Many beginners in wine tasting have had this doubt: friends around them can effortlessly describe “aromas of blackberry,” “a vanilla finish,” or even “a leathery texture,” while they themselves can only frown and say—”it’s so sour.” This gap often leads people to wonder if their sense of taste is “impaired.” However, that is not the case. Wine tasting is an art that requires time, practice, and understanding, much like learning music or painting; it is not an innate skill.
This article will guide you through deconstructing this phenomenon step by step, from the scientific basis of taste to training methods for wine appreciation. It aims to help you understand why you might only perceive “sourness and astringency” and how to break through this barrier.
The Science of Taste: Are We Really “Impaired”?
Generally speaking, the human tongue can perceive five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. When tasting wine, the most noticeable are often sourness and bitterness, as grapes naturally contain acidity, while alcohol and tannins bring bitterness. For beginners, these two tastes are the most easily detected, making “sourness and astringency” the most immediate impression.
Furthermore, most of wine’s “flavor” comes from the sense of smell. Olfactory receptors in the nose can capture hundreds of volatile molecules, which constitute the wine’s aroma. When you drink, the aroma enters the nasal cavity through the retronasal passage—this is known as “retronasal olfaction.” However, most beginners focus their attention on the sour and astringent sensations on the tongue, neglecting the importance of smell, and thus struggle to perceive more nuanced layers.
More importantly, the brain needs a “database” to interpret flavors. When you smell a certain aroma, if you haven’t encountered a similar scent before, it’s difficult to recognize. This is why some people can identify “blackcurrant” or “cedar”—they have experienced and memorized these scents in their daily lives.
In summary, beginners perceiving only sourness and astringency in red wine is related to the following reasons:
Lack of Comparison and Reference Points: Tasting wine is like learning a language; without a vocabulary, you cannot express yourself. Beginners lack reference points for taste vocabulary and can only use basic descriptors like “sour” or “astringent.”
Psychological and Environmental Influences: When tasting wine in a tense or unfamiliar environment, the brain tends to focus on strong stimuli (like acidity) and overlook subtle aromas. This is why the sense of taste is often sharper in relaxed settings.
The “Beginner’s Barrier” of Tannins and Acidity: Tannins in red wine create a dry, astringent sensation in the mouth, while the acidity in white wine can feel sharp. These characteristics are “obstacles” for beginners but are seen as “structure” and “framework” by experienced tasters.
How Can Beginners Break Through the “Sour and Astringent” Bottleneck? A Tailored Three-Step Practical Path
Step 1: Start with “Smelling” When Tasting Wine
Consciously smell fruits, spices, and flowers in daily life, and remember their characteristics. The next time you drink wine, try to compare and see if there are similar scents. Additionally, there are specialized “wine aroma training kits” on the market that contain samples of common aromas, helping you familiarize yourself with dozens of typical scents found in wine.
Step 2: Taste Wine Step by Step
Look: Tilt the glass against a white background and observe the color and transparency of the wine’s rim. Young red wines often have purple hues, turning brick-red with age; white wines range from lime-green to golden yellow. This is not just appreciation but also a preliminary assessment of the wine’s age and condition.
Smell: This involves two stages. First, sniff gently without swirling to capture the most volatile “primary aromas” (usually floral and fruity). Then, gently swirl the glass to allow the wine to interact with air, releasing more complex “secondary aromas” (like yeast or creaminess from fermentation) and “tertiary aromas” (such as leather, mushroom, or caramel from aging).
Taste: Take a small sip and let the wine spread across your mouth. Don’t swallow immediately—use the tip of your tongue to sense sweetness, the sides for acidity, the back for bitterness, and the entire mouth to perceive the body and texture. Also, pay attention to how the aroma evolves in your mouth (this is where retronasal olfaction comes into play).
Finish: After swallowing or spitting, notice how long the aroma and taste linger and their quality.
Step 3: Start with Simpler Wines
Avoid wines with extreme styles (too acidic or tannic) and begin with those known for being “easy to drink” and “fruit-forward.” For example:
Red Wine Recommendations: Merlot or Pinot Noir. These typically have soft, velvety tannins, with fresh fruit flavors like red cherry or strawberry, and moderate acidity—making them excellent introductory red wines.
White Wine Recommendations: Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling (choose dry styles). The former offers vibrant citrus and passionfruit aromas with refreshing acidity; the latter is known for delicate floral notes and minerality, with elegant and balanced acidity.
If you want to learn how to taste wine more systematically, you can practice with the following practical guide:
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Stage |
Goal |
Specific Actions & Wine Recommendations |
|
Preparation |
Create a pure sensory environment |
1. Wine: Choose a fruit-forward basic wine (e.g., Chilean Merlot, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc).
2. Tools: Standard ISO tasting glass or Bordeaux glass, white napkin, a glass of water. 3. Environment: Free of strong odors, well-lit, and relaxed mood. |
|
Olfactory Activation |
Build a basic aroma memory bank |
1. Fruit Family: Compare smelling lemon vs. ripe pear (experience the difference between fresh and mature acidity).
2. Spice Comparison: Smell fresh mint vs. cinnamon stick (experience herbal freshness and warm sweetness). 3. Blind Smell Exercise: Ask a family member to help; blindfold and try to identify several common fruits by smell. |
|
Practical Tasting |
Complete a full tasting record |
Strictly follow the four steps—Look, Smell, Taste, Finish—and record in simple language:
– I see: What color is the wine? What juice does it resemble? – I smell: What food or scene does it remind me of? (Even if it’s just “like candied fruit” or “a bit grassy.”) – I taste: Besides sour, is there anything else? Is the mouthfeel smooth or astringent? – I finish: After swallowing, does the flavor disappear quickly, or does the aroma linger? |
|
Comparative Learning |
Learn to identify characteristics through comparison |
1. Horizontal Comparison: Taste two wines of the same variety from different regions side by side (e.g., Australian vs. French Rhône Syrah) to sense climatic influences.
2. Vertical Experience: Try the entry-level and reserve wines from the same winery to understand quality differences. |
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Advanced Challenge |
Integrate wine into daily life and social settings | 1. Blind Tasting Game: With friends, cover the bottle with a paper bag and guess the variety or region based solely on senses—fun is more important than results.
2. Food Pairing Experiments: Pair a wine with cheese, dark chocolate, or ham to observe how flavors interact or soften each other. 3. Vocabulary Upgrade: Each time you taste, force yourself to use one new descriptive word (e.g., from “fruity” to “red berry” to specifically “raspberry”). |
Taste is a Journey Without End
As you begin these exercises, you will gradually find that the “myth” of professional sommeliers is fading. Their abilities do not come from superior taste buds but from:
Systematic Deliberate Practice: Continuous olfactory training and extensive tasting experience.
Structured Thinking Framework: When tasting, they have a clear framework in mind—assessing whether the wine’s acidity, sweetness, tannins, alcohol, body, flavor intensity, and finish are harmonious and balanced.
Cultural and Contextual Shaping: Wine tasting vocabulary itself carries cultural nuances. What Westerners often call “blackcurrant” might remind Easterners of “preserved Chinese plum.” Finding your own descriptive system is far more important than rigidly applying terminology.
The ultimate goal of wine tasting is never to show off vocabulary but to achieve a deeper understanding and enjoyment. It’s about understanding the winemaker’s intent, feeling the imprint of terroir, and finding that wine that truly touches your soul.
So, when you feel you can only perceive sourness and astringency, remember: this is not impairment, but a starting point. Through olfactory training, step-by-step tasting, comparative practice, and note-taking, you will gradually open up the world of taste—from fruity to floral, from spicy to woody—and ultimately sense the story of time and land in a glass of wine.
