It’s easy to acquire a taste for food and new recipes. But developing a taste for wine when you’ve never shown much interest in it before is a little trickier.
Not everyone enjoys the strong taste of it straight away, and many prefer something gentler like vodka or beer. But whether you’re trying to broaden your horizons or enjoy wine and cheese dates with friends a little more, here is how you can acquire a taste for wine.
Allow it to Breathe
If the harshness and bitterness of wine are what puts you off giving it a try, then allowing it to breathe can be a process worth going through. When you expose wine to air, it oxidises and mellows the flavour.
In particular, red wine can be incredibly harsh if you pour it directly from a bottle you’ve just opened. Open the wine bottle, pour a glass, and let it sit for half an hour. It may end up being far gentler on your palate.
Drink from a Wine Glass
It makes sense to drink wine from a wine glass. Still, not everyone realises there’s a connection between the palatability of wine and the glass from which you drink it. Use a white wine glass for white wine, a red wine glass for red wine, and a flute for champagne.
Each offers a different drinking experience. In fact, the wine glass shape can even assist in trapping the wine’s aroma within it. That’s why you may notice people putting their nose into the wine glass before drinking the wine. They can get a sense of all the aromas possibly listed on the bottle before taking their first sip.
Swirl it
You may tell your kids not to play with their food before they eat it, but playing with your wine is another story. Swirl it around in your glass and notice how its colouring sticks to the surface of the glass.
It’s also worth noting that the darker the wine, the bolder the flavour. If you notice the colouring is particularly vibrant in your glass compared to others, it tends to contain more fruit juice.
Taste it
Once you’ve allowed your wine to breathe, chosen the right glass, and swirled the wine around, you can now taste it. Let the wine spread out over your tongue and breathe through your mouth while swallowing it. As your wine is exposed to air on your tongue, you may notice it tastes different.
Over time, you may begin to realise that you like some wines more than others. Write down the flavours and wine types you enjoyed and those you didn’t so that you can be more particular on your next visit to a winery.
Wine may be an acquired taste, but that doesn’t mean you won’t always dislike it. The next time you want to try out a new food recipe, see if you can pair it with wine. You may be surprised at how experienced and educated on wine types you become.