Banfi - Ratings & Reviews - News
Banfi for a better wine world
Scroll down
2022 4 August

WINE TASTING: HOW TO DO IT

It is important to know that there is no need to be a professional sommelier to know how to taste wine: just follow some of our tasting advice.

Useful tips on wine tasting

The first piece of advice when tasting wine is not to spoil your senses before starting. What this means is that you should avoid strong foods, chewing gum or smoking, but you should also avoid using perfumes or creams with strong scents, because these will alter your olfactory perception.

The second tip is: always start with lighter wines and gradually proceed to the more structured, full-bodied ones.

Our third tip is never touch your goblet with your hands: always hold your glass by the stem to prevent the warmth from your hand from affecting the temperature of the wine.

Wine tasting: a multi-sensory experience

Wine tasting is a full experience from a multi-sensory viewpoint because, as we have seen, it involves the majority of our senses: sight, smell, and taste.

Sight

The first sense involved in wine tasting is sight: the appearance of wine tells us a great deal about its organoleptic qualities, which may or may not be confirmed during the following stages of the tasting. The characteristics to bear in mind are:

  • colour
  • clarity
  • consistency
  • effervescence

Colour: white, red or rosé? And what about intensity and tone? The vine varieties, vinification process, age of the wine, and the production area are just some of the factors that affect this aspect.

The second stage is an evaluation of clarity and transparency, which means the ability to allow light to pass through and the presence of impurities and residues. To assess this, the glass needs to be angled to 45°, against a white background and in good light.

Since the consistency of wine is linked to the content of substances other than water and responsible for its organoleptic profile. To examine this, it is necessary to rotate the wine in the glass to look at its fluidity, the first reason for the well-known gesture, which is now one of the very symbols of wine.

This way we can look at the droplets of wine as they flow down the sides of the glass (in Italian, these are known as “bows”, while in French they are called “tears”). Fuller-bodied wines, which are heavier and well structured will glide down the glass more slowly, while lighter wines - especially whites - will move more quickly.

Effervescence is probably the first thing we notice in sparkling wines. This is the development of bubbles, perlage, that forms after a bottle is opened, due to the release of carbon dioxide. As it dissolves, this releases gas bubbles that create the typical foam on these types of wine.

Smell

Once the wine has been examined visually, it is time to pass onto its smell or nose, which is perhaps the most important but also most difficult part of tasting. Lots of practice is required to capture the olfactory notes of a wine. All wines have scents that can be traced back to over 200 different types of substance, which can be found in wine - even in minimum amounts. The combination of these substances creates a bouquet of aromas that differ from wine to wine, but also from bottle to bottle, according to the way in which the wine is stored.

The smell of cork is perhaps recognisable to even the less expert taster, while it can take a few attempts to identify the countless scents that make up a wine’s bouquet.

Our practical tasting tip for using the nose is to proceed in three steps:

  • To start with, bring the edge of your glass up to your nose, breathe in deeply, and then move the glass away, trying to identify the most characteristic aromas;
  • then rotate the glass;
  • at this point, bring the glass back up to your nose and sniff again to capture the different notes.

Taste

Tasting the wine is the last stage in this process and mainly consists of evaluating the taste sensations while the wine is in the mouth. The different substances in the wine interact with the taste buds on the tongue, producing stimuli that are transmitted to the brain in the form of neural impulses. What is more, the gums and oral cavity are subject to “tactile” stimuli that also produce sensations which are then transmitted to the brain in the form of impulses.

How to proceed

With a small sip in such a way as to swallow as little air as possible. Taste the wine with your whole palate, not just your tongue, so that as well as the flavour, of course, you can appreciate the consistency and viscosity, and keep the wine in your mouth for as long as you need. Wait a few seconds to appreciate the after-taste.

If you want to try out our wine tasting tips, our winery is happy to welcome you on a tasting tour, accompanied by professional sommeliers.

WINE TASTING: HOW TO DO IT

PRIVACY POLICY

Banfi S.r.l. places fundamental importance on your personal privacy. Banfi S.r.l. takes all steps to protect the personal information of the users. Optimal service is possible when we can assure that the user is aware of and understands the norms and criteria adopted for our privacy policy. The criteria used by Banfi S.r.l. regarding personal information are as follows:
 
Why personal information is collected?
Banfi S.r.l. gathers and uses personal information of the users to guarantee optimal service and to facilitate access to a broad range of products and services. Furthermore, the personal information is used to keep every user updated on new offerings and other information that Banfi S.r.l. believe may be useful to the user. Furthermore, personal information could be used to contact the user to invite the user to participate in eventual market research that allows us to both evaluate the level of user satisfaction and to develop superior products.
 
How personal information is collected
Information about our users is collected in different ways. For example, information that can be used to contact the user can be requested when that person writes to Banfi S.r.l., telephones to ask about a service, or participates in an online poll. Furthermore, when a person subscribes to the internet service of Banfi S.r.l. or to the mailing list, they provide information that is then collected and filed within a secure database.
 
When personal information is revealed
It can become necessary to reveal personal data of the client by law or in the course of legal proceedings or other situations in the public interest.
 
How personal information is protected
Banfi S.r.l. protects the security of information sent by people using physical, electronic and managerial methods. Banfi S.r.l. invites its users to take the necessary steps to protect their personal data on the Internet. Banfi S.r.l. suggests that users often change their password, using a combination of letters and numbers, and relying solely on secure browsers.

Access to personal information
The user can, at any time, access information regarding themselves. To review and update personal information that Banfi S.r.l. has gathered, please contact banfi@banfi.it.
 
Collection of personal information
It is possible to navigate the websites of Banfi S.r.l. anonymously. In any case, the browser automatically comunicates the type of computer and operating system used.

Like many other websites, Banfi S.r.l. uses "cookie" technology. The first time a user connects to the site, their cookies identify the browser with a random and unique number. The cookies used do not reveal any information of a personal nature to the user, including first names that could be used to welcome the user on their next visit. The cookies help us understand what part of the website the users visit more frequently, which are the paths used by the clients, and how long they remain connected. The cookies are used to study the traffic patterns of the Banfi S.r.l. websites in order to improve their functionality.