Irish Wine Gal
Tasting Wine

Welcome to the first installment of the wine column! This column will take different directions in the area of wine; including, producer profiles, buying wines, pairing wines with food and other interesting topics!

If you wish, you may pose questions to me via this website. Or, if you have an area of interest that you would like to see addressed, let me know that as well and their may be a column on it in the future!

Since this is the first column, I thought I would share with you the best ways to taste wines. With the exception of hearing, tasting wine encompasses all senses!

Sight -What does the color look like, is it dark, light, does the wine have sediment?
• Smell - Does it smell like a wet dog (if so, don't drink it) or does it smell fruity, with mineral overtones, or oaky?
• Taste - What does it taste like when it first enters your mouth, or later as it rolls down the back of your throat?
• Touch - How does it feel in your mouth? Harsh, or is it soft?

If you want to try some of the same wines, you might buy a "flight" of wine from one of the local wine bars. A flight is normally an ounce or two of wines from three or four different producers say of Italian Pinot Grigio. While the wines may all come from the same region in Italy, the way they are grown, harvested and vinifed are all different, thus producing the various differences in taste.

Another way to taste wines is to attend a winemaker dinner. Normally at these events, you are tasting just one winery's wines, but you would have a winery representative in attendance who can talk in detail about the winery, the area and the wines. The restaurant usually pairs up the wines with the food to accent them well.

In addition, going to a stand up/walk around tasting that showcases about 20 wines at a time can be fun too! (I usually get a bunch of friends together for this event!) You can sample the various wines while enjoying some finger food for a set price.

Personally, my favorite way to taste wines, is asking a few friends to come over for an evening or an afternoon with their favorite bottle to share and the host makes some appetizers.

In all of these instances, make sure you take notes, so you remember what wine you tasted and what you liked about it and you can take your note to the store when you are buying.

Remember to always taste responsibly.

Slainte,
The Irish Wine Gal

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