“Unleash your senses and reveal the exquisite flavors in one glass of wine.”

Wine appreciation goes further than the taste.  There’s body, color, smell, and many other tastefully delicious characteristics in a glass of wine. Learning how to taste wines provides you with a greater appreciation for both the wine glass, the vintner (wine maker), and of course the wine itself.

It’s time to get all of your senses in on enjoying this flavorful grape concoction! Instead of just tasting, let’s learn how to smell and see the difference in every glass of wine. While your taste buds are limited to salty, sweet, sour, and bitter, you nose can take in and differentiate thousands of unique scents! It’s time to Learn Wine Tasting and combine all of our senses and enjoy wine like never before.

I’ll Toast to That!

Check that out!

Pour that deep full red wine, and sweet sparkling white into your tall wine glass. Next, tilt the glass away from you and check out the clarity of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of the glass.

What a Tasteful Color!

That sounds like a potentially stupid question, but there are thousands of different colors of wine. Wine tasting goes much further than red and white and blush. If it’s a red wine its color has the potential of maroon, purple, ruby, garnet, red, brick or even brownish! White wines can be clear, pale yellow, straw-like, light green, golden, amber or brown in appearance.

Once you’ve established the color, look into the wine’s opacity. Is the wine watery or dark, translucent or opaque, dull or brilliant, cloudy or clear? Older red wine tends to be more translucent than younger red wines.

Take a Wiff

Our sense of smell is a critical analyzer that is often overlooked when tasting wine! Take your wine for a spin as you gently tilt your glass to bring out the full body smell of the wine (this technique helps vaporize some of the alcohol and releases the wine’s more natural aromas).

I hope you’re not having a bad allergy season, because next you should  stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale to enjoy the full aroma. Does the aroma give off an oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? The aroma of your wine is an excellent source to tell you the quality and unique flavors of your wine.

Mmm Mmm Good

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for- the taste test!  Tilt your glass of wine for a small sip, and let the wine roll across your tongue to take in the flavors. Enjoy the three stages of Wine Tasting: Attack phase, the Evolution phase and the Finish.

• Attack Phase:what’s the initial sensation on your palate? The Attack is comprised of four parts: alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar. In a good bottle of wine, these components will be in delicate balance, none overwhelming the others. This phase does not define taste, rather, it defines the sensation of a light or heavy, sweet or dry, soft or firm wine.
• Evolution Phase: what are you actually tasting. This phase tells you the actual taste of the wine. When drinking white wine, this phase may include flavors such as apple, pear, tropical, fruity, honey, butter, herbs etc. When drinking red wine, you flavors may consist of berry, plum, prune or fig, clove, cinnamon, oak, cedar, etc.
• The Finish: How long does the flavor remain after you’ve swallowed the wine.  Is the aftertaste different, or similar to the full flavor you just experienced. How long did it last? What was the last flavor you enjoyed?

Now that you know all of the hidden characteristics there are to each bottle of wine, you are set free to enjoy wine on a whole new level! Based on your personal preference, you can now pair wine with cheese, bread, and a variety of dishes. You now know the right questions to ask, and the different qualities of wine in order to pick out your new favorite bottle!

photo by pedrosimoes7on flickr

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“Hop on board for an assault mission of Lake Chelan Valley’s diverse wineries.”

Tour the lush sprawling wineries of Lake Chelan Valley, Washington in a Pinzgauer, a high mobility all-terrain 4×4 military utility vehicle. Get ready to invade the vineyards of Washington, with your taste buds armed and ready to indulge. The Chelan Valley Wine Tour will take you on a four hour adventure tour of up to four or five of the best vineyards of Lake Chelan Valley.

Traverse the countryside and indulge your senses as you see, smell, and taste some of the best wine known to the wine country on your Chelan Valley Wine Tour. Your military vehicle will have you riding in style as your sightseeing adventure takes you across the sprawling meadows, rigid cliffs, and rolling hills of Washington.

Once you come across the vast hills of the vineyards, your travel tour will come to a stop. Delight your senses at these local wineries where you are given the opportunity to tour the facilities and indulge your taste buds.

Wineries that you may visit include Chelan Estate Vineyards & Winery, Tildio Winery, Balsamroot Winery and Vineyard, Vin du La,  Tsillan Cellars,  Lake Chelan Winery, Wapato Point Cellars

This Chelan Valley Wine Tour is a great way to see the gorgeous Washington countryside. See, taste, and smell the sights of the local wineries that are renowned in their region. Spend your day sightseeing with friends and family, and travel the countryside in style as you learn more about Washington’s best local wineries. Before you venture out, learn how to truly taste the flavors of wine with this short article on How to Taste Wine.

photo by ChuckThePhotographer

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1. Learn Wine Tasting
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“Become a Wine Connoisseur with an Eight Session Wine Class in Atlanta.”

Let’s face it most of us go by the rule “white wine with white food (fish, chicken), red wine with red food (steaks, meats).” However, there’s so much more to know about wine that people don’t realize!

This eight session Wine Course is the perfect experience gift to broaden your knowledge on wine. Learn how to prepare the best wine and dine and be proud to show off your knowledge and astonish your friends at the next Friday night dinner!

This eight session wine course is taught by an expert sommelier and takes place at Atlanta’s premier wine school.

The experience gift of Wine Courses in Atlanta will teach you: the systematic tasting method for detecting and describing wine aromas and flavors, History of wine, Grape types and Production, Information regarding vineyards around the world, Windows on the World Wine Course Book, and includes at least 6 wines per class for tasting—roughly over a grand worth of wine by the end of your eight course session!

At the completion of your course you will also be given the option to take a course final, and upon passing, you will receive a certificate and a diploma from Atlanta’s premier wine school. Before you venture out, learn how to truly appreciate the flavors of wine with this short article on How to Taste Wine.

photo by mescon

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“The Cheese is sure to Please while the Wine is quite Divine.”

Hosted in the trendy city of Manhattan, this cheese and wine tasting experience is sure to please all one thousand taste buds!

Hone your taste buds as you discover all there is to the world of cheese. Artisanal’s instructors will broaden your knowledge of cheese types, textures, and presentations that will have your mouth watering. Don’t worry, you won’t leave hungry! This “mouth-on” class encourages you to taste a variety of artisan cheeses.

Join us in Wine and Cheese Tasting in Manhattan as we discover the hidden wonders of handcrafted cheeses. This fromage experience teaches you how to make cheese a part of your every day from anything to an afternoon lunch, to and elegant dinner party.

The fun doesn’t stop at the cheese! Although the cheese would be just as delicious alone, the pairing of cheese and wine is a century+ old tradition that keeps the taste buds craving more. Learn Wine Tasting, and enjoy and experience your tastebuds will drool for! This wine and cheese tasting loves to keep the tradition going!

While you fall in love with artisan cheeses, enjoy pairing your new favorite Fougerus cheese with a glass of wine. If you want to continue your new found cheese appreciation, you and take pleasure in joining one of our other classes such as cheese and champagne, cheese and cognac, beer, brandy, bourbon, and sake too!

Join us for our evening class, beginning at 6:30pm weekdays, or a Saturday class starting at 3pm.

Photo by Chadmagiera on flickr

Related posts:

1. Learn Wine Tasting
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