Page 97 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 97
Recognising a wine
By taste
We taste wine with our tongue, which has sensors – taste-buds – for the four main flavours:
sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Taste buds are also linked to the brain. Numerous non-volatile
components (out of 1300 known today at least one third are non-volatile) contribute to the
taste of wine. In order for the wine to be harmonious, individual flavours have to follow
one another in the correct order and none of them can stand out excessively.
Assessment by taste. Photo: Aleš Gačnik, Staša Cafuta.
Food that is too spicy numbs the taste buds, thus lessening the capacity to taste. A similar
thing happens when we test a considerable number of wine samples. Taste is the most
important indicator of wine’s quality. With our taste buds we can sense the harmony of all
the basic flavours, and when this is combined with the wine’s aroma, we know whether the
wine is pleasant, full-bodied and harmonious. Moreover, it even tells us about the wine’s
character and origin, sometimes even about the year of the vintage.
The sensitivity of the taste buds is different in different people. Our gift for detecting smells
and flavours varies. Some people can detect even very small quantities of aromas and flavours,
while others cannot. The lowest still detectable quantity of an aroma or flavour is called the
sensory threshold. This threshold can be lowered with constant practice. This is why some
people are better tasters than others. It is interesting that some people are better at detecting
only specific tastes, for example bitterness, and for specific aromas, for example the smell
of sulphur. This can be improved by practice. It is beneficial if an experienced wine taster
explains to us the unfamiliar aromas and flavours that are typical of specific varieties or
blends, i.e. mixtures of a number of varieties. Constant tasting practice and the ability to
remember different aromas and flavours enables us to enjoy the goodness of wine.
Two characteristics are important for the good detection and recognition of aromas and
flavours: memory and mental concentration. When an experienced wine taster is explain-
ing aromas and flavours, we must remember these characteristics so that we can use that
knowledge in subsequent tastings. Concentration is also very important. It is critical for
the correct assessment of wine when tasting a number of them at once, or when we are
93
By taste
We taste wine with our tongue, which has sensors – taste-buds – for the four main flavours:
sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Taste buds are also linked to the brain. Numerous non-volatile
components (out of 1300 known today at least one third are non-volatile) contribute to the
taste of wine. In order for the wine to be harmonious, individual flavours have to follow
one another in the correct order and none of them can stand out excessively.
Assessment by taste. Photo: Aleš Gačnik, Staša Cafuta.
Food that is too spicy numbs the taste buds, thus lessening the capacity to taste. A similar
thing happens when we test a considerable number of wine samples. Taste is the most
important indicator of wine’s quality. With our taste buds we can sense the harmony of all
the basic flavours, and when this is combined with the wine’s aroma, we know whether the
wine is pleasant, full-bodied and harmonious. Moreover, it even tells us about the wine’s
character and origin, sometimes even about the year of the vintage.
The sensitivity of the taste buds is different in different people. Our gift for detecting smells
and flavours varies. Some people can detect even very small quantities of aromas and flavours,
while others cannot. The lowest still detectable quantity of an aroma or flavour is called the
sensory threshold. This threshold can be lowered with constant practice. This is why some
people are better tasters than others. It is interesting that some people are better at detecting
only specific tastes, for example bitterness, and for specific aromas, for example the smell
of sulphur. This can be improved by practice. It is beneficial if an experienced wine taster
explains to us the unfamiliar aromas and flavours that are typical of specific varieties or
blends, i.e. mixtures of a number of varieties. Constant tasting practice and the ability to
remember different aromas and flavours enables us to enjoy the goodness of wine.
Two characteristics are important for the good detection and recognition of aromas and
flavours: memory and mental concentration. When an experienced wine taster is explain-
ing aromas and flavours, we must remember these characteristics so that we can use that
knowledge in subsequent tastings. Concentration is also very important. It is critical for
the correct assessment of wine when tasting a number of them at once, or when we are
93
