The first step in learning to taste wine, before you ever take a sip, your eyes can already tell you a great deal about what's in the glass.
Why Look at a Wine?
Examining a wine before tasting helps you spot faults, check it's clear and not cloudy, and, if you're tasting blind, gather clues about the grape variety and age. Fill the glass a third of the way, then tilt it at a 45-degree angle so you can see the surface from the centre body all the way to the edge, known as the rim.
Red Wine
A darker, more intense colour can indicate a young wine or a thick-skinned grape. Red wine loses colour with age, gradually shifting from deep red to red brick and eventually brown. Tilt the glass and you can observe this change from the centre to the rim, with a very old wine, the edge may appear almost clear.
White Wine
With white wine, both the grape variety and the winemaking process affect colour. An Australian oaked Chardonnay typically shows a deep golden yellow, while a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc gives a pale lemon with a hint of green. White wine gains colour with age, deepening and eventually taking on a brown tinge.
Who would have thought a wine's colour could tell you so much, before you've even lifted it to your lips?
