A good bottle of wine is always a great idea. Whether it’s to celebrate your recent promotion or to just enjoy the company of the people you love, you can always whip up a bottle or two and have a great time.
While people would associate whiskeys with the gentlemen, wine too is a great drink to learn about and appreciate. It can be overwhelming at first with all the options and details that most aficionados may be so conscious of, but once you get the hang of the flavors and finding the ones that will work for you, it isn’t that complicated. Here are a few things to remember when you’re just starting to appreciate this sophisticated drink.
Understand the terms
When people talk about wine, they have a few terminologies that they like to bring up. Here’s a quick rundown of wine jargon.
Body
People sometimes describe wines through their bodies — light, medium, and full. This is their reference for how thick the wine feels on the tongue. It refers to the feeling and not the flavor. Also, more often than not, the body also corresponds to the drink’s alcohol content. Usually, the heavier the body, the higher the alcohol by volume.
Tannin
Just like the body, tannin is a reference to the sensation that you get from drinking wine. However, instead of thickness, this refers to the texture of your drink. This textural element makes a wine’s taste dry, and you can feel it in action when there’s a sensation in your mouth that feels like it’s being dried out. Tannins add bitterness, astringency, and complexity to your drink.
Terroir
This term refers to where your wine came from. The production and geographical positioning of your wine’s origin affect the flavor and taste, so this is an important factor for wine lovers.
Vintage
This describes the process where wine is processed and bottled. While people would automatically describe older wines as better, that is not necessarily the case. There are wines that are meant for mass production and the difference in year does not drastically affect the taste. However, there are wines that are meant to be aged, and these are the ones that are usually more expensive.
Know the aromas
Most wine connoisseurs would give you a description of your drink’s aroma. Basically, it’s the smell that you get when you have a whiff of your wine. Here’s a helpful guide to further understand what they mean.
Fruity: As the term suggests, this means that your wine’s aroma is reminiscent of fruits, usually citrus fruits, berries, tropical fruits and dried fruits.
Sweet: This usually refers to hints of chocolate, toffee, honey, and vanilla
Wooden: Aromas like this mostly come from oak, pine, fir, an cedar.
Spicy and savory: These are the richer flavors usually from smoke, pepper, cinnamon, and coffee.
Herbal and floral: These are lighter aromas that come from herbs and flowers, such as mint and eucalyptus, and flowers like jasmine and other blossoms.
Dairy and nutty: These aromas give off notes the likes of butter, bread, almond, and hazelnut.
Mineral: It may sound weird but this one refers to the aroma of metals, petrol, and even moss and damp leaves.
Proper tasting
Ever wondered why people swirl the wine around before taking a sip? Apparently, swirling helps release your drink’s aroma.
Also, when drinking a full-bodied red wine, it is best to let it sit and breathe for a few minutes or even for a few hours after popping the cork to help it improve its flavors. This is called decanting and it’s always a nice way to allow yourself to fully enjoy your wine experience.
