Putting your senses to the test
Now that tastings are as commonplace in Hong Kong as boutique openings - not to mention full-blown wine-maker's dinners - if you don't want to look as though you have just arrived from another planet, you should know how to act when the wine is poured.
I refer not to a pretentious ritual, but simply to the correct procedure for properly judging wine.
Aside from when you finally assess the flavour and taste in your mouth, you must first use your eyes and then your nose.
Nothing should be in your glass but wine. Check it out. Bits of cork or other flotsam or jetsam are not to be tolerated. Next, hold the glass at arm's length, then tip it slightly and observe the colour. White or red, it should look clear, bright and appealing. Cloudy and brownish tinges are signs of exposure to air and a definite no-no.
In the case of reds, a brick-red or slightly amber tone suggests a rather mature wine, while a purplish cast tells you it's more youthful. Whites range from palest yellow to deep gold. Once you become a regular taster, you'll be surprised at how many different grape varieties you can differentiate on sight.
Now you're ready to smell. Swirl it a few times. This action breaks the surface tension of the liquid, releasing the aroma to its fullest. This is not the time to be shy. Go ahead. Stick your nose in and take a deep whiff. This should give you a good idea of the wine's character and condition - sweet, fruity, spicy, or just plain lacklustre.
Only now are you ready to let the wine touch your lips.
This is where the tongue comes in. Did you know it has three distinct areas that respond differently to taste? The tip is in charge of sweetness, the centre is most sensitive to saltiness, while the sides send off sourness signals to the brain. A wine that is off or vinegary will curl those sides up on contact. The very back of the tongue is the bitterness zone.
This is why it's crucial to roll the wine around in the mouth and cover every part of this highly evolved organ to get the true picture. A wine expert told me it's essential to take a mouthful, hold your nostrils closed and suck air in between your teeth. This is not particularly attractive, but it does help get those aromas up behind the nose to the olfactory bulb where masses of nerve endings analyse the taste of wine.
Now swallow it or spit it out - use your discretion. What you're left with on the palate is the result of the total wine exercise. It's now up to you to decide. Is it worth another glass, worth a case or just not worth getting out the corkscrew?
