The tasting can be divided into three main phases: visual, olfactory and gustatory.

1. Visual Phase

The visual analysis will provide us with different information about the wine, although it is true that sometimes the sight can deceive us and can even lead us to suggestion when tasting a wine. For example, if we are in front of a red wine whose colours are already dull and with orange tones, we can be predisposed to think that we are going to be in front of a wine that is no longer good for consumption.

It is important to always hold the glass by the stem or base, mainly so as not to heat the wine in the glass, but also because it will facilitate visual analysis.

What we are going to do during the visual analysis is to tilt the glass, always trying to do it on a white background, so that the colour of the background does not interfere with the wine.

2. Olfactory Phase

Smell is the most important sense for wine tasting, as taste is formed by the smells we perceive and the tactile sensations we have in the mouth. This sense also helps us to identify whether the wine is in good condition or not. If the wine is not in good condition, we would notice unpleasant aromas, such as vinegar, the smell of damp, wet cardboard, ...

The olfactory phase could also be divided into two parts, the first would be to smell the glass, in a still glass, we will notice that the aroma can sometimes be very subtle or, on the contrary, very intense, so that we can describe the aromatic intensity of the wine.

The second phase would be moving the glass. The aim of moving the glass is to oxygenate the wine, and by oxygenating those particles that we could not smell before, now become volatile and we can perceive them.

Within the aromas that we can perceive in a glass of wine, we will divide them into three large families:

• Primary: these come from the grape itself, i.e. depending on the grape from which the wine is made, we will have different aromas.
• Secondary: these aromas are produced during fermentation and are usually more present in young wines.
• Tertiary: these are produced during barrel or bottle ageing. These are usually the most complex aromas to perceive and those that can vary more easily depending on the evolution of the wine.

3. Taste phase

This is the last phase, but the best of them, because it is when we finally taste the wine. If it is the first wine we are going to taste, we should take a small sip and move it around the mouth so that the mouth is impregnated with wine and, let's say, gets ready to receive the next sip.

It is important that when we taste the wine, we move it around the whole mouth so that all the taste buds are well impregnated. In addition, the tongue plays a very important role here, as depending on where we perceive the flavours, we will evaluate the wine differently.

We must remember that there are only 4 tastes: sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Although some include the fifth flavour, which is Umami.

Then there are other aspects to take into account such as tannins, alcohol, mouthfeel, .....

The best way to master wine tasting is to taste many wines and with many different people so that everyone can contribute their point of view.