How to Taste Wine: A Simple Method
Tasting wine isn't a ritual for professionals. It's a way of paying attention. Here's the method — and why it makes every glass more interesting.
· 6 min read
Key takeaways
- The five-step method: look, swirl, smell, taste, consider. You don't need to use all five steps every time, but knowing them sharpens the experience.
- Smell is the dominant sense in flavour — 70 to 80% of what you 'taste' is actually aroma. This is why swirling matters.
- Tasting wine is not about finding the 'right' answer. It's about building a memory of what you like and why.
- Your glass, the temperature, and the time the wine has been open all change what you perceive — this is normal and interesting, not a problem.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to spit to taste wine properly?
- Only if you're tasting many wines in one session. Professional tasters spit to stay accurate through twenty or thirty samples. For a normal evening, there's no need. Swallow and enjoy.
- What if I can't smell anything in the glass?
- Check the temperature first — very cold wines give off almost no aroma. Swirl more aggressively and put your nose properly inside the rim. If you still get nothing, the wine may be 'closed' — give it fifteen minutes open in the glass.
- Does the glass shape really change what I taste?
- Yes, materially so. A wide-bowled glass gives aromas more surface area to develop. A standard tulip shape — wider in the bowl, narrowing at the rim — handles everything from light whites to full reds.
- What's the difference between the 'nose' and the 'palate' in wine tasting?
- The 'nose' is what you smell before you taste; the 'palate' is what you experience in your mouth — flavour, structure, and finish. A wine can have a great nose and a disappointing palate, or vice versa, though they're usually aligned in quality wines.
Not sure which wine to pick? Tell our sommelier what you are eating or the occasion and we will find the right bottle — or browse the full sommelia.ch collection.