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The ultimate wine tasting tips for developing your taste buds.

Everyone enjoys a glass of wine from time to time. Whether it’s over a quiet dinner with your significant other or on a night out with friends, we all enjoy trying different wines because each one has its own distinct experience and taste. However, tasting wine is never as simple as merely drinking it. In order to truly appreciate fine wine, you need to train your palate to identify flavours and aromas.

So what is a palate? A palate is essentially a person’s appreciation for taste and flavour, especially when it’s in regards to a sophisticated food or drink. Your palate is composed of a series of taste buds, your tongue, the interior of your mouth and your nose, which is perhaps the most important sensor of all. In order to develop a good wine palate, you need to pay close attention to your senses. This can make a blind tasting of wine all that more fun.

There are many things you can do to improve your tasting skills. Here we’ll be discussing, in particular, tasting notes for wine. Get your notebook ready or save this for future reference because we’ll be going over everything you need to know about drinking wine like a pro!

Perfecting Your Wine Palate 101: 6 Steps On How To Taste Wine

Very few wines tend to appeal to everyone, which makes it essential for individuals to figure out which flavour they prefer. These 6 steps will help you whether you’re attending a local tasting group with friends or visiting your favourite local wine bar for dinner.

Step 1: Don’t Rush The Experience

Have you ever quickly eaten your favourite chocolate bar, only to realize you never got a chance to appreciate the true flavour? Like dessert, wines should always be consumed with patience and appreciation for taste. Slow savouring is how your senses take over, allowing you to improve your ability to taste wine. Whether it’s red wine, white wine, or rose, you should take the opportunity to determine the nuances of the drink and that will help you better understand what wine ranges you prefer. You’ll begin asking yourself, “Is this going to be a riper wine, a high alcohol wine or one with a sweet citrus quality?”. It’s important to recognize that your brain makes better analytical decisions when it can slow down and not rush through the process.

Step 2: Look & Smell Before You Taste

Although the look of wine is not as important as the smell, both senses play an important role in our perception of wine tastes. For example, your sight helps to determine the difference between white, rose and red wines and your nose is primarily responsible for picking up wine’s flavours. Without the other two senses, your mouth won’t be able to taste anything other than wine texture. Wine aromas fall into the air by swirling wine. To get your wine taste balanced, it is crucial to swirl the substance before doing anything else. When you look and smell wine prior to it touching your lips, it changes how the brain will process the flavour.

Step 3: Visualize & Isolate The Wine’s Primary Aromas

Did you know that your tongue can only differentiate between sweet, salty, sour and bitter? In order to get the full scope of wine’s flavours, one truly needs to start smelling wine. The scent helps us to become invigorated with both primary and secondary aromas, which you’ll soon begin to be able to single out. Many prefer a blind taste because it allows them to identify flavours of fortified wines using their imagination. By visualizing in the mind the types of wine grapes and fresh fruit added to the winemaking techniques, you’re able to isolate flavours such as grape sugar or tropical fruits. When you’ve trained your palate well, you’ll know the type of wine it is as soon as you smell it. For example, pinot noir has an aroma reminiscent of bacon while high acid wines, which include white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, makes wine aromas more floral and sweet.

Step 4: Identify Flavours & Move On

Higher alcohol wines like red wines tend to have a stronger aroma, and this is mostly due to the climate and grape type used to produce the substance. When tasting reds, try not to pay too much attention to the grape sugars retained. Whether it is aging wine or youthful wine, we often get so caught up in the fermentation process, but developing your wine palate requires so much more than that. Once you identify a flavour, ask yourself “what else do I notice about the wines range?”. The nuances, as opposed to the residual sugar, are what make wines unique and distinct.

Step 5: Pay Attention To Wine Textures & Body

Lastly, when you taste wine, you’ll want to be sure to pay attention to the wine’s body and texture. What does this mean exactly? The texture of wines is what gives them body. For example, sweet table wines like rose offer a crispy texture on the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Grape tannins, which provide wines with a sense of weight and structure, will help you to determine the type of wine it is as well. Be aware of where the grape tannin hits your mouth and the type of feeling you experience.

A Wine Palate Is Not Perfected Overnight

The 6 steps mentioned above are a great way to begin developing your wine palate and tasting abilities. However, don’t be discouraged if this doesn’t occur right away. Sometimes it can take multiple attempts before you’re able to accurately identify flavours and aromas. The good news is, it’s never too late to start!

Visit The Hare Wine Co. For An Exclusive Wine Tasting Experience

Are you interested in developing your palate? The Hare Wine Co. is a great place to get started. We offer tasting options, as well as private patio events that offer the opportunity to wander the grounds of our stunning Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyards. Our club members enjoy a marvellous atmosphere, as well as the opportunity to book a full wine and charcuterie pairing.

Contact us today to learn more!

There has never been a better time to support small businesses, including your favourite local wineries.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns occurring all over the world, there has never been a more important time than now to support small business owners. Many have been forced to close their doors permanently, while others have had to operate under restrictions and regulations that had a lasting impact on their business.

Now that the summer season is in full force, it’s a great opportunity to get out and support local wineries. Wine is more just a beverage – it’s an experience. Whether that means going to wine tastings with your girlfriends, sharing a bottle of wine at one of your favourite restaurants or just enjoying a glass with your significant other on a quiet night in, wine has always been there for us when we needed it most. Winemakers have both, directly and indirectly, provided us with memorable experiences and a sense of community and we should reciprocate those efforts.

Ontario is home to many wonderful estates and vineyards, including the beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries. And it’s time we get out again and explore everything they have to offer.

The Benefits Of Supporting The Local Wine Industry

Over the last year, many people have realized the importance of helping local businesses thrive. While most wineries in Ontario benefit from consumers purchasing their wines or visiting their vineyards, customers also gain a lot from the experience itself. Here are some of the most important benefits that may convince a consumer to buy from a local winery:

Access To Expertise

How many times have you walked into wine shops and needed advice on which bottle to buy for a specific occasion? When buying local, you have the opportunity to speak with people who work in the vineyard and know the wines better than anyone else. These industry-leading experts can offer you advice, share knowledge on how wine is made in the early stages and even provide recommendations on which wines pair well with your favourite food. Makers of wine are dedicated to their craft, so it’s important to honour that work by coming directly to them. Sales help keep their businesses afloat, but the powerful insight they offer to the market is unmatched.

Competitive Pricing

Did you know that purchasing directly from your local winery is often more cost-effective than shopping at a grocery or liquor store? This is because you’re buying directly from the source. Wineries overseas have to account for international shipping feeds, as well as storage fees with partners who agree to sell their product. All of this results in an increase in pricing, which could be avoided if you chose to purchase wine that was made locally by small producers. When you support your local winery, you’ll get a great product, without having to spend an exuberant amount of money.

Sense Of Community

It’s no secret that organizations that appeal to the masses don’t often develop individual relationships with their customers. For example, franchised restaurants won’t often have the same people coming in every weekend for a meal. However, this occurs frequently with small diners. A small business has the ability to create a sense of community for its audience. In this case, many wineries throughout Ontario offer wine tasting experiences or specialized dinners at estate restaurants. Local wines strengthen community ties, especially when paired with local meats and produce. This helps to develop and encourage local culture. Wineries are a great place to meet new people and immerse yourself in the community culture. This can result in long-lasting and meaningful friendships for years to come.

Staying Healthy

One of the most overlooked aspects of supporting a local winery is the overall health benefits. While many might not equate the idea of wine to health, it is still really important to know where your wines come from. When you support local producers, you have the unique privilege of asking how they craft wine and what ingredients are used. This gives you the opportunity to avoid any brand that uses additives and isn’t made with quality grapes. Whether it’s food or wine, you should always do research on the region of production so that you can make the best choice for your health. Always prioritize wineries that produce their product with quality ingredients – which is what you will find with most vineyards in your local community.

Environmental Perks

Sustainability has become essential for businesses all around the world. Not only are small-scale wine and food producers good for communities, but they are also good for the environment. When you support local wineries, you’re also enabling small farms to practice growing organic food. This not only provides consumers with better quality wines, but it also helps to reduce harm to the environment. Buying wines locally essentially eliminates the need for the transportation of goods. This reduces our individual carbon footprints and has an overall positive impact on the environment.

How You Can Help Your Local Producers

So now that we understand why we should support local vineyards, it is also important to discuss how we can do so. As mentioned above, Ontario is home to some of the most spectacular wineries in the world.

1. Join A Wine Club At One Of Your Local Wineries

A lot of participating wineries have wine clubs that allow them to take part in exclusive events and offer premium delivery options. This makes buying local simple, yet fun.

2. Attend Wine Tastings With Friends And Family

Wine tastings are a great opportunity to explore multiple wineries in the region. Many Niagara wineries even sell bottles at these events or offer delivery services and information.

3. Place A Curbside Pickup Order Or Ask For Home Delivery

Skip the line at the wine shops and go directly to the source. Many wineries offer delivery services, as well as curbside pick-up. You’ll get a great rate and save the winery from having to pay transportation costs.

4. Order Local Wines From Restaurant Menus

If you’re out to dinner, try selecting a local wine from the menu. Not only can this help a winery with sales, but it can also encourage restaurants to offer more selection from that brand if they see the value.

5. Bring Awareness To Your Favourite Winery By Posting On Social Media

Having a strong social media presence helps any organization in this day and age. If you visit a winery, be sure to snap some pictures and share them with your following. This might increase sales and visitors for your favourite winemaker.

Join The Hare Wine Co‘s Exclusive Wine Club

Take part in private patio events and wander the grounds of our stunning Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyards. Our club allows you to enjoy the marvellous atmosphere, as well as the opportunity to book a full wine and charcuterie pairing. Contact us to learn more!