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How Wine Tasting Actually Works
Sommeliers aren't tasting magic you can't. They're naming a handful of variables, and every one is learnable.
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Aroma of wine
Wine flavor is mostly smell sensed by the olfactory bulb, originating from odorless grape compounds unlocked by fermentation and aging.
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Sweetness of wine
How residual sugar, acids, and alcohol determine wine sweetness, from legal dry limits to dessert styles like Tokaji and Sauternes.
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Acids in wine
Wine contains organic acids like tartaric and malic that shape its taste, protect it from bacteria, and can form harmless crystals on the cork.
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Tannins
Tannins are large, astringent biomolecules produced by plants that bind to proteins and force them out of solution.
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Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume measures the ethanol in a beverage, defined by pure ethanol volume over total solution volume at 20 °C.
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Oak (wine)
Oak is a type of wood used during winemaking to alter the color, texture, tannin profile, and flavor of wine.
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Wine fault
A wine fault is an unpleasant smell, taste, or appearance in a wine caused by chemical reactions or microbial spoilage.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is a hardy, thick-skinned red wine grape created by a chance seventeenth-century crossing of Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc.
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Terroir
Terroir describes how soil, slope, climate, and local microbes shape the distinct flavor of agricultural products like wine and cheese.