How to taste wine: the 4 steps, no jargon

Tasting is not just for sommeliers. With four steps and a little attention, you understand what you like in a wine — and finally know what to ask your wine merchant.

Updated 24 October 2026

Before you start

A tulip-shaped stemmed glass, a third full, so you can swirl the wine. A wine at the right temperature. No strong perfume around. Water and a little bread to rinse your mouth between wines.

1. Look

Tilt the glass against a white background. Colour tells you about age and style: a pale white with green tints is often young and crisp, a golden one riper or oak-aged; a purple red is young, a brick-coloured one has aged. The "legs" running down the glass mostly indicate alcohol and sugar, not quality.

2. Smell

Smell first without swirling, then swirl and smell again: the aromas open up. Look for families rather than precise words: fruit (fresh, ripe, jammy?), flowers, spices, green notes, oak, toast, mineral. Faults show on the nose too: a smell of wet cardboard or damp cellar means the wine is corked.

3. Taste

Take a small sip and hold it in your mouth for a few seconds. Notice:

Sugar: dry, off-dry or sweet?
Acidity: it makes your mouth water and gives freshness.
Tannins (mainly in reds): the rough feeling that dries your gums.
Alcohol and body: light as water or full as milk?
Length: how many seconds the taste lingers after swallowing (or spitting).

4. Conclude

Is the wine balanced, or does one element dominate (too acidic, too oaky, too alcoholic)? And above all: do you like it? Note the name, the vintage and three words. After a few wines, you will be able to describe what you enjoy.

Tasting together is better

Comparing two wines side by side teaches more than ten wines drunk alone. That is how our tastings at our partner wine merchant work, open to all members: we taste, talk, and you leave knowing what to choose. Every wine in our boxes also comes with a sheet to guide you.