Evaluating wine is part of a wine drinker’s life. Even the most casual wine drinker will evaluate his glass of wine–just as anyone evaluates the quality of a meal or a car after a test drive.

With wine, an evaluation comes down to one basic question: Do you like it? If you do, it’s a good wine. If you don’t, it’s not a good wine. Forget the scores from Robert Parker or Wine Spectator, forget the raves of people online. Those scores and positive reviews reflect only one thing: those individuals liked the wine. You may find that you agree, or you may find you disagree.

I should also mention here that you should be careful about concluding that you do not like a particular wine varietal. For example, many wine drinkers begin their journey with white zinfandel. When they feel like moving on to other wines, they sometimes end up with a Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a very, very different wine. They try the Cabernet for the first time and they absolutely hate it.

The danger here is that these wine drinkers may never go back to Cabernet Sauvignon, and that’s a mistake. As they continue to try different wines, such as Pinot Noir, their preferences will evolve. Cabernet is not a huge jump from Pinot Noir, and these wine drinkers may enjoy Cabernet–if they try the wine again at some point.

So, keep in mind that if you don’t like a varietal the first time around, try it again after you’ve explored other wines. You may find that your tastes evolve. What you once disliked may become something that you really enjoy.

Unfortunately, “I like it” or “I don’t like it” is not the end of the inquiry. You will get more out of your wine-drinking experience if you can explain why you like or do not like a wine. When you try to explain your reaction to a wine, do not worry if you feel you can’t find the words to describe the wine. The vocabulary that wine drinkers use will come to you over time (and this Wine For Newbies 101 series will help you develop your wine vocabulary).

For now, simply concentrate on basic descriptions:

• The color was pale or medium or dense.
• The aromas were powerful or weak (or in between). If you can smell something specific in the wine, like cherries, you can include what you smell. If you can’t distinguish anything, that’s okay too.
• The wine felt heavy or light in my mouth.
• The flavors were easily noticeable or seemed bland.
• The flavors are consistent with the aromas, or not consistent.
• It was too sweet, not sweet at all, or sweet but not bothersome.
• It dried my mouth out or didn’t leave my mouth feeling dry.
• It made my mouth water (or didn’t).
• It tasted good with __________________ [the food you had] or it didn’t go well with _____________ [the food you had].

You can use any or all of those types of descriptors, and other wine drinkers will get an idea what you are talking about. As you continue to explore wines, you will see that you find it easier to find the words to describe a wine.

In the next post in this series, I will introduce you to the idea of writing tasting notes. I will also go over some tools that can help you write your tasting notes and develop your wine vocabulary.

Your Homework: I realized that I failed to give you a homework assignment the last two times, which was a huge mistake on my part. I don’t want you just reading about wine, or watching the video. You need to drink some wine if this series is going to mean anything.

So, here is your homework. Pick up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from France (where it will be labeled as Sancerre), California, Washington, Chile, South Africa or New Zealand. Alternatively, you can order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in a restaurant if you don’t want to invest in a full bottle. Either way, try the wine and see if you can describe the wine using the bulleted items in the list above.

Do not worry if you find you can’t “answer” each of the items. Evaluating and describing a wine takes practice, just like learning to play the piano. Start simple, be ready to make mistakes, and practice, practice, practice!

Audio Only

More Wine For Newbies 101

Lesson 2–Learning to taste wine
Lesson 1–Is learning about wine difficult?

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