Swirl Sniff Taste Savor at Wine Tasting Napa

 

April, 2018

Travel

and

Leisure

Ready to Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine while tasting in Napa Valley?  Let us go over a few techniques that will make your tour enjoyable with your friends.  While visiting some of the famous Napa Valley Wineries, I was educated on some of the best techniques to use while tasting.

Step back in time to a place that looks like it comes out of a time capsule.  Lots of vines in the fields, beautiful gardens to relax in, then step into a cellar with a breathtaking view of barrels full of wine.  You know you have arrived in Napa Valley California.  First, we must find the best place for a tasting.

Let us visit  TripAdvisor Napa Valley to choose a winery.  Note that most wineries charge for wine tasting at different prices.  Now it is time to Swirl Sniff Taste Savor that beautiful glass of wine.

St. Supery Winery

Photograph by 1AdventureTraveler

Swirl – Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine

Pick up your glass and hold in your hand by the stem or leave the bottom of the wine glass firmly planted, then give the wine a few small little circles, “swirls”, for about 5-10 sec.  This technique gives the wine more oxygen.  Oxygen “opens up the wine” which softens and exposes the aroma.  This technique prepares us for the next step which is the sniff test.

Sniff – Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine Napa

Now that the wine is prepared, we sniff the wine by pointing the top of the glass away from you once then under your nose.  Close your eyes take a deep breath through your nose.  Now, think about what you are smelling.   When we smell, that prepares our brain for what we are about to taste.

Sniff white wine – see if you smell lemon rind, bananas, or beach air.

Sniff red wine –  see if you smell cherries, blackberries, strawberries, peppers, plums, and spices.

Our smells, are those that we have smelled before and not everyone will have the same smells.  Note there are different varieties of red and white wines which give a different smell.

When we smell wine, we are also looking to see if it is contaminated, “Corked Wine”. This may smell like but not limited to wet dog, rags or newspaper, or mold.  This can only happen if the bottle has been sealed with a real cork.  That is a wine we do not want to drink.   Now let us get our taste buds ready to Taste.

Swirl Sniff Taste Savor in Wine Tasting Napa Valley

Taste – Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine Napa

Now that we have swirled and sniffed it time to taste our wine.  Take a sip of wine and hold it in your mouth.  One can swish it around to cover all taste buds in the mouth but this is not necessary.  We want the wine to linger in the mouth to give us time for the mind to let us know what we are tasting.

Questions we ask our ourselves:  What does it taste like?  Do we taste anything that we smelled and more?  Does the wine dry out our mouth? (if this occurs it is high in tannins). Then swallow.

Now the fun part is to discuss with your friends around you what you tasting and what their tasting.  This is the best part since everyone tastes something different.

Savor – Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine Napa

Now let us sit back relax and Savor that amazing glass of wine and have another.

Lonely Planet California (Travel Guide) By Lonely Planet, Sara Benson, Andrew Bender, Alison Bing (Paperback – Mar 1, 2015)

$19.58$24.99

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Location – Swirl Sniff Taste Savor Wine Tasting Napa

More

Learning the technique Swirl Sniff Taste Savor when Wine Tasting Napa is a fun experience.  Schedule your next wine tasting at many amazing wineries here in Napa Valley California.  Look of more of my blogs on Napa Valley to come soon.  Enjoying my time here and there is so much to share.  Also make sure to visit Legendary Napa Valley and Lonely Planet California.

Visit 1AdventureTraveler for other travel locations, then follow me on social media Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Also check out my Amazon Shopping site for great recommend travel items.

Remember life is short, go out and have an adventure.

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