For wine lovers, tasting wine isn’t just about sipping and swallowing; it’s an art form that engages all your senses. Whether you’re a novice wine enthusiast or a seasoned connoisseur, understanding the fundamentals of how to taste wine can enrich your appreciation of this ancient libation. From holding the glass to swirling the wine, there’s something deeply engaging about the experience. So, if you’re ready to elevate your wine-tasting experience to the level of a sommelier, we’ve put together a guide to help you get started.

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Understanding the Basics

Before diving into the intricacies of how to taste wine, it’s essential to grasp the basics. Wine tasting involves observing the wine’s appearance, assessing its aroma, savoring its flavor, and evaluating its finish. Each step provides valuable insights into the wine’s character and quality.

1. Visual Examination

Begin by pouring a small amount of wine into a clear glass. Take your glass by the stem and hold it against a white background. Observe the wine’s color, clarity and viscosity. White wines range from pale straw to golden yellow, while red wines can vary from light ruby to deep purple. Swirl the wine gently to release its aromas and observe any legs or tears that form on the glass.

2. Aromatic Assessment

Next, bring the wine in your glass to your nose and inhale deeply. Take note of the bouquet, the wine’s smell, which encompasses its various aromas. Swirl the wine again to intensify the aromas before smelling it once more. Pay attention to fruit, floral, herbal and spice notes, as well as any oak or earthy undertones. Wine aromoas can also provide clues about its grape varietal, age and winemaking techniques.

3. Palate Pleasure

Now it’s time to taste the wine. Take a small sip and let it coat your entire palate. Notice the wine’s texture, acidity, sweetness and tannins. Is it light-bodied or full-bodied? Crisp and refreshing or smooth and velvety? Identify the primary flavors and secondary characteristics, such as minerality or oak influence. Consider the wine’s balance, complexity and length on the palate

4. Evaluating the Finish

Finally, assess the wine’s finish, also known as its aftertaste. Paying attention to how long the flavor lingers on your palate, is it pleasant and lingering or abrupt and short-lived? A wine’s finish can reveal additional nuances and insights into its overall quality and aging potential.

In Chile, visit Kingston Family Winery, a small boutique winery located in Casablanca Valley for an introduction to and tasting of their exquisite wines. on Classic South America.

For the ultimate wine tasting experience in Italy, ready about our Founder’s Collection: An exclusive invitation from La Famiglia Mazzei, a Tuscan wine dynasty

Developing Your Wine Palate

Becoming proficient at wine tasting takes time and practice. Key to the tasting experience is development of the pallette. For most people, chances are you’ve never really considered your palate. Our tongues hold up to 4,000 taste buds in five regions, but that is not the only place we taste. Here are some tips to help you hone your palate and refine your sensory skills:

Taste Widely: Explore a diverse range of wines from different regions, grape varieties, and styles. Experiment with both red and white wines to exoercise your tatse buds, as well as sparkling and dessert wines, to expand your tastepalate. Older wines often taste smoother and richer.

Take Notes: Keep a wine journal to record tasting notes of your experiences, including the wines you’ve tried, your observations and your preferences. Documenting your impressions can help you identify patterns and enhance your abilities of how to taste wine over time.

Seek Guidance: Attend wine tastings, classes, and workshops led by knowledgeable sommeliers and wine professionals. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek guidance from experts who can offer valuable insights and recommendations.

Trust Your Senses: While tasting wine like a sommelier involves analyzing its various components, it’s also important to trust your instincts and enjoy the experience.

In Tuscany, take a private tour of the Guardastelle estate with a wine expert to learn about the various grape varieties and visit the ancient cellars on Ultimate Italy, 

Bookmark for later: What to look for in a top-quality Pinot Noir, by wine expert Courtney Kingston

What to expect from some popular wines

Chardonnay is known for its versatility, offering a range of flavors from crisp green apple and citrus to creamy vanilla and buttery notes. Depending on the winemaking style, you may encounter oak influences such as toastiness and caramel. Coming from a cool climate wine region, expect a medium to full-bodied wine with moderate acidity.

A Cabernet Sauvignon typically features bold flavors of blackcurrant, black cherry and plum, complemented by hints of cedar and tobacco. It often has firm tannins and a full-bodied structure, with a long, satisfying finish. Look for wines with good acidity and aging potential.

Pinot Noir is renowned for its elegant and delicate profile, offering aromas of red fruits along with earthy and floral undertones. On the palate, expect a medium-bodied wine with silky tannins, vibrant acidity, and a smooth, lingering finish.

Last but not least, Sauvignon Blanc is known for its bright and zesty character, featuring aromas of citrus, green apple and tropical fruits like passion fruit and pineapple. It often exhibits herbal notes of grass, green bell pepper and gooseberry, with refreshing acidity and a crisp, clean finish.

Enjoy wine tastings with Luxury Gold in some of the world’s most iconic wine producing countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Chile, South Africa and Australia, with our worldwide collection of small group journeys.

An African safari is a bucket-list experience for many travelers. Whether you’re trekking with gorillas in the mountains or driving across the savannah in search of lions, elephants, and more, the excitement is almost indescribable. 

There are countless ways to experience Africa’s wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities, but staying at an eco sustainability safari lodge can help you stay more eco conscious, and limit your carbon impact while supporting conservation efforts.

Experience it With Luxury Gold: We invite you to seek out the Big Five in Kruger National Park on Luxury Gold’s Spectacular South Africa Journey. You’ll spend two nights in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve near a waterhole where animals roam day and night. Go on game drives and bush walks where you may spot the Big Five, hippos, crocodiles, and cheetahs.

Top Safari Lodges For Eco Sustainability 

Discover the wonder of Africa’s wildlife while staying at these eco conscious safari lodges that prioritize sustainable practices. As with any stay around the world, do your diligence to determine how truly an eco sustainability property truly is. Taking the extra steps to research the property’s sustainability credentials, its conservation projects, and eco conscious actions such as supporting local communities can help ensure that your travels are limiting your carbon footprint while helping to regenerate our world.

Private Game Drives and Five-Star Stays: How Luxury Gold Does Safari Differently

Cheetah Plains | South Africa

 

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Within the Sabi Sands Nature Reserve, Cheetah Plains is the first eco friendly business to offer a zero-emission game drive in the reserve. Their safari lodge runs entirely on solar power and a carbon negative property, which means you can offset part of the carbon footprint your travels create just by staying at Cheetah Plains. 1200 solar PV panels offset over 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year by generating an average of 550WMh per year.

Campi Ya Kanzi | Kenya

 

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Accountability is critical in maintaining a true eco friendly business, which is why every night spent at Campi Ya Kanzi directly benefits the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. The trust benefits local Maasai communities through actions like reimbursing tribes when they lose livestock due to predator attacks; this encourages the tribe not to retaliate by hunting the predator, thus keeping the human and animal populations sustained. From an eco sustainability perspective, the lodges at Campi Ya Kanzi are 100% photovoltaic. Harnessing solar power to cut carbon emissions to zero, which leads to carbon neutrality via offsetting with the Chyulu REDD+ Carbon Project.

Usangu Expedition Camp | Tanzania

 

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Similar to the way the Cheetah Plains uses solar power to lead its safaris, the Usangu Expedition Camp in Tanzania is the safari lodge in Ruaha National Park to prioritise eco sustainability by creating safari vehicles that run on ethanol instead of diesel fuel. The ethanol is taken from the molasses production in the south of the country, giving the vehicle a candy-like scent as they drive. This eco conscious camp is near the Douglas Bell Eco Research Station and encourages travelers to help in the wildlife conservation efforts by placing camera traps, tracking lions, and identifying predators in the area. 

How to Safari in Style: The Ultimate Packing Guide

Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp | Namibia

 

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Eco sustainability in all of Africa is important, including places like the Namib Desert where an astounding number of biodiverse species thrive. The Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is a luxurious desert oasis and leverages its sun exposure to operate 100% on solar power. Guided walking safaris are an available alternative to game drives to further reduce your impact in one of the world’s oldest deserts. An on-site research center allows you to assist conversation efforts by helping staff track the endangered desert-adapted black rhinoceros. 

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Mount Gahinga Lodge | Uganda

 

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Eco sustainability discussions tend to focus around our natural world, and while the protection of the mountain gorillas is a priority, Mount Gahinga Lodge is also working to sustain the native Batwa tribe that was displaced when the Virunga Mountains were annexed for conservation. The Lodge’s founder built a permanent Batwa settlement where 150 people live off of the land in their own, safe community. You can visit this settlement and support the Batwa people when you stay at Mount Gahinga Lodge, with opportunities to also track gorillas and golden monkeys. 

Read next: Walking With the King of the Big Cats in India’s Royal Hunting Grounds

Don’t limit your safari to one continent. Venture into Ranthambore National Park in search of Bengal tigers on the Luxury Gold Essence of India journey. 

Not only does this 8-day adventure check-off bucket-list visits to the Taj Mahal and the Pink City of Jaipur, it also offers the chance to see tigers in the wild. Your safari through the former private hunting grounds of the maharajas of Jaipur takes you across lakes and palace ruins where the elusive tigers roam. 

Picture the scene: a sommelier comes over as you flick through the wine list. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of options to choose from. You feel overwhelmed: you know what you like, but you’re interested in trying something new. It can be hard to know what to ask a wine professional, or how to talk their language. We caught up with Aisling Bury, sommelier and Restaurant Manager at The Olive Tree in Bath, UK ‒ the city’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, which as a Luxury Gold guest you’ll visit on our British Royale journey ‒ to learn how to talk to a sommelier on your travels.

What is a sommelier?

First things first: what is a sommelier? Essentially, it’s the wine expert employed by a restaurant to help select wines for the venue. They talk guests through the wine list, helping them choose a good match for their dish. Depending on the country, a sommelier usually has a diploma or qualifications from an institution such as the Court of Master Sommeliers. Much of their role happens behind the scenes: designing a restaurant’s wine list ‒ which can run into the tens of thousands of bottles ‒ and working with head chefs to plan food and drink pairings. But they’re also here to guide you. If you’re wondering how to talk to a sommelier, think of what you want from the chat: usually, to help them understand your tastes while also learning a bit about the evening’s wines and getting some new recommendations. Go in confidently with this bluffer’s guide to sommelier talk.

For further reading: From Prosecco to Pecorino: a Guide to the Best Italian White Wines For 2024

Dishes and varieties

The Olive Tree specializes in seasonal fine dining (credit: @olivetreebath on Instagram)

By the time a sommelier comes over to your table, you’ll likely have had time to peruse the menu, and this is vital. You might like a Pinot Noir or a Sauvignon Blanc at home, but your choice of dish is the biggest influence on the wines they will choose. This is especially true of dishes involving red meat, fish, chocolate or cheese, but everything from herbs to char-grilling can influence their choice. So before your chat, note the dishes you’re most interested in ordering. Try to communicate what you like: even if you think you don’t the terminology of wine tasting, you’ll certainly know which flavors your palate responds to. Think of it like ordering a cocktail: you might tell a barman you prefer bright, acidic, citrus flavors, or mellow, sweet or fruity flavors. Those same preferences can be transferred to wine, so don’t be afraid to describe your favorite things to your sommelier.

A sommelier will often talk to you about dryness versus sweetness and the options of full-bodied, medium-bodied or lighter wines. These choices enhance different textures and flavors in your food: so a fatty meat might need a juicy, acidic wine to cut through that fattiness, while an off-dry white wine has the sweetness to complement spicy dishes.

For food lovers: Why South Africa is the Ultimate Setting For a Gourmet Road Trip

Scent and clarity

Once a first wine has been selected, your sommelier will pour you a small glass to try. But don’t knock it back just yet. “The first thing you’re going to do is swirl the wine,” explains Aisling Bury, who encourages diners to get a deep noseful of the wine’s aroma. “You’re looking for things that smell out of place; so scents of wet cellar, damp cardboard, a caramel note or just generally an unpleasant vinegar smell.” Next, you should hold the wine up to the light, taking note of the color and transparency of the liquid. “You’re looking for clarity,” explains Aisling. “Unless it’s a natural wine, you want it to be clear and not foggy.” Natural wines aren’t filtered or fined, due to their low-intervention style of winemaking, hence a slight cloudiness when you hold them to the light. Feel free to talk to a sommelier about how the wine was produced and any unusual techniques. 

Your sommelier may also talk to you about the “legs” on your wine. Aisling explains: “When you swirl a wine and it goes up the glass, it’s how slowly the little rivulets of liquid stream down the inside of a glass. The slower they move down suggests a higher alcohol content or sugar content in the wine.” Think of it as syrup running slowly down a glass surface, but water running quickly, hardly leaving any trace. The sweeter the wine, the slower the “legs”.  “Most people think that it’s either to do with the age of the wine or the quality of the wine, but it’s actually a lot simpler than that,” says Aisling.

Tasting the wine

Now, time to taste. Expert tasters swish a mouthful of wine around their mouths, identifying any sour, sweet, mineral, fruity or tannic notes. Tannins are substances from the wine skins and seeds that give your mouth a dry, coated feel, and are most common in red wines. You might take a small sip of air through your mouthful of wine to oxygenate the liquid and bring out different flavors.

One myth Aisling wants to bust is that this first taste is a chance for diners to give a wine the thumbs-up. “You’re not checking whether you like the wine,” she says. “At this point you’ve made your choice, so you’re checking to see if the wine is faulty, not whether or not you like it.” If either you or the sommelier detects a dank, musty, wet cardboard smell, or unpleasant taste, they may conclude the wine is “corked” and decide to open another bottle. Being corked simply means the bottle has become contaminated with cork taint, creating a chemical reaction. A sommelier may show you the wine’s cork, which will also smell if the wine is corked. 

Assuming the wine is of a good standard, take this opportunity to ask your sommelier questions about the country of origin and the winemakers who created it. They can tell you which grape varieties it is made from, what the terroir (earth) is like at the vineyard, any unusual methods that were employed, and which other foods it pairs best with.

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Three experiences to put your knowledge to the test

Fashionable mature women having fun toasting and drinking wine at luxurious restaurant in France

Rosés in Provence, France

On Luxury Gold’s 12-day Ultimate Southern France tour, you’ll stop by the prestigious Château La Coste winery outside Aix-en-Provence, to see its outdoor art and sculpture collection, stroll among the vines and try the acclaimed rosés. It’s had an “Organic Agriculture” label since 2009 thanks to its biodynamic methods of farming and production.

Cool-climate reds in Chile

Boutique winery Kingston Family Vineyards handcraft small-production batches of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in the cool climate of Chile’s Casablanca Valley, pioneering cool-climate reds as well as the white wines Chile is most famous for. Visit while touring the continent on Luxury Gold’s epic, 23-day Grand South America journey.

Scenic tastings in South Africa

On a nine-day Spectacular South Africa tour, you’ll meander through the luscious green countryside north of Cape Town, enjoying a scenic drive through the wineland towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Franschhoek, packed with incredible vineyards. South Africa’s diverse wines are also a big part of your delicious Farm-to-Table meal at the award-winning Werf Restaurant, which is renowned for its sustainability.

Dine with us at The Olive Tree in Bath when you join our 10-day British Royale Journey