What are the 5 S's that apply to wine tasting?

Question

I need to know, generally speaking, what I need to know about wine tasting, and if possible about the cheeses that go with certain wines.

Answer 1

The 5 S's of wine tasting are: Swirl, smell, sip, slurp and spit.

http://www.wineintro.com/food/basics.html this website is great for telling you good wine/cheese pairings!!

Good luck!

Answer 2

SEE- The color and clarity of a wine give you several clues about it.

Color: In white wines, generally the lighter the color, the younger the wine. Any wine that is brownish in color is older, and may be past its prime.

Clarity: Wine should be clear. Tip your glass down a bit, and you should be able to read through your wine. Any haziness or floating particles are signs of a problems, such as bacterial acidity, that could cause flaws in the wine.

SWIRL- Swirling the wine in your glass aerates it, bringing oxygen into the wine and allowing it to release its aroma.

Tip: It's best not to completely fill the glass, so you'll have room to move the wine around in it. Also, a glass with sides that taper towards the top will help keep the wine from splashing out.

SMELL - This is the most important part of wine tasting. You can only perceive 4 basic tastes, but you can smell 2000 smells, and wine has over 200 of its own.

Each variety of grape has its own characteristic smell, which you can memorize with practice.
Any unpleasant smells can signal a defect in the wine. The most common is the smell of a damp cellar or wet cardboard. This occurs when wine absorbs the taste of a defective cork. If this happens to you in a restaurant, have them bring you a new bottle.
SIP- Be sure to move the wine around in your mouth to cover all of your taste buds.

Your first sip is just to cleanse the palate, although you will be able to judge if the wine is sweet or not.

The second sip will bring you the full flavor of the wine. You'll be able to taste the fruit and varietal characteristics, the acidity, the tannins, and the aftertaste.

A long, pleasing aftertaste, or finish, is a sign of a high quality wine.

SAVOR - Sit back for a few minutes and savor the taste. Ask yourself a few questions.

Was the wine sweet or dry?
For a white wine, how was the acidity?
For a red, how were the tannins?
Are the flavors characteristic of the variety?
What kind of foods would you enjoy with this wine?
And most importantly, did you like the wine?

Answer 3

Since everyone's done a great job of explaining the 5 S's, I will offer some other advice about planning a wine tasting party. Start with white wines and then red. Save any dessert wines (Muscat, Port, Sherry, Late Harvest wines) for last. Dryer wines should be tasted before sweet wines.

If you are serving other food besides cheese, check out the different varietals of wine and which foods pair well with them at http://www.cheers2wine.com/buy-wine.html

One more thing....don't worry about everything being perfect...relax and enjoy. People have different tastes in wine anyway.

Answer 4

consider each and all of the above, no buckets thats gross and a waste of wine. Blind tasting is a huge thank you to liven the ambience and the lack of one experience (sight) intensifies the others. reckoning on the style of wines you intend on sampling you will possibly want a super volume of glasses or perhaps with the seeming "wrongness" it particularly is particularly helpful to bypass plastic for some and function a small washing center to scrub the glasses for reuse. seem into stocking some cheeses too in case all and sundry takes a short destroy.

Answer 5

the 5 S's are: 1,swirl. 2,smell. 3,sip. 4,swish. 5,spit or swallow.