22 Chapter 2 Taste Basics and the Basics of Wine Evaluation
4.The host will taste the wine and either approve it or disapprove it. Generally, the host will
approve the wine unless there are faults present.
5.Once the wine has been approved, you will pour a glass for each of the other guests before
finishing with the host’s glass. The guest that is served first is the most senior woman at the
table; then the other women are served, followed by the men, and finally the host (or yourself
if you are the host and pouring wine).
6.The wineglasses should not be filled more than one-third to one-half full for two reasons.
First, of course, it is to allow the guests to be able to swirl and sniff effectively. The second
reason is to maintain a constant temperature in each glass. Wine warms up very rapidly in such
a small container, and part of the wine server’s job is to make sure the guests have enough wine
to drink (without pressuring them) as well as to top off wineglasses to maintain proper drinking
temperature.To further ensure proper wine service, review the suggested serving temperatures in Table 2.1.
SENSORY EVALUATION
Sensory evaluation is defined as a systematic approach used to induce, quantify, analyze,
and assess the responses to products based on what is perceived through the senses of sight,
smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Our senses are remarkable tools for analyzing the many
environmental stimuli we come into contact with on a daily basis. These senses also provide
analytical tools for evaluating food and wine.Categories of Testing Two main categories of testing are used in the basic sen-
sory evaluation process. Affective testing is used to determine general consumer reactions
related to product quality and potential consumer acceptance of a product. For findings to
be valid, this type of testing requires a relatively large number of individuals (seventy-five
or more) who are representative of the target population segment. The affective testing
process requires little or no preliminary training of the individuals involved. There are three
common types of affective testing: paired comparison (e.g., comparing Pepsi and Coke),
ranking (rank in order of preference), and rating (on a scale from ‘‘like extremely’’ to ‘‘dislike
extremely’’).
A second type of testing approach is analytical testing. This sensory testing approach
is used to discover detectable differences between or among samples. It can also be used to
learn the nature of any differences. Analytical testing requires a smaller group (usually twelve
to twenty individuals), and each participant must have a substantial level of training. The
trained panelists assess differences in color, odor, taste, texture, and other aspects of quality.Using Your Senses as an Analytic Tool Our senses have a keen ability
to detect differences in a variety of stimuli in the environment. To focus our senses for wine
and food evaluation, we need to (re)learn to smell and taste. The basics of wine evaluation
provide tools to assist in this learning or relearning process. The basics of the wine evaluation
process, tasting session considerations, sample evaluation sheets, and general tasting instruc-
tions are discussed in the following sections. The exercises at the end of the chapter assist
in this learning process through palate mapping and tasting the major wine varietals.BASICS OF WINE EVALUATION
Wine tasting is ‘‘the interpretation of the sum of sensations perceived either simulta-
neously or successively.’’^1 While the aim of an analytical evaluation of wine is to determine