Written on 17/03/2022
All the keys to optimal tasting
It's often a headache that you have to face. You arrive at a guest's house, everyone has brought a bottle and you're faced with the big question: in what order should they be enjoyed?
Fortunately, today we're going to give you a few tips on how to make the most of this tasting experience, so that all the wines reveal their full potential, and above all, so that you don't regret a wine you've tasted before.
First of all, there are two key areas to focus on:
- Taste light wines before strong ones
- Gradually move upmarket, saving the highest-quality wines for last.
Next, we need to take into account the wine's basic flavors: acid, bitter and sugar. These have different persistence in the mouth, and therefore different staying power. Acidity creates a short, fluid salivation on the palate, while bitterness has the most pronounced persistence. Sugar, on the other hand, is heavier and therefore has the most persistent flavour, running the risk of saturating the taste buds. It is therefore important to respect the order: acid, bitter and sugar.
The order of preference is as follows:
- Start with dry whites, which are fresher and more acidic than reds. For example, Chablis, Sancerre or Muscadet, but also "effervescents" such as crémants or champagne (note that a brut champagne can be enjoyed at any time during the tasting, as it doesn't suffer from competition).
- Next come the fatter whites, which are consequently less acidic. Chardonnay, for example.
- Then come the light reds. These are the wines with the least tannin, since bitterness is linked to the presence of tannin.
- Thenthe more bitter reds, with lots of tannin.
- And finally, the sweetest wines.
For the same type of wine, with the same AOC, for example, you need to respect the second principle, which is to move upmarket. We'll start with the youngest wines, then finish with the most evolved vintages, like an apotheosis .
Now you've got all the information you need to enjoy wine at the table or in the living room, all that's left is to wish you an enjoyable tasting!
