Call ahead

While many local wineries accept drop in visitors, it’s always best to call ahead if you have a larger group and book a reservation. This allows the winery to let you know if they have any policies that you might not be aware of and ensures that you’ll have a good visit. If a winery is booked at a particular time, you may not get the level of educational service that you’d like, and quite honestly, most tasting room staff know the wines on site and can provide you with a wealth of information.

Ask questions

Most tasting room staff will be happy to share insights regarding the wines that they’re pouring—as well as their favorite(s). Many have been into the production facility or even the vineyards and can tell you about harvest or what it’s like during bottling.

Our staff have hand-picked grapes, worked on the bottling line and tasted right out of the barrel and/or tanks. They’ve become a part of our family and can speak with pride regarding a particular varietal or vintage.

Tasting conditions

Here’s where you’ll gain the most from your wine tasting experience if you set the stage for success. Pick a table or location where you can concentrate and there aren’t any competing aromas. *Don’t wear perfume or cologne. Perfumes, food smells, etc., will hamper your ability to get a good sense of what the wine’s aroma is, and isn’t. Likewise, make sure that your glass is clean. If you’re sampling more than one wine, you need to condition your glass by giving it a quick rinse with wine, not water, swirling a small amount around to cover all sides of
the glass.

Color

Hold your glass up to the light and notice the color. A wine that looks clear and brilliant is a good sign. A white wine that looks tawny or has a tinge of brown may be older, not necessarily bad, but something that you should be aware of before you purchase a case. White wines range in color from pale yellow [or straw] to light gold to a deep gold.

Smell

Experienced wine drinkers will tell you to swirl the wine around in the glass before taking a sniff. I enjoy taking a sniff before the swirl. Each wine has a distinct aroma, and that aroma is specific to not only the varietal, but the wine in your glass. Just hover over the glass and take a short sniff. Think about what flavors you smell based upon your knowledge of what you’re familiar with—citrus [lemon, lime, orange], grass [herbs], grapefruit, stone fruit [peach, pear, nectarine, apricot, apple], tropical fruit [pineapple, mango, kiwi, passion fruit], honey, minerality [wet earth, wet asphalt], or floral [flower smells from light white flowers to roses].

Now swirl the wine and take additional short sniffs as your nose hovers over the glass. You’ll notice a difference in that first sniff and the sniff that you take after you swirl the wine in the glass. Swirling the wine will release different aroma compounds found within that wine. These compounds are so small that they literally float on evaporating alcohol into our noses. The aroma is a large part of wine enjoyment, don’t believe me, plug your nose and taste the wine. All the aromas of fruit will disappear and the true taste [sour, bitter, sweet, and salty], as well as the texture of the wine will remain in isolation from the aromas. Not the same experience.

Taste

Take a small sip, not a large swallow, of wine into your mouth and try sucking on it as if you’re pulling it through a straw. This aerates the wine and circulates it throughout your mouth.

You’ll get a better sense of the wine as will the taste buds on your tongue. Now you’re using your taste to determine if the wine is balanced, complex, evolved and complete. A balanced wine should have an even mix of flavors.

If a wine is too sour, too sugary, too astringent, too hot [alcoholic], too bitter, or too flabby [lack of acid], then it’s not a well-balanced wine. And when you hear folks talking about complexity, these are the wines that have layers. They change with each sip. As you sip, you’ll notice the taste changes, and you pick up subtle differences; basically, layer upon layer of flavors. Pause and notice how long the flavor lingers in
your mouth after you swallow. As beginners, we tend to move on too quickly to the next sip or the next wine. Don’t. Take the time to sit with the wine, swirl, smell ‘n sip. Don’t hurry a complex wine, otherwise you’ll miss out on the layers of beautiful surprises that await your palate.

Spit

Really, it’s okay. Quite honestly, if you’re serious about tasting the wines, then you can’t drink every taste and get anything from the experience. *Most wineries will have spit buckets available so that you can pour the wine out. Remember, tasting wine is a sensory experience, not a competition. Do it at your own pace, taste what you like, and don’t force it. If you don’t like a particular wine, that’s fine, it’s your unique palate.

Eat

Don’t go to two or three wineries and taste without eating food. Some wineries offer food, others will let you bring outside food into your tasting to elevate your experience. Charcuterie [shar-KOO-ta-REE] boards or boxes are a delicious way to enhance your experience and may include any combination of cured meats, cheese, crackers, nuts, dried or fresh fruits, vegetables and dipping sauces.

Nostra Vita Family Winery offers charcuterie boxes [what we refer to as a grazing box] as well as artisan wood-fired pizzas for our guests. We truly believe that the included food items will serve to enhance the flavors of the wines on our flight menus. We invite you to order one and determine for yourself as to how they enhance your tasting experience. Most important, ask questions and relax, each wine tasting experience is unique. Enjoy yours.