Have you ever experienced going to an event where wines are served and you’re not really sure how to look like you’re confident with holding the wine glass? And even if you finally become confident with how you hold the wine glass, you are then faced with the challenge of drinking like a pro? Why do people swirl the glass and sniff the wine? What difference does it make? Is that a requirement or something? Fret not, here’re a few wine tasting tips. 

1. Hold the wine glass by the stem, not by its bowl. In my years of serving wines, I’ve probably seen hundreds of people holding a wine glass by the bowl. It’s not that bad but doing this exposes the wine to your fingers’ temperature. Best is to hold a wine glass by its stem. It reduces exposure of wine to heat and it also makes you look like a pro. Classy and elegant. 
2. Swirl the wine in your glass, be careful not to spill. Swirling allows the wine to release aromas. Just give your glass a gentle swirl. After you’ve done this a few times, you’ll get the hang of wine glass swirling. 
3. Sniff the wine. It’s totally fine to put your nose inside the glass. Learning to appreciate wine aromas is learning how to appreciate the character of the wine. Don’t panic if your friend smells something else than what you smell. Wine aromas can be completely subjective. Your friend might smell flowers while you smell fruits. It’s fine. The important thing is whether you like the aromas or not. 
4. Look at the color of the wine. You can hold your glass higher to get some light. The colour of the wine can tell you a lot of things about what you’re drinking or tasting. Some white wines might be lighter than others; it will roughly give you an idea about the taste. Some red wines are very dark while types like pinot noir might have lighter red colour than merlot and shiraz.   
5. Sip the wine. Take note: SIP not gulp. Sipping gives you more chance to appreciate the taste. If you are willing to expand your tasting skills, you can explore inhaling air through your mouth while the wine is inside. This can be tricky but perfecting this skill can give you significant difference in appreciating wines. 
6. Take note of the aftertaste. This is where you’ll notice if a wine has strong or light tannins. Tannins are most commonly present in red wine. It is the textural element that makes wine taste dry. Observe your tongue when you taste red wines, it’s that ‘dry’ feeling or taste when you swallow wine. Some grapes have higher tannins while some have lower. 
7. Swirl, sniff then sip again. This will allow you to rediscover the aromas and the taste for another time. 
8. Be familiar with basic wine terms. Looking and sounding like a pro need a bit of research. Some people might talk to you about nose, legs, fermentation, vintage, corked wine, acidity and other terms. Take a few minutes to read about some wine terms before you attend a gathering where wine will be served. If you’re armed with some wine knowledge, you’ll relate to what people are talking about and maybe even add some comments that make you look and sound like a pro!

For more information, visit Wine Talk website.

About Author JQ Lee talks and writes for a living. That's because she loves sharing interesting things to the world. With a Degree in Communication and Media Management, this petite Gen-Y will not stop chasing her passion in writing and broadcasting. She dreams to host a travel show and be a radio announcer someday, hopefully soon. Stalk this wacky fair Asian girl at www.jqtalks.com, Instagram and Twitter (@jqleejq)