Around Christmas and New Year, the wine starts flowing and many of us become amateur wine tasters at parties and dinners to impress friends and family. We eagerly sniff the wine, pretending to smell sweet undertones, and take a sip before agreeing that it's good wine.
That method has one major flaw, according to Richard Bampfield, the Master of Wine for Lidl. Even more seasoned wine tasters, might be making the same mistake when tasting their wine.
The big mistake we're all making is that we shouldn't be sipping the drink at all, instead we should be taking a "proper mouthful".
Richard told The Mirror: "A perhaps surprising mistake that’s made when tasting wine is simply sipping it! It’s best to take a proper mouthful and ensure that the wine reaches all your taste buds so that there is no loss of flavour."
He added: "When multiple wines are being tasted at once, it is useful to use a form of ‘spittoon’, so to keep a clear head."
This isn't the only mistake we're making either, the Master of Wine explained, our other major faux pas is "serving wine at the wrong temperature".
He said: "It is best to taste white, rosé and sparkling wines at 6 to 8 degrees and reds at 16 to 18 degrees. Reds are often served too warm during a wine tasting, so are then not refreshing."
If your house is nice and toasty for Christmas, you may want to consider turning the temperature down so your red is perfectly refreshing rather than too warm.
Start your wine tasting by smelling the aroma or 'nose' of the wine, Richard advised and added: "Most of a wine’s flavour is actually in what we smell rather than what we taste!"
A recent viral TikTok video encourages wine tasters to pour their red wine on their skin to see if it stains, the TikToker suggests that if it does then the wine is of good quality. Richard believes this is "nonsense" and notes that the depth of colour of a wine does not indicate the quality.
He explained: "As with the TikTok technique that recently went viral, some drinkers think that good red wine has to have a deep colour, which is nonsense! Some grapes, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, do have a deep colour, but others, including the very fine Pinot Noir grape, naturally are paler.
Sometimes the colour of a wine could indicate its age or state of maturity, but Richard says this does not necessarily have anything to do with the quality.
The wine expert added: "Generally, staining from red wine would only occur when a grape is thick-skinned and highly coloured, which is likely the case for the wine shown in the TikTok video. However, there’s not any evidence to suggest this is an accurate technique to check for quality.
"There is no better substitute for testing a wine’s quality than tasting it so why anyone would want to waste a single drop pouring it on their skin is baffling!"
For Richard there is no such thing as a 'bad' wine, just personal preference and taste. He said: "It is not necessarily a bad thing if a wine tastes acidic. That might mean it is a particularly good match for creamy dishes like cheese or fattier foods like cold and hot meats."
Some wines can however be faulty, although this is rare these days. "If a wine is corked, it is likely to have a faulty natural cork and the liquid may smell of damp cardboard," Richard explained. "If a wine is oxidised, it tends to smell similar to sherry – when it isn’t meant to!
"Unfortunately, in both cases, the bottle has to be opened to identify the fault. But the good news is that both are pretty rare."
Richard said: "Finally, take a moment to reflect on the wine’s aftertaste – most of the world’s top wines leave a nice, refreshing aftertaste."
Lidl use Bampfield points to advise on flavours in their wines and make sure you pick one that will go with your meal and suit your personal preferences. Richard explained: "I’ve ranked each wine from 80 to 100; from good, solid wines to great bottles – an easy and helpful way to help find the quality of wine you’re after…without causing stains."
