How to Taste Wine

Why Taste Systematically?

You already know how to drink wine. What the Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) teaches you is how to pay attention — to move from "I like this" or "I don't" to understanding why. It's a structured way of slowing down, observing, and building a vocabulary for what's in the glass.

The SAT isn't about being precious or performative. It's a tool. Sommeliers use it to evaluate wines professionally, but it's just as useful for choosing what to order at dinner. Once you've practised it a few times, it takes about sixty seconds and transforms every glass into a small education.

There are three stages: appearance, nose, and palate. Then you form a conclusion.

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Appearance — What Do You See?

Hold your glass at a 45-degree angle against something white — a napkin, a tablecloth, a sheet of paper. You're looking at three things.

Intensity

How deep is the colour? A wine can be pale, medium, or deep in intensity. This tells you something before you even smell it. A pale white might be a light, crisp Pinot Grigio. A deep, inky red is probably something full-bodied — a Shiraz, a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Colour

The specific hue gives you clues about the grape and the age.

Here's the secret: white wines get darker as they age, while red wines get lighter. A young Sauvignon Blanc is pale lemon; a 20-year-old Sauternes is deep amber. A young Cabernet is purple-black; an old Rioja fades to brick-red garnet.

Other Clues

• Clarity: Is the wine clear or hazy? Most wines should be clear. Haziness can be a fault, or it can be intentional (natural wines, unfiltered wines)
• Legs / tears: Those streaks running down the inside of the glass after swirling? They indicate higher alcohol or sugar, not quality. Beautiful to watch, but don't read too much into them
• Bubbles: Any unexpected fizz in a still wine? That might be a fault — or it might be intentional spritz (common in Vinho Verde)

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Nose — What Do You Smell?

This is where the magic lives. Swirl the glass gently — this releases volatile compounds into the air above the wine — then put your nose right into the glass and inhale.

Intensity

How strong are the aromas? Light (you have to search for them), medium (clearly present), or pronounced (they leap out of the glass). Aromatic varieties like Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc tend to be pronounced; subtler grapes like Pinot Grigio are quieter.

The Three Tiers of Aroma

Wine aromas are classified by where they come from.

Primary aromas come from the grape itself and the place it grew. These are the fruit, flower, and herb characters:

• Fruity: lemon, green apple, peach, strawberry, blackcurrant, plum
• Floral: rose, violet, elderflower, blossom
• Herbal/spicy: grass, bell pepper, black pepper, eucalyptus

Secondary aromas come from the winemaking process — fermentation and early cellar work:

• From yeast: bread, biscuit, brioche (especially in Champagne)
• From malolactic fermentation: butter, cream (think oaked Chardonnay)

Tertiary aromas develop through aging, either in oak barrels or in the bottle:

• From oak: vanilla, coconut, cedar, toast, smoke, clove
• From bottle age: leather, mushroom, truffle, dried fruit, honey, nuts

At Level 1, don't worry about categorising every aroma perfectly. The goal is simply to start noticing and naming what you smell. "I get something fruity — maybe cherry?" is a perfectly good start.

The most useful exercise: buy a lemon, a handful of blackcurrants, a vanilla pod, and some black peppercorns. Smell them before tasting wine. You'll be astonished how quickly your nose sharpens.

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Palate — What Do You Taste?

Take a sip. Let it coat your mouth. You're assessing several things in quick succession.

Sweetness

Is the wine dry (no perceptible sugar), off-dry (a hint of sweetness), medium, or sweet? Most still wines are dry. Sweetness is detected on the tip of the tongue, and it's the first thing you'll notice.

Acidity

Does the wine make your mouth water? That's acidity. Low acidity feels soft and flat; high acidity is bright, zingy, and refreshing. Acidity is what makes wine feel alive. Think of it as the wine's backbone — without it, everything falls flat. Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling are high-acid; many warm-climate wines are lower.

Tannin (Red Wines)

Tannin is the drying, gripping sensation on your gums and the inside of your cheeks — like over-steeped black tea. It comes from grape skins, seeds, and sometimes oak barrels. Tannin adds structure and age-worthiness to red wines. Low tannin feels smooth and silky (Pinot Noir); high tannin feels firm and drying (young Cabernet Sauvignon). White wines have negligible tannin.

Body

Body is the weight and viscosity of the wine in your mouth. Light-bodied wines feel like skimmed milk; full-bodied wines feel like whole cream. Body comes from alcohol, sugar, and extract. A light Moscato d'Asti is featherweight; a Barossa Shiraz is a heavyweight.

Flavour Intensity and Characteristics

How concentrated are the flavours? And what do they remind you of? The palate flavours usually echo what you found on the nose, but you might pick up new things — especially textural sensations like creaminess or minerality.

Finish

After you swallow (or spit, in a tasting), how long do the flavours linger? A short finish fades in a few seconds. A long finish — the hallmark of a fine wine — can last fifteen seconds or more, evolving as it goes. Length is one of the most reliable indicators of quality.

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Conclusion — What Do You Think?

Now step back and form an overall assessment. This isn't about whether you like the wine — it's about whether it's well made. The WSET framework separates quality from preference, and that distinction is one of the most useful things you'll learn.

Quality Markers

Good wine shows balance — no single element (acid, tannin, alcohol, sweetness, fruit) overwhelms the others. It shows intensity — the aromas and flavours are clearly present, not watered-down. It shows complexity — there are layers, not just a single note. And it shows length — the finish lingers.

A simple, clean Pinot Grigio can be "good" even if you personally prefer full-bodied reds. A prestigious bottle can be "poor" if it's corked. Quality is about the wine's execution, not your preference.

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The Sixty-Second Version

Here's the whole SAT condensed for real life:

1. Look — tilt the glass, note the colour and depth
2. Swirl and smell — what fruits, flowers, or spices come to mind?
3. Sip — is it dry or sweet? Is the acidity refreshing? How heavy does it feel? How long does the flavour last?
4. Decide — is this wine balanced and interesting, or simple and forgettable?

That's it. Do this with every glass for a month and you'll be astonished at how your palate develops.