Wine is an alcoholic drink that is of particular interest for several reasons. It is a popular and important beverage that accompanies and enhances a wide range of European and Mediterranean style cuisines, from the simple and traditional to the most sophisticated and complex ones. As an agricultural product, it reflects a variety of the land and conditions under which grapes are grown. As a result, wine is a very varied and, year-on-year, variable product.

Wines differ in color, flavors and age - all these features define their quality and specialty.

The fact that this drink is so complex makes wine tasting an important ceremony, which requires great concentration and mobilization of all your senses. You should try to feel every aroma in the race of wine and appreciate it. Later, you can discuss the results with other persons, taking part in the process, which is also very pleasant.

To do wine tasting correctly you must know some rules. First, take care of choosing a good place. It should be clean, have no strong smells, even flower fragrances and well-lit. Cover a table with a white table cloth and put the wine selection on it. The air should be moist for you to perceive the aromas better.

Before wine tasting you should not eat or drink products that leave a long-lasting flavor in your mouth - like coffee, chocolate, sweets with menthol or liqueur, etc - and smoke cigarettes or cigars.

Start with pouring one third of a glass (a clean and transparent tulip glass with a stem) so that the wine might be turned without spilling over. An important thing is the temperature of the wine. It is different for various types: 7° to 9°Ñ for Champaign, 10° to12°Ñ and 10° to 14°Ñ for light dry white and red wine respectively, 16° to 18°Ñ for strong wine, 18° to 20°Ñ for desert and liqueur wine. Another essential is the order of tasting - light wines go before strong ones, dry before sweet, white before red and young before old.

Take the glass to the level of your eyes to look at its color. Red wines are appreciated against a white sheet of paper. Young wine is strong red, while old wine is red brick. In addition, the evenness of the color and its transparency matter, since they prove a good quality of the product. After that, turn the wine a little and pay attention to the traces it leaves on the glass. The French call them "wine legs". The longer they stay on the glass, the better the wine is. The next stage is smelling. Young wines are characterized by a simple flavor, while old ones have a complex bouquet. It can consist of flower, fruit, herb or spicy aromas. Whereas moldy, acetic and acetone smells are disadvantages of wine.

Now you can drink! Take a mouthful of it and keep it for a while. It gets warm and produces aromas, which you can perceive with the sense of smell. Good wine is the one that has a balanced composition of acidity, sugar content and roughness and harmony of color, smell and taste. If the wine is of high quality, it will leave a long-lasting and varied flavor in your mouth.

Professionals usually spit the portion of wine out after tasting, but amateurs can swallow it.

Wine tasting is not as simple as it may seem. To learn to define the quality of wine and to be able to differentiate between various types of this drink, you should practice it over and over. However, try to keep to the rules and do not abuse.