Would you like to know how to taste wine, understand what the word tannin means or just appreciate what you have in your glass? Then don't hesitate any longer and find an oenology and wine tasting course to take your first steps in this fantastic world.
A thousand-year-old drink that appeared in the Mediterranean basin, wine then spread to the whole of the old continent before reaching the rest of the world. Today, it is the drink of choice for many consumers around the world. There are more and more passionate people, wine tasting clubs, professional reconversions where people who were in finance have become wine makers. This sensory activity does not require any particular knowledge, it simply requires the desire to learn and to taste.
Tasting in the literal sense of the term is the fact of consuming wine by making a sensory and gustatory analysis of it through the four senses in our possession:
- Sight
- The sense of smell
- Touch
- The taste
Sight through the eye is the first step of the tasting. We study the color of a wine, its clarity and fluidity. We can observe its alcohol and sugar content, look at the reflections of its dress and estimate the age of a wine.
Smell, the second stage where the nose comes into play, is the phase where we begin to describe our sensations by putting words to what we feel. We describe if the nose is open (aromas are released) or if it is closed (no aroma is felt).
The touch is the phase when the wine is in the mouth. We feel the juice against the walls of the mouth and we can describe the wine on its consistency.
The taste is the phase where we perceive the aromas of the wine. This is called retro-olfaction. It is the physiological mechanism by which the olfactory system identifies the aromas of the wine present in our mouths thanks to the database of taste recorded in the brain.
The goal of an introduction to wine tasting is above all that people enjoy tasting wine. It is never easy for most people to express themselves in public, and even less so on a subject they do not master. So our goal is to make people feel comfortable and have a good time.
There is always a welcoming phase where we introduce the company and who we are. We explain in detail what we are going to talk about during this initiation, the objectives to be reached and the means to achieve them.
During this initiation, in order to relax the atmosphere and to avoid the impression of being in a classroom, we play sensory games to discover our senses. One on retro-olfaction and the other on olfactory analysis.
Then comes the moment of tasting. In order to accompany the participants in their first steps as tasters, the wines are tasted and commented by the Alfavin.ch teams in order to show how a tasting takes place, which words are used and which analysis of the wine is made according to its structure, its aromas, etc.
New to wine? Wine tasting initiations are the gateway to this fabulous world. They are for anyone who wants to learn how to taste wine. Whether you are alone, a group of friends or a company, you are all welcome. A true moment of sharing and exchange, these initiations have been designed so that everyone feels at ease in our tasting room and takes pleasure during this course.
If you wish to continue reading and learn more about wine, please visit our blog to read our article on Tasting Tips - alfavin.ch, as well as other articles focused on specific themes:
10 things to know about Italian wines - alfavin.ch
All you need to know about Italian wine appellations - alfavin.ch
Which Spanish wine for which dish? Alfavin.ch gives you its ideas! - alfavin.ch
And many more...
