Many wine professionals disagree on the importance of evaluating a wine’s appearance in the tasting process, but there are several things you can quickly determine from a wine’s appearance and color. First, and foremost, is whether there are any obvious flaws in the wine. If the surface appearance is dull, or the wine is foggy looking, it indicates a wine that is not in great condition and you may want to move on to another wine. 

THE NOSE: 
        Ever sit with experienced wine aficionado and listened to them describe the scents they got from a glass of wine and wonder whatthey are talking about?  We’ve all been there, but with practice it starts to come pretty easily.  The hardest part about the smell test is that our brains are not trained to identify individual scents.  We tend to use our sense of smell in a very broad sense to determine whether something may be harmful to us, or to sort of pre-taste a meal.  But pressed when smelling a bowl of soup to identify the individual elements, we really just know it smells like soup.  The same thing happens with wine. 
     The first time you put your nose to a glass of wine you are more likely to think it smells like wine than cherries with cinnamon and vanilla.  A good way to get started identifying individual smells is to start smelling things in your pantry or your refrigerator.  Take a few fresh figs and cut them and just see what they smell like.  Do the same with a Golden Delicious apple, or an orange; then smell the peel.  Try to commit these smells to memory.  The more smells you can remember, the better you will be at this.  Smell everything every chance you get. If you are in a field, pick up some dirt or dry leaves and smell them.  Do the same with fresh cut grass or wet hay.  It can be hard to believe just how many of these everyday smells are in an average glass of wine.  As your sensory dictionary grows you will find it easier and easier to find those smells in your glass.
      Wine scents tend to be classified in specific categories like fruit, floral, non-fruit, oak or wood, vegetable, earthy, and lastly, actual faults.  Try to think of your smells in categories, and then narrow them down to particular scents.  So start with, say, red fruit, then try to decide if it smells of raspberry, strawberry or cherry; etc.  Do the same with the other categories and try to get more and more descriptive as you go.  One intriguing little thing about scents in wine is that what is considered a fault in one wine type can be a very acceptable scent in another.  Take a good German Riesling as an example; tar, rubber boot and petroleum are all very acceptable, even desirable scents.  In Chardonnay this would indicate a wine with a problem. That great sausage, or meaty scent found in a good a quality Syrah is wonderful; in a Grenache it would be totally out of place.  At the end of this chapter some of the most commonly used wine descriptors have been listed to help you practice.  Do not feel restricted to these, they are merely examples.  Feel free to use your own descriptors if it is easier for your sensory memory. 
     To start swirl your glass (if you are more comfortable, put it on the counter and slide the glass quickly in small circles, it works the same).  First lightly run the glass under your nose and see if you get any light, delicate floral scents.  Next, tilt the glass at about 45 degrees and stick your nose right into the glass.  Believe it or not there are different strategies for this step; either take one deep smell, several quick sniffs, or put both your mouth and nose in the glass and take in a deep breath with your mouth open about ¼ inch.  Try all three and see which works best for you.  Write down your first impressions.  Swirl again and see if you get anything new.  Do this until you don’t find anything new.

THE PALATE: 
     Now its time for the fun stuff; tasting.  Here is where you need to make a decision about how much wine you can actually drink and still effectively taste what you try.  Whether you want to actually swallow the wine, or spit it out, is a personal choice. If you have decided not to spit it can be hard to effectively taste more than six wines in an hour nor go to more than two wineries in a day.  More than that and the wines all start to run together as the alcohol hits your system.  Don’t be afraid to pour any excess wines into the buckets provided, the tasting room staff would rather you did that then for you to get drunk. 
     Now that you have the wine in your mouth, swirl it around and try to take in a little air as you do.  This will aerate the wine just slightly and make the flavors much more pronounced.  Do these match what you smelled earlier?  Make note of what is the same and what is new. 
      But the palate is about much more than just flavors and scents; it is the whole wine experience.  What is the body of the wine?  Does it feel full like cream (full-bodied), or is it light in body like non-fat milk?  That is your second indicator of alcohol or sugar, after the legs test in the appearance section.  More body, more alcohol, residual sugar and/or glycerol; it’s that simple. Did you feel any burn in your mouth?  That also is an indicator of alcohol level.  If the burn is just slight and in balance with the fruit and acid in the wine, that is fine.  If it is excessively hot and makes you think of a distilled spirit, then the wine is out of balance. 

Continued