Wine tasting in a castle is pretty neat! We tried several reds and whites and received instructions in the art of wine tasting. There are five steps to tasting wine, known as the “Five S” steps: see, swirl, sniff, sip, savor. You look for clarity, a wine’s color is judged by putting it against a white backdrop. Colors can give a taster clues to the grape variety, and whether the wine was aged in wood. A bouquet is the total aromatic experience of the wine. It is revealed by gently swirling the wine in a wine glass to expose it to more oxygen and release aromatic components. The NOSE of a wine is the bouquet or aroma. Thoroughly tasting wine involves a wide array of perceptions in the mouth. Textures, flavors, weight, and overall structure of the wine. A wine taster savors a wine by holding it in the mouth for a few seconds to saturate the taste buds.
The following videos demonstrates how wine is tasted from a decanter so many tasters can sample the wine without actually putting their mouths on the decanter. Might I add this was after we had sampled/tested several bottles of wine!
Adventures with Cindy 