The sommelier profession is surrounded by an aura of mystery, artistry and nobility. Not everyone is allowed to recognize wine from the first sip - every lover knows it. The idea of wine as an exquisite drink, created only "on an amateur", is also incorrect.
Everyone can become a true connoisseur of wine, and for this you do not have to have a thick wallet and a sensitive nose. Many books have been written on how to learn how to understand wine, wine critics talk about the sun playing in a glass; someone is convinced that glass and plastic cork spoils wine ... There are many opinions, but the truth is one, and it is in the fault.
First trial
To learn how to distinguish wines, one must first try different varieties made in different countries. They will differ not only in taste and aroma, but also in color. Such samples are necessary to begin to understand the wines. It’s funny to talk about the love of white wine without tasting red.
In order not to forget about your impressions, do the following:
- Get your notebook of wines.
- Record your impressions of each glass or wine you drink.
- Mark why you liked this wine or not.
- Now, for beginners, sommeliers are available special wine applications for the smartphone. For example, the programs Vivino, Wine Coach, Wine Notes and others that will help not only quickly identify the wine and why it is better to taste it, but also allow you to make notes about the tasting.
Three secrets of wine
In order to learn to understand wines, you need to remember the three main qualitative characteristics of wine.
- Grapes The grape variety from which wine is made plays a key role. In the world there are more than 8,000 varieties, but the most popular are Cabernet, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot. Not only the grape variety is important, but also the place of growth.
- Region. The second most important quality parameter of wine depends on the terroir. It is better to start your first acquaintance with wine from the classic regions of growth - France, Crimea, Italy.
- Rating. Determines the dignity of the wine, but this does not mean that absolutely everyone likes a wine with a high rating. After all, this is a matter of taste, after all.
“The best wine is the one that the drinker likes,” wrote Pliny the Elder, a philosopher and esthetician.
Signs of taste without prejudice
If you say to yourself: “I want to learn how to understand the wines!” - first you will have to form the first samples according to a certain sign of wines. This way you can more accurately determine, because everything is known in comparison, the closer the points of comparison, the easier it is to develop your own taste and wine style. It can be:
- wines of one grade, but from different manufacturers;
- wine of the same name, but from different regions;
- from one region - but from different growing zones;
- finally, the comparison of wines of one variety, one region, but different productive years will complete knowledge on tasting.
With certain efforts, one can learn to distinguish not only the smells of spices and grapes in wine, but even wood sawdust.
It is not necessary to buy bottles of wine for such samples; you can purchase sets of samplers with booklets that not only open the world of different wines, but also teach you to distinguish spoiled from immature, to understand the degree of aging.
What the label will tell
All wine information is on the label. How to learn to understand wines: when buying wine, you need to carefully study its content, first of all, understand the variety.
For example, European producers do not always indicate the type of wine, so you need to pay attention to the counter label, which is located on the other side of the bottle, it will indicate the country, region, where the wine came from.
On the front label you can see:
- The name of the manufacturer.
- The proper name of the wine.
- Year of harvest.
If there is not one of the indicators, it is better to refuse the purchase.
Wine is known by comparison. You can get special cards that will be filled as tastings. On the cards you can track how the taste of wine is revealed, you can use it for tasting parties.
Tasting as an art
A tasting party will help to begin to sort out the wine . You can make a set of five red wines and organize a party with meat (pork can not be used).
For tasting at a party you will need:
- Bright and not too acidic varietal wines with a strength of 13-15 degrees, aromatic and textural.
- A few glasses for each participant, so that you can conduct an objective comparison of wines.
- The temperature of the served wine should be approximately equal to 5 degrees, for white wines - 13-15.
- Bottles of red wine are opened half an hour before tasting, so that they “reveal” the taste and aroma.
To learn how to understand wine, at a tasting party, you must follow the following rules:
- Smoking is not allowed during the tasting.
- The glass should be filled with wine no more than one third.
- A glass of wine should be held by the leg.
What smells of pleasure
The most important thing in wine is its bouquet or aroma. In order to sniff it correctly, you must:
- Focus, lower your nose deep into the glass and draw in the aroma, inflating the nostrils. The main goal of the action is to memorize the fragrance using the associations that it evokes.
- After smelling the wine, twist the glass counterclockwise for 5-10 seconds and chat the wine so that there is more contact with oxygen. If you smell it again, you can feel that the aroma has intensified.
- Consider the color of wine, better over a white tablecloth, tipping the glass almost horizontally. You can notice that the wines differ in color: the pinot noir is transparent and reddish, the sauvignon is ruby, etc. The sediment in wine is not a drawback, often the opacity indicates the nobleness of the drink.
- Sample wine by focusing on aroma. Note whether the aftertaste remains.
- The finish is valid for a few seconds, normally from 5 to 10 seconds. It should be neither sour nor cloying.
- When tasting several wines, you must first compare them by color and aroma before tasting. Before each new sip, you need to focus on the aroma.
- Having emptied the glass, smell it again, good wines leave a pleasant aroma even in an empty glass.
Kings rating
After spending a couple of parties with red wines, you can proceed to tasting fine white wines, focusing on Mediterranean food. When choosing white wines, one must remember the technological method that affects the taste. It's about aging in oak barrels.
How and where to buy wine suitable for tasting and learn how to sort out wines? Wine school courses will help you find all the answers.
It is better to buy wine for training in wine boutiques and enotecs. If you are buying in a supermarket, carefully consider the counter-label on which the manufacturer and importer will be indicated. You can use the application on the phone, which recognizes wine by the label and offers information about the public rating of the drink.
Do not think that only sommeliers go to vinotheques. Prices there may be lower than in supermarkets, as the wine comes directly from the manufacturer. You can order wines directly from manufacturers, as many of them have their own representative offices in large Russian cities.
He who does not make mistakes will not learn
There are a number of typical illusions when choosing a wine, they are widespread and the sooner you get rid of them, the faster you can find your own wine. Possible mistakes that you should try to avoid when choosing wines:
- Find out all or anything about the wine that is acquired. You can not take the first one with a beautiful label.
- Wines in boxes are not suitable for training; they cannot learn to understand wines with them. They are more suitable for a picnic.
- It is better to choose dry wines for teaching the profession of home-made sommelier, it is they that allow the most delicate study of the issue of aroma and taste.
- Be wary of medals on bottles: there are many contests, but a medal does not mean that it is a wine worthy of tasting. More often it’s just someone’s version or whim.
Information for consideration, or How to find out the rating of wines
Find out the rating of wine is quite simple through the application. One of the inscriptions on the front label, a grape variety, is hammered into the search line. If a wine with a rating of 2010 is searched for, but only 2008 is found, then you should be guided by it.
The classic rating is published on Wine Advocate or Wine Specator, these sites also have mobile applications for subscribers. Wines with a rating of 90 and an average price are what you need for the home course "How to Start Understanding Wine".
Beginner's Guide
Not everyone can pick up tasting parties. From this, the desire to understand wine is not reduced. You can visit the wine clubs, where the lines of 10-20 tasting samples have already been selected. They will also explain how to learn to understand wine. Books by famous bloggers on the world of wine Denis Rudenko or Bisso Atanasov will help to understand what's what.
You can attend special courses for future sommeliers, where once a week students are given the opportunity to try more than 200 different wines. All this will help develop the taste and ability to choose a good wine.
As an educational institution where you can study for a sommelier, you can choose the wine and sommelier schools in Moscow (6 schools) or St. Petersburg (3 schools). In addition, according to the version of the Entoria wine school in our country, it became possible to obtain specialized higher education and master the oenologist profession with a diploma marked by the seal of ASI (International Sommelier Association). Education in such schools provides a complete immersion in the subject, meets international standards of wine education. The training program includes:
- Master classes from practitioners and teachers.
- A few days of theory and practice will provide basic skills.
- Lectures that are accompanied by wine tasting.
- Graduation diploma.
Sommelier - a dream that comes true
Today's sommelier knows a lot about grape varieties, methods of cultivating it, about the intricacies of the production of any wine for tasting. He can give exact recommendations on wine selection, serving and service rules. We can say that this is a specialist of a wide profile, owning a large amount of information.
To become a professional sommelier, you can take courses not only in Russia, but also abroad. You can replenish knowledge about wines in the following institutions where they study at the sommelier:
- KIA - Culinary Institute of America issues listeners a certificate confirming the qualification level of elementary and intermediate sommeliers (CWR - Certified Wine Professional).
- International Guild of Sommeliers.
- The Wine School of Russia prepares sommelier beginners in special courses. The cost of training will be 50,000 rubles and will help not only to gain skills in the profession, but also to start making money on the knowledge gained.
People immersed headlong into the science of wine, constantly cause interest and admiration of the public, are in demand by employers.
In the end, you can learn the additional profession of a wine critic or journalist, organize your own wine cellar.
You can also believe that in time you will be able to discover your truth in wine - the truth of understanding a prestigious, but complex and creative profession.