Appreciating the qualities of organic wine

While organic wine continues to grow in popularity, there are new opportunities available for retailers and those who have the influence and capacity to educate and inform the discerning consumer. I’m often asked to explain how a certain wine compares against those from alternative regions or traditions. Of course, each response to such enquiry must be inherently subjective and based to some extent on personal preferences and prejudice. Having reasonably acknowledged this, there is considerable benefit to be gained from understanding the basics of wine appreciation and evaluation.

The aim of wine tasting is to assess the relative concentration of each constituent flavour aspect. Most individuals can easily distinguish the characterising properties of sweetness, acidity, bitterness, and astringency. Within each of these, there are numerous gradations and distinctions which contribute to identification and evaluation of the tasting profile.

To a certain extent the skills of wine appreciation are clouded by the imprecision of language and the frequently ridiculous attempts to define subtleties of flavour which are unfamiliar to everyday experience. An evaluative tasting may also involve a sequence of procedures which can easily escape the attention of unfamiliar observers. In his excellent publication entitled A Good Nose & Great Legs: The Art of Wine, From the Vine to the Table, Robert Geddes describes six important components of the tasting process.

Most experienced tasters will carefully view the wine as it rests in their glass after being poured. Their aim in most cases will be to evaluate the colour, clarity, and consistency of each sample. Following visual inspection, the wine is gently agitated by swirling around the glass. This encourages alcohol vapours to release the aromatic elements of the wine. In many respects smell is more precise than taste. Experts will rely on sniffing to identify the broadest range of aromatic constituents which contribute to the flavour and quality of their sample. Sipping provides additional information about the structure and complexity of each sample. Do the flavour profiles expose themselves immediately or depend upon gradual buildup? Spitting the sampled wine into a bucket is common practice at many tasting events. The purpose is to protect the palate and sensibility while allowing each tasting to register as a reasonably independent flavour oriented experience. Even within the context of tasting events, wine needs to be properly savoured. Allowing a twenty second pause following expulsion is the accepted norm. The taster should then be in a better position to identify more subtle flavours and attributes which can emerge after the initial steps.