Winelingo
Unit 1 of 26 · Online wine course
Wine Tasting Course: How to Taste Wine
How to taste, step by step. 10 lessons · about 79 min · Free
The 10 lessons
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Wine 101: the main styles of wine and how to read them
Wine is grape juice fermented by yeast, and almost every bottle belongs to a few families you can read by colour, sweetness, bubbles and strength.
You will be able to:
- explain how yeast turns grape juice into wine
- tell still, sparkling, sweet and fortified wines apart
- read any wine by colour, sweetness, bubbles and strength
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How to taste wine in 5 steps
Tasting is just drinking, slowed down: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip and Savour, five steps that give each sense its turn and help you notice what you like.
You will be able to:
- name the five steps of tasting wine in order
- explain why smell matters more than your tongue
- notice and describe a wine's finish after swallowing
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Body: what light and full really mean
Body is the weight and texture of a wine in your mouth, from light to full, driven mainly by alcohol and extract and easily pictured as skim milk to cream.
You will be able to:
- explain what body means using the milk picture
- name the two main things that add body
- tell light-bodied from full-bodied wines by feel
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Tannin: the grippy, drying feel in red wine
Tannin is a feeling, not a flavour: where the drying grip comes from, why some grapes have more, how to judge it, and how time and food soften it.
You will be able to:
- recognise tannin as a drying, grippy feeling
- explain where tannin comes from and why reds have more
- choose food that softens a tannic red
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Acidity: why your mouth waters
How to recognise acidity, the tart, mouth-watering freshness that keeps wine lively and food-friendly, and how to sense it without trusting any single clue.
You will be able to:
- recognise acidity as wine's tart, mouth-watering freshness
- spot acidity using several clues, not just one
- explain why acidity makes wine good with food
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Sweet or dry? How to taste the difference
Sweetness is sugar the yeast left behind. Learn the dry to sweet scale, the label words, and why a fruity smell can fool your nose.
You will be able to:
- explain how leftover sugar makes a wine sweet
- place a wine on the dry to sweet scale
- judge sweetness by taste, not by fruity smell
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The aroma wheel: naming what you smell
Name a wine's smell the easy way: pick a broad family first, then step out to the exact note, and learn the few smells that mean a wine is faulty.
You will be able to:
- sort a wine's smell into a broad family
- spot the notes that point to oak
- tell a personal impression from a wine fault
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Primary, secondary, tertiary: where wine smells come from
A wine's smells come in three layers: from the grape, from winemaking and from age. Sort them and you can read a wine's style, and guess its age.
You will be able to:
- sort wine smells into primary, secondary and tertiary
- explain where each group of aromas comes from
- use aromas as careful clues to a wine's age
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How temperature changes a wine
Serving temperature turns a wine's smells and taste up or down, so chilling whites well and cooling reds slightly helps each one show its best.
You will be able to:
- explain how cold and warmth change a wine's taste
- order wine styles from coldest to warmest serving
- use a fridge and bucket to serve wine better
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Building your palate: how anyone learns to taste
Tasting is a skill anyone can build: attentive side-by-side practice, a memory bank of everyday smells and honest notes that map your taste.
You will be able to:
- explain why a great palate is built, not born
- set up a side-by-side flight and a smell bank
- keep honest notes that reveal what you enjoy
Related reading on Winelingo: How to Taste Wine: The 5 S’s (See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Savour) · How to Practise Wine Tasting at Home