insideKENT Magazine Issue 64 - July 2017 | Page 108

FOOD+DRINK
Cheese AND Wine cont.
Expert wine tasting tips for
novice wine tasters
PROUD SUPPLIERS TO ICONIC BRITISH RESTAURATEURS
SUCH AS GORDON RAMSAY AND JAMIE OLIVER, CHAPEL
DOWN WINERY IS ONE OF ENGLAND’S OLDEST AND
BIGGEST WITH OVER 100 ACRES OF VINEYARDS ACROSS
KENT. THEY PRODUCE A WORLD-CLASS RANGE OF
SPARKLING AND STILL WINES, AND, AS WITH
CHAMPAGNE, THEIR SPARKLING WINES ARE CREATED
USING THE TRADITIONAL METHOD.
“Whether you enjoy a wine is mainly down to personal
preferences,” says Mark Harvey, managing director of wines
at Chapel Down. “However, here are a few tips as to how to
get the most from your glass of wine.”
WINE TASTING TIPS
Appearance: Hold the glass against a white
background. The shade will help to determine
how old the wine is. With white wines,
younger wines tend to be pale in colour. With
red wines, the colour gradually fades the older
the wine is. Gently swirl the wine in the glass
and study the ‘legs’ (whether the wine appears
to stick to the glass), this is an indicator of the
level of alcohol in the wine; the more viscous
the wine, generally the greater the alcohol.
Aroma: The smell of wine has a large affect
on its taste. A good demonstration of this is
to take a sip of wine while holding your nose,
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then take another sip having released your
nose and notice the huge difference. Gently
swirl the wine in the glass, lean right into the
bowl of the glass and smell the wine. Make a
note of the different aromas that you can
detect and repeat this several times.
Taste: Take a sip of the wine and work it
around your mouth so that it hits the 10,000
tastebuds on your tongue. Carefully try to
aerate by sucking in a small amount of air and
hold the wine in your mouth considering its
flavours and textures. Then swallow, or spit
and repeat a couple of times.
Evaluate: Consider the length of the wine by
how long you can continue to taste the wine
for, as well as the level of dryness, or
sweetness. The more wines you taste, the
better your taste perceptions will become and
hopefully this will help to increase your
enjoyment of each glass of wine.