Tasting wine
Tasting wine is one of life's greatest pleasures. We at French Living strongly believe that knowing how to describe wines is the best way to get to know them and remember them. However, descriptive words are often difficult to find, so here are few to help you:
Smell
FLOWERS: violet, herb tea, jasmine, acacia, iris, rose
FRUITS: raspberry, blackcurrant, cherry, redcurrant, apricot, apple, banana, prune
PLANTS: grass, fern, moss, mushrooms, tea, vegetables
SPICES: pepper, ginger, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, truffle, aniseed, mint
BALSAMIC: resin, pine, vanilla
CHEMICAL: acetone, yeast, sulphur, acetic acid,
WOOD: new wood from oak barrels
ANIMAL: meat, game, musk, fur
PYRO: burnt, grilled, toasted, smoked, tobacco, leather, roasted coffee
Taste
WHITE WINES:
good wines show a good balance between acidity and viscosity
Too much acidity means the wine will be "aggressive"
Too little acidity and the wine is "flat"
Too much viscosity and the wine will be heavy, "thick"
Too little viscosity and the wine is light, "thin"
RED WINES:
in these wines you are looking for a good balance between acidity, viscosity and tannin (body)
Too much acidity and the wine is "nervous"
Too little acidity and the wine is "soggy"
Too much viscosity and the wine is "heavy" (rare)
Too little viscosity and the wine is "dry"
Too much tannin and the wine is "hard", earthy
Too little tannin and wine will have no body
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