many taste buds both front and back. These buds give us a wide variety of flavours from sweet to sour to bitter, some of which are more sensitive than others. There are 2 easy steps in tasting wine, the first is the initial taste which is your first impression of the wine, the second is the aftertaste.

The wine should awaken your sense to the flavours, after taking the first drink, you should swish the wine around your mouth for a few seconds to let all your taste buds discover the full flavor of the wine. Think about what the wine tastes like. Is it light or heavy? Is the smooth or rough? The aftertaste is the sensation that remains in your mouth after swallowing the wine. How long did it last and was it pleasant?

Before attending a wine tasting, it may help you feel more confident to read about the different types of wines. This will give you a better idea of what to look for as far as flavor and taste. Next time you are invited to a wine tasting; do not be afraid to go. You may be missing a great experience!

By: Mario Oreilly
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com