Actively train your nose by smelling everything around you—in the kitchen, while gardening, walking, or grocery shopping—and practice recognizing smells blindfolded to develop your smell memory.
To become a better wine taster, engage in rigorous, disciplined tasting over many years, ideally with a method and in groups, rather than just casual drinking.
Don’t be intimidated by wine vocabulary; start by simply stating if you like a wine and why, and develop your descriptive language by expressing your thoughts and tasting with others.
Approach sommeliers with confidence and don’t be afraid to ask questions, as true professionals will gladly guide you; avoid those who give attitude or recommend wine without first asking about your preferences.
Taste wine with others to calibrate your perceptions of elements like acidity, ensuring your understanding aligns with a broader community standard and helps you stay on track with your learning.
Create your own wine tasting group with friends, choosing a specific region or theme, and have each person bring a bottle from that area to taste and learn together.
When conducting wine tastings, especially in groups, maintain rigor and discipline by considering spitting out wine to avoid alcohol effects and using a tasting grid to guide your evaluation and learning. Also, seek advice from knowledgeable sommeliers or consultants.
Enhance your wine learning by reading about a specific wine region, then immediately acquiring and tasting a bottle from that region to connect the theoretical knowledge with the sensory experience.
Consult ‘The Wine Atlas’ by Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson for a solid foundation in wine knowledge, as it provides comprehensive information on winemaking regions, topography, and more.
Beyond technical analysis, assess wine by how it makes you feel, looking for liveliness and character that ‘speaks to you,’ as highly manipulated wines, though technically sound, often lack soul.
Understand that wine appreciation benefits from knowing its context and the winemaker’s intent, as ‘perfectly technical’ wines can lack character and soul, while imperfections can add depth.
For optimal serving temperature at home, take white wines out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving and put red wines in the fridge 20 minutes before serving, especially in warm weather.
Avoid serving red wines above 17-18 degrees Celsius and don’t serve rosés ice cold, as extreme temperatures mute the wine’s characteristics; allow rosés to warm to 10-12 degrees Celsius for better texture and aroma.
If a red wine served at a restaurant is too warm, don’t hesitate to ask for an ice bucket and place the bottle in it for five to ten minutes to bring it to a better serving temperature.
If a restaurant serves you a red wine that tastes lukewarm, it indicates they are not serious about their wine service.
When reviewing a wine list, look for interesting producers beyond industrial ones, and engage the staff with specific questions about the wines rather than asking if a wine is ‘good’ to find hidden gems or knowledgeable recommendations.
To identify a corked wine, intentionally smell corked wines multiple times to memorize the distinctive scent, which will help you instantly recognize it in the future.
As a consumer in Canada, access a wider selection of wines not available in monopoly stores by utilizing private importation channels through provincial agents, though you will need to purchase wines by the case.
Before opening a restaurant, acquire solid management experience and constantly monitor numbers, as tiny profit margins mean great cooking alone isn’t enough to prevent bankruptcy in this high-failure-rate industry.