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You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to sip your favorite wine like a pro. Understanding the basics of wine tasting ensures that you enjoy every sip. Follow these tips to sample wines in a way that maximizes flavor and comprehension.

Keys to a Successful Wine Tasting

1. Choose the Right Glass

Select a clear wine glass with a rim that points inward. A clear glass allows you to examine the color of the wine, which you should do against a white backdrop so that you’re looking at the wine’s authentic color. The inward rim allows the wine’s aroma to be easy to take in when you’re sipping.

2. Take in the Aroma

Wine tasting is a sensory experience, which means you shouldn’t just sip––you should also smell. First, swirl the wine in the glass, which encourages oxygenation so that all of the aromas are on display. Then, slowly bring the glass to your nose to smell the aroma.

Pay attention to when you can first smell the wine. A wine that you can smell from a couple of inches away is of high intensity, whereas one that requires you to bring the glass up to your nose offers a medium- or low-intensity aroma.

3. Sip From Light to Dark

wine tastingWhen you have an array of wines in front of you for a tasting, drink the white wines first. You want to enjoy the lightest wines first, followed by roses and full-bodied styles. Then, shift to red wine. Again, start with the lighter red wines and save the dessert wines for your last sips. Pour about an inch of wine in each glass, and remember to sip water between glasses to cleanse your palate.

4. Store It Properly

Hosting or attending a wine tasting can be fun, but it can also leave you with quite a few bottles of open wine. Save the corks so that you can place them back in the bottles when the tasting is complete. Place your sparkling wines, roses, and white wines in the refrigerator to extend their life. They’ll last about five to seven days when corked and refrigerated. Open bottles of reds have a shorter shelf life but can last about three to five days if they’re corked and stored in a cool, dark place like a cabinet or pantry.

 

Give your new wine tasting skills a try at Mainstreet Coffee & Wine Bar, located in Lakeville, MN, and serving the Farmington, Apple Valley, Burnsville, and Prior Lake areas. Select from a collection of wines from all over the world, whether you want to sample some interesting whites, reds, or even champagne. While you’re there, you can also enjoy coffee, fresh-baked foods, beer, and bar bites. To learn more, call (952) 985-7650. Check out available wines on the website.

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