How to Taste Wine Like a Sommelier

Check for age

An older, old-world red appears more rustic-red, orange, sometimes opaque next to a younger new-world red, which almost always shows more purple. The older the wine, the more variation you’ll find between the rim and the centre of the glass. Whites acquire mustard and dark-yellow hues with age — just make sure they aren’t going brown, which can mean the wine has expired.

Check for alcohol & sugar

Those “tears of wine” — legs — dripping down the glass are your first read: the more alcohol, the longer and more abundant the legs; the more residual sugar, the slower they fall. (More on this in the next step.)

Check for climate, clarity & grape

• Cooler climates run lighter and lower in alcohol — green-straw rims on whites, thinner ruby/garnet on reds.
• Clear with little sediment usually means filtered; cloudy could be unfiltered — or a problem you’ll catch on the nose.
• Colour hints at grape: Napa Cab runs rich ruby; Malbec deep purple-black; Merlot more translucent, orange at the rim; Grenache and Pinot Noir thinner.

Can’t nail all of it? That’s fine — most pros need every step before they’ll commit. What matters is you made an honest attempt.

Check for flaws

The most common is a “corked” bottle — cork taint, from the compound TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole). The result is an unmistakable moldy, wet-basement smell. I once had a Primitivo that was corked and it smelled like decaying fish. Luckily it hits only roughly 1 in 100 bottles — and synthetic corks and screwcaps are making it rarer. Other flaws: over-oxidation (burnt, rustic metal) and volatile acidity (sharp vinegar).

Check for fruit

• Whites — tree (apple, pear), citrus, tropical, stone (peach, apricot).
• Reds — red fruit (cherry, raspberry, cranberry), black fruit (blackberry, cassis), and in older wines dried fruit (raisin, fig, prune).

These aren’t the only options. Tasting is personal — if you’ve never smelled a boysenberry, you can’t exactly call it out. So taste against what you do know, and make a habit of smelling everything: the fruit bowl, the spice rack, a walk in the woods. Your nose learns faster than you’d think.

Then flowers & spice, earth, and oak

Secondary floral and herbaceous notes ride alongside the fruit. Old-world wines from places like Bordeaux often carry mineral (flint, limestone, clay) and earth (forest floor, mushroom). The longer a wine’s aged in oak, the more caramel, vanilla, mocha and smoke you’ll find.

Body — the one you’ll master first

Put it on a scale: Pinot Noir is typically light-bodied, Merlot more medium, Cabernet Sauvignon full. Call it the “weight” of the wine. It’s the first thing that clicks once you start paying attention.

Tannin vs. acidity — don’t confuse them

Tannins don’t really have a flavor — they react with the proteins in your mouth and create an astringent, drying grip (think stewed tea). Acidity is flavor-based and makes you salivate. Easy rule: acid is saliva-encouraging; tannin is a sensation of astringency.

Complexity & balance

A wine can be balanced with only a few flavors. Complexity is how many nuances dance across your tongue start to finish. Balanced and complex is a masterpiece.