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Ideal conditions and elements for sensory analysis of wine

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 7:02 am
by Bappy12
Today, that has changed. We now taste wine to see the full potential of a product, both positive and negative . Some wine professionals talk about reading the wine or dissecting it into flavours and sensations, in a vulgar way. Therefore, it is more about an action of enjoyment.

Wine tasting and service professionals are called sommeliers . The term comes from the French word sommelier. It should not be confused with an oenologist, who is dedicated to making wine in the winery.

Tasting takes years of training. We have an olfactory and gustatory memory in the brain that is trained over time and by exposing ourselves to a multitude of smells and flavours.

Olfactory memory refers to the memory of smells. Smells can bring back many memories. This is because the olfactory bulb, which is a region of the central nervous system that processes sensory information from the nose, is part of the limbic system.

The limbic system is an area closely associated with memory and emotions, smells can evoke memories and trigger strong responses almost immediately.

We can therefore say that the best tasters in the world try wines almost every day to have references and parameters with which to describe the wine. To this we must add a deep knowledge of the process of making different wines.

We can taste professionally or as amateurs.
According to their objective, we can classify tasters:

Journalist: tasting is his profession, it affects the consumer.
Descriptive: gives adjectives to the wine.
Analytical: they look at the chemical and physical composition of the wine.
Folkloric: tasting in a fun, attractive, colloquial way.
Hedonist: classifies wines, makes a ranking.
Scientific: quantifies the characteristics of wine with units.
people taking notes




The tasting room must be well-equipped. It must be quiet, without noise or vibrations, well-lit (preferably with natural or white light) and free of bad smells.

In DOs, tasting panels are usually set up. These are cubicles where the taster sits with all the necessary material without being able to see the reaction of other tasters on the panel. Using a tasting sheet, he describes the wine in order to classify it by quality.

The taster must be relaxed, fasting or at least one hour after the last drink. He or she must not smoke and must not drink coffee before a tasting. He or she must not wear perfumes or lotions that could mask the wine.

Standard, regulatory glasses called AFNOR tasting glasses will be used. However, nowadays, sommeliers have rebelled and prefer wider glasses for tasting.

The AFNOR glass has specific measurements of diameter, height, capacity and percentage of lead in the glass.

The temperature of the wine will be appropriate for the release of aromas. Normally, it is slightly higher than the serving temperature.

The taster should be prevented from seeing the bottle label or knowing its market price.

The tastings are accompanied by toasted bread, almonds and water to eliminate the flavours of the previous wine. You should also have spittoons, a washbasin and white cellulose napkins.



The serving temperature of a wine
The correct temperature for each wine depends, in most cases, on the way it is made. Young wines have a higher acidity (especially white wines) and less aromatic complexity, and should be drunk at low temperatures, as this will disguise the acidity and maintain freshness. Sparkling wines should be drunk very cold so that the carbonation is not unpleasant; if kuwait number in whatsapp they have been aged, they should be drunk less cold. In the case of aged wines, or also Cognac and Brandy, they should be drunk at a higher temperature because their aromatic complexity is better perceived this way, as the volatility of the compounds increases, but not at such a temperature that the alcohol becomes predominant:

White, dry and sparkling (Cava, Champagne): 6 to 10ºC.
Aromatic whites, rosés, Ports and Sherry: 10 to 13ºC.
Young red wines with low tannin: 14 to 16ºC. Young tannic red wines: 16 to 18ºC.
Aged reds (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva): 18ºC.
It is not advisable to order a wine at room temperature, especially if we are in the south or in the summer period.



Tasting methodology
The methodology of wine tasting is not complicated, you only need to taste a few wines to get the hang of it. It is good to have a habit when tasting, repeating the way of tasting each time you do it, so that the comparisons will be appropriate.

In sensory analysis we use the sense organs:

Eyes: through sight we see the colour, formed by anthocyanins and tannins. Also other aspects of the wine: clarity, brightness, etc.
Nose: with the sense of smell we study the Aroma, bouquet…
Mouth: in this we perceive taste, but also olfactory sensations via the retronasal passage through the internal duct that connects the mouth and nose, as well as tactile sensations (astringency), chemical or thermal sensations.
The tasting process is therefore divided into visual, olfactory and gustatory phases. Some sommeliers advocate an auditory phase in sparkling wines due to the crackling of the bubbles.

man looking at glass of wine

Visual phase
Tilt the wine 45º and look at the centre of the glass to judge its transparency, colour, liveliness, brightness, evolution, state of conservation or effervescence.

Colour. The intensity or layer of colour is seen by looking at the centre of the glass; on the perimeter of the glass, where there is less wine, we will observe the meniscus against a white background, so we will see the nuances of colour, we will sense the age, the state of oxidation. From young to aged, a wine will go through different colours: purple, violet, mauve, purple, red, garnet, brick red, orange, brown, mahogany...

We will observe clarity, transparency.

The surface tension of the wine is related to the extract, or “body”, of the wine. Alcohol, glycerin, sugar, polysaccharides, mannoproteins, etc. contribute to this.