We might at first think that the world of wine tasting is restricted to experts in the field, but nowadays any winelover can enjoy this world of sensations that wine offers us just by following these tips.

We must take into account before starting with the wine tasting, that the area where is going to take place must count with good illumination and ventilation and we will use different glasses for each different wine that we are about to taste.

All our senses will take part in this trip, although sight, smell and taste more prominently, so we will divide the tasting in three stages:

- Visual:  Tilting our glass of wine over a white background, we will try to evaluate its colour intensity, clarity or the “tears of wine” that drop down the glass and denote its alcohol content. 

- Olfactory:  Firstly we will identify the primary aromas from the grapes, the terroir… by approaching -no swirling- the glass to your nose.  Following, swirl a little your glass that will allow some oxygen into the wine; we will analyse the secondary aromas that are produced during the different vinification processes. And lastly, swirl once again your glass to discover the tertiary aromas that come from its ageing , either in barrel or bottle or both.

- Gustatory: Taking a reasonable sip of wine and slosh around your mouth, to obtain the full flavour profile in your tongue. The perfect balance will give us a wine that is called “round”. We will also discover its texture and astringency.

When we swallowed or spat it, if it is the case, we exhale through our nose and the sensations that take place in our mouth remain, what its called  “retronasal phase”.  If the flavour gets away fast we say the wine has a “short” finish, this may occur with basic quality wines; on the contrary, high quality wines will maintain flavours for longer time that we say its a wine with “long” finish.

Now you know three simple steps to help you enjoy your Rioja wine even more.