Teaching the palate to taste wine’s complexities

Recently, I conducted a wine tasting for a group of novice wine drinkers who were clear that they wanted a “wine for dummies” style class that would give them the foundation to understand what they liked and didn’t like about wines they would try during their everyday life.

While the wine tastings I organize typically center on a theme, say, the wines of Italy or France, I chose a different tack for this group. I led them through a palate training workshop, and if you ever wished you had the tools to better talk about what you like about wine, you’d probably enjoy it yourself.

I’ve given variations of this workshop to people in the wine industry who are just beginning their studies toward professional certifications. I think it does a great job of highlighting four key elements in a wine’s structure: acidity, alcohol, sweetness and tannins.

To prepare, you’ll need a bottle or two of red wine (I think a simple Cotes du Rhone always works well here) and five wine glasses. You’ll also need vodka, a lemon, black tea and some sugar.

Pour your wine into the five glasses, then add vodka into one glass (a teaspoon is usually enough), squeeze the lemon juice into another, pour the sugar into a third glass and let your tea steep in its own glass of wine for four to five minutes. You’ll have one delicious glass of wine and four kind-of-icky but still educational glasses at the end of the setup process.

As you begin to taste through the wines, notice how they differ from your unadulterated glass. In the glass with tea, how do the tannins feel in your mouth? Can you taste a heightened astringency? The tea’s natural tannins have now thrown the wine off balance, making its tannins come to the forefront.

For the glass with the lemon juice, notice if specific parts of your mouth react differently from your “control” glass of wine. Does the wine seem lighter? More or less bitter? The added acidity of the lemon juice will likely make the wine taste more bitter and will make your mouth water and pucker.

What do you notice when you try the glass with vodka in it? How does the extra alcohol change the wine’s finish after you swallow? Does the wine feel hotter or spicier? The increase in alcohol should make the wine feel bolder on your palate, and you should notice the stinging heat of too much alcohol.

Does the wine with sugar in it taste fruitier than the glass without? Do you feel any sensations in your mouth or on your tongue? Look for signs that the wine feels more viscous in your mouth, and you’ll likely be able to feel the tingle of sugar on the tip of your tongue.

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, but they’ll lead you to a better understanding of what you’re drinking. This tasting isn’t about picking out individual flavors or aromas. Instead, concentrate on what your mouth is experiencing and focus on the tactile reactions to the different wines.