By Kiki Ogino
Know your wine using all your senses! Follow these simple instructions the next time you have dinner with your boss and you'll be sure to get some sophistication points. ;)
Ask any wine expert and they'll tell you to engage all of your senses when you taste wine. When you get your glass, make sure you get a good look at the color as it'll give you a bit of an understanding of what you should expect. Fun fact: red wine will lose color in the aging process, while white wine will gain color. The next step is to swirl it around a bit; this is called "aerating" which is exactly what it sounds like; you are letting your wine breathe to bring out its aromatics. You swirl your wine by holding your glass at the base of the stem and moving it in a small circular motion on the surface of your table. It'll make you look super fancy AND you're getting the most out of your wine!
Once you're finished making a little tornado in your glass, stick your nose in there-- I mean really stick it in there. That's how the pros do it to get a good, solid sniff. Just don't accidentally get it on your nose because that's not cute. The smell of your wine should also give you a good look into what it's going to taste like; some science for you: smelling something sends receptors to your brain that makes you conscious of the taste! But nothing beats actually tasting a wine (it is called a tasting, after all) so now you can FINALLY actually drink your wine. Take a dainty sip first, like Mia Thermopolis, and concentrate on your taste buds while you try to remember all the sophisticated wine terms you read about before you came. "Oaky" is always a great one for fuller reds, and if you taste any acidity, you could say that it has a "bite." They'll never know you read this article just five minutes before you got there.
Finally, SAVOR it! Enjoy all the impressed looks you'll get after this quick 5-step process and drink away.
I am ready--I think I already have the right sort of glass! Looking forward to a not-too-oaky and not too bite-y sort of wine. CHEERS!