The Hour

Wine expert Tom Cannavan provides some top tips for tasting wine in a bid to increase the confidence of casual wine drinkers.

Before getting anywhere near the wine, Cannavan emphasises the importance of the wine glass.

“[The glass must be] large enough that you can pour some wine and have room to swirl it around. That releases aromas which are trapped in the thinner part of the glass so you can get a really good idea of its bouquet,” he advised.

As for judging the wine, there are three stages – appearance, aroma and taste.

When looking at the wine ensure the colour is clear and bright and the wine looks healthy. Swirl the wine in the glass in order to coat the side of the glass in wine, which will provide a maximum aroma.

The final stage is to taste the wine. Take a small sip and run it around the mouth and over the tongue in order to asses its flavour, texture, sweetness and acidity.

When drawing conclusions from the wine tasting experience, it is important to make the judgment based on your own preference of taste, smell and flavours.

“Take ten seconds to just think about every wine you taste and you will build up a really good knowledge of wine and improve your confidence,” said Cannavan.