07 · Taste Beginner Guide

How to taste wine.

Q: Do I need to spit when tasting wine?

Spitting is standard practice at professional tastings and is how people taste many wines and remain clear-headed. At a casual tasting of two or three wines, swallowing is perfectly normal. If you are tasting eight or more wines, spitting is advisable. The Court of Master Sommeliers and WSET both include spitting as standard technique in their courses.

Q: What is the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting?

The WSET SAT is a structured framework for assessing wine quality, covering appearance, nose and palate in a defined sequence with defined descriptors (e.g. low/medium/high for acidity). It is the standard tasting framework taught in WSET Level 2 and above. The method on this page is a simplified version aligned with the same principles. The Glossary defines all the tasting terms used.

Q: Why does the same wine taste different on different days?

Several factors change how wine tastes: temperature (a red served too warm tastes alcoholic and flat), glassware (a wide bowl releases more aroma), whether you have just eaten or drunk something strongly flavoured, and individual sensitivity variation. Time also matters: a wine opened 30 minutes before serving often shows more than one poured immediately. Read more in Serving wine step by step.

Q: What does "high acidity" actually feel like?

Acidity in wine triggers salivation — the mouth-watering sensation along the sides of the tongue and under the jaw. Think of biting a lemon. High-acid wines like Chablis or Riesling feel lively and sharp; low-acid wines feel softer and broader. Acidity also acts as a preservative and is why high-acid white wines age well. See the Glossary entry for acidity and the main grape varieties guide for how variety affects acidity levels.

Q: How do I write a tasting note?

Work through the five layers in order: sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body. Then add the most prominent aromas, the finish length and an overall impression. Keep it short — two or three sentences is enough for most purposes. The Tasting note in five lines checklist is a useful template. Jancis Robinson publishes extensive guidance on tasting note language.

Q: How do you taste wine like a sommelier?

Professional sommeliers use a systematic deductive approach: appearance (colour depth, rim variation) narrows the variety and age; nose (primary, secondary, tertiary aromas) narrows the origin and winemaking; palate (sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, finish) confirms structure and quality. The goal is to describe the wine objectively before evaluating it. This is the Court of Master Sommeliers deductive method — the same systematic approach taught in WSET Level 3 and 4. To build the vocabulary you need to name what you smell, see the wine vocabulary guide.

Q: What does "high acidity" actually feel like in wine?

Acidity in wine triggers salivation — a mouth-watering sensation along the sides of the tongue and under the jaw. Think of biting a lemon. High-acid wines like Chablis, Riesling or Champagne feel lively and sharp on the palate; low-acid wines feel broader and rounder. Acidity also acts as a natural preservative and is why high-acid white wines age well over decades. It is one of the five structural components to assess when tasting. See the acidity glossary entry for the full explanation.

Q: What are the main wine aroma families to learn?

Wine aromas are grouped into three families. Primary aromas come from the grape variety itself: fruit (citrus, stone fruit, tropical, red berry, dark berry), floral (blossom, violet, rose) and herbaceous (grass, bell pepper, eucalyptus). Secondary aromas come from the fermentation process: bread, cheese rind, yeast, butter (from malolactic fermentation). Tertiary aromas develop during ageing in bottle or barrel: earth, leather, mushroom, tobacco, vanilla, toast, dried fruit. Learning to identify which family an aroma belongs to tells you about the grape, the winemaking and the age of the wine — the three pillars of any tasting assessment. The WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting provides the standard framework for categorising aromas by family.

Q: How do you describe wine mouthfeel and wine body?

Wine mouthfeel describes the textural sensation of wine on the palate — it encompasses body, tannin grip, acidity sharpness and alcohol warmth. Wine body is the overall weight: light body feels like skimmed milk, medium body like whole milk, and full body like double cream. Body is influenced by alcohol level, residual sugar, glycerol and extract. To assess mouthfeel, take a sip and focus on weight (light to full), texture (smooth, velvety, grippy, rough), and the wine finish — how long the flavours persist after swallowing. A short finish fades in seconds; a long finish in a complex wine can persist for 30 seconds or more. The GuildSomm tasting resources cover mouthfeel assessment in detail.

Q: What are tannins in wine and what do they mean in wine tasting?

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds found in grape skins, seeds and oak barrels. In a tasting context they create a drying, grippy or astringent sensation on the gums and inner cheeks — the feeling you get from strong tea or biting into a grape pip. When assessing wine, tannin level is described as low, medium or high, and texture as fine (silky, refined) or coarse (grippy, rough). Low-tannin varieties include Pinot Noir and Gamay; high-tannin varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. Tannins also indicate ageing potential — high-tannin wines with good fruit can cellar for decades. See the tannin glossary entry.

Tasting wine well is a learnable skill, not a talent. Four steps — look, smell, taste, conclude — apply to every wine in every glass. The method here is aligned with the systematic approach taught in WSET and Court of Master Sommeliers courses.

01 Look

Observe the colour and clarity

Tilt the glass against a white background and look at the rim. Reds fade from purple (young) toward garnet and brick (age). Whites deepen from pale straw toward gold and amber.
Clarity: most commercial wine is clear. Slight haziness in an unfiltered natural wine is normal; significant cloudiness in a filtered wine may indicate a fault.
Viscosity: swirl and watch the legs (tears) run down the glass. Thick, slow legs indicate higher alcohol or residual sugar — not quality.

02 Smell

Nose the wine in two passes

First pass — still glass: take a quick smell before swirling to catch the most delicate aromas.
Second pass — after swirling: swirling releases volatile compounds. Nose for 3–5 seconds. Identify primary aromas (fruit, floral, herbaceous — from the grape), secondary aromas (bread, cheese, yeast — from fermentation) and tertiary aromas (earth, leather, toast, vanilla — from ageing).
If the wine smells of damp cardboard or a wet dog, it may be cork-tainted (TCA). A vinegar smell suggests excessive volatile acidity.

03 Taste

Assess the five layers on the palate

Take a sip and draw a little air in over the wine (a gentle slurp). Work through each layer in order.
Sweetness: felt first on the tip of the tongue. Dry, off-dry, medium, sweet or luscious?
Acidity: the mouth-watering sensation along the sides of the tongue. Low, medium or high?
Tannin (red wines): drying and gripping across the gums. Low, medium or high? Fine or coarse?
Alcohol: warmth at the back of the throat. Low (below 11%), medium (11–13.9%), high (14%+)?
Body: the overall weight in the mouth — light, medium or full.

04 Conclude

Judge quality and describe the finish

Finish: how long do the flavours persist after you swallow? A short finish is a few seconds; a long finish (often called "length") may persist for 20–40 seconds in a complex wine.
Balance: do sweetness, acidity, tannin and alcohol feel proportionate? Imbalance — sharp acidity, harsh tannin or burning alcohol — is a quality indicator to note.
Complexity: do multiple layers of aroma and flavour reveal themselves, or is the wine one-dimensional?
Overall impression: would you pour a second glass?

The five layers

What to look for in the glass.

Each layer gives you a word to describe the wine. Strung together, those five words are a tasting note. Unfamiliar terms are in the Glossary.

Sweetness

Tip of the tongue

Dry · Off-dry · Medium · Sweet · Luscious

Acidity

Sides of the tongue, salivation

Low · Medium · High

Tannin

Gums and inner cheeks (red wines)

Low · Medium · High; Fine or coarse

Alcohol

Warmth at the back of the throat

Low (<11%) · Medium (11–13.9%) · High (14%+)

Body

Overall weight in the mouth

Light · Medium · Full

Understanding wine tasting for beginners

Learning how to taste wine is one of the most rewarding skills any wine enthusiast can develop. The wine tasting steps outlined above — look, smell, taste, conclude — form the foundation of every structured tasting, from casual home sessions to professional WSET examinations. Wine tasting for beginners does not require an advanced palate or expensive bottles; it requires consistent practice with the same systematic approach. By working through the same four steps with every glass, you train your senses to identify wine aroma families (primary fruit, secondary fermentation characters, tertiary ageing notes), evaluate wine mouthfeel and wine body, and assess the wine finish — the length of time flavours persist after swallowing.

Building a useful wine tasting vocabulary takes time but pays dividends. Descriptors like "high acidity," "medium tannin," "full body" and "long finish" are not subjective opinions — they are structural observations that any taster can learn to make reliably. The Jancis Robinson website and the GuildSomm study resources both offer extensive tasting vocabulary guides. A wine flavor profile — the combination of aroma, taste, texture and finish — is what a tasting note captures. Once you can describe the five layers consistently, you can communicate your wine preferences with precision.

Blind wine tasting — evaluating a wine without seeing the label — is the ultimate test of systematic tasting skill. In a blind tasting, you rely entirely on the four steps to deduce the grape variety, origin and quality. Professional certifications from the WSET and the Court of Master Sommeliers both include blind tasting components. Even at home, covering the bottle label and tasting before looking forces you to engage with the wine on its own terms rather than being influenced by price, region or reputation.

Put tasting into context.

07 · Taste Food pairing principles → 06 · Serve Serving wine step by step → Reference Glossary — every tasting term →

Tasting questions

What people ask.

Do I need to spit when tasting wine?

Spitting is standard practice at professional tastings and is how people taste many wines and remain clear-headed. At a casual tasting of two or three wines, swallowing is perfectly normal. If you are tasting eight or more wines, spitting is advisable. The Court of Master Sommeliers and WSET both include spitting as standard technique in their courses.

What is the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting?

The WSET SAT is a structured framework for assessing wine quality, covering appearance, nose and palate in a defined sequence with defined descriptors (e.g. low/medium/high for acidity). It is the standard tasting framework taught in WSET Level 2 and above. The method on this page is a simplified version aligned with the same principles. The Glossary defines all the tasting terms used.

Why does the same wine taste different on different days?

Several factors change how wine tastes: temperature (a red served too warm tastes alcoholic and flat), glassware (a wide bowl releases more aroma), whether you have just eaten or drunk something strongly flavoured, and individual sensitivity variation. Time also matters: a wine opened 30 minutes before serving often shows more than one poured immediately. Read more in Serving wine step by step.

What does "high acidity" actually feel like?

Acidity in wine triggers salivation — the mouth-watering sensation along the sides of the tongue and under the jaw. Think of biting a lemon. High-acid wines like Chablis or Riesling feel lively and sharp; low-acid wines feel softer and broader. Acidity also acts as a preservative and is why high-acid white wines age well. See the Glossary entry for acidity and the main grape varieties guide for how variety affects acidity levels.

How do I write a tasting note?

Work through the five layers in order: sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body. Then add the most prominent aromas, the finish length and an overall impression. Keep it short — two or three sentences is enough for most purposes. The Tasting note in five lines checklist is a useful template. Jancis Robinson publishes extensive guidance on tasting note language.

How do you taste wine like a sommelier?

Professional sommeliers use a systematic deductive approach: appearance (colour depth, rim variation) narrows the variety and age; nose (primary, secondary, tertiary aromas) narrows the origin and winemaking; palate (sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, finish) confirms structure and quality. The goal is to describe the wine objectively before evaluating it. This is the Court of Master Sommeliers deductive method — the same systematic approach taught in WSET Level 3 and 4. To build the vocabulary you need to name what you smell, see the wine vocabulary guide.

What does "high acidity" actually feel like in wine?

Acidity in wine triggers salivation — a mouth-watering sensation along the sides of the tongue and under the jaw. Think of biting a lemon. High-acid wines like Chablis, Riesling or Champagne feel lively and sharp on the palate; low-acid wines feel broader and rounder. Acidity also acts as a natural preservative and is why high-acid white wines age well over decades. It is one of the five structural components to assess when tasting. See the acidity glossary entry for the full explanation.

What are the main wine aroma families to learn?

Wine aromas are grouped into three families. Primary aromas come from the grape variety itself: fruit (citrus, stone fruit, tropical, red berry, dark berry), floral (blossom, violet, rose) and herbaceous (grass, bell pepper, eucalyptus). Secondary aromas come from the fermentation process: bread, cheese rind, yeast, butter (from malolactic fermentation). Tertiary aromas develop during ageing in bottle or barrel: earth, leather, mushroom, tobacco, vanilla, toast, dried fruit. Learning to identify which family an aroma belongs to tells you about the grape, the winemaking and the age of the wine — the three pillars of any tasting assessment. The WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting provides the standard framework for categorising aromas by family.

How do you describe wine mouthfeel and wine body?

Wine mouthfeel describes the textural sensation of wine on the palate — it encompasses body, tannin grip, acidity sharpness and alcohol warmth. Wine body is the overall weight: light body feels like skimmed milk, medium body like whole milk, and full body like double cream. Body is influenced by alcohol level, residual sugar, glycerol and extract. To assess mouthfeel, take a sip and focus on weight (light to full), texture (smooth, velvety, grippy, rough), and the wine finish — how long the flavours persist after swallowing. A short finish fades in seconds; a long finish in a complex wine can persist for 30 seconds or more. The GuildSomm tasting resources cover mouthfeel assessment in detail.

What are tannins in wine and what do they mean in wine tasting?

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds found in grape skins, seeds and oak barrels. In a tasting context they create a drying, grippy or astringent sensation on the gums and inner cheeks — the feeling you get from strong tea or biting into a grape pip. When assessing wine, tannin level is described as low, medium or high, and texture as fine (silky, refined) or coarse (grippy, rough). Low-tannin varieties include Pinot Noir and Gamay; high-tannin varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. Tannins also indicate ageing potential — high-tannin wines with good fruit can cellar for decades. See the tannin glossary entry.

Sources

WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT): the standard framework adapted for this guide.
Court of Master Sommeliers: deductive tasting method reference.
Jancis Robinson: tasting vocabulary and methodology.
Institute of Masters of Wine: MW examination standards and tasting methodology.
GuildSomm: professional sommelier resources and study guides.
Reviewed 2026-10-14. Corrections via the contact form.