How to get the most out of your wine tasting experience

With Vintage 2020 upon us in the Barossa Valley, the region is abuzz with grapes being picked, processing and with the region coming alive with activity.

 

And from Vintage comes wine, and here at BIG4 Barossa Tourist Park, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by some pretty special wineries to visit, try and buy.

 

You might be planning a holiday or just a quick getaway to our region to enjoy, experience and taste all the things the region has to offer.

 

But how do you get the best out of your wine tasting experience?

 

You might be new to tasting wine or just wanting to take your expertise a little bit further to evaluate wine like an expert.

 

Here are our top tips for tasting that delicious drop:

 

 

Take a look

 

Have a look at the wine, does it have a good, pretty and vibrant colour? A murky wine might be a wine with chemical or fermentation problems.

 

Or, it might just be a wine that was unfiltered or has some sediment due to being shaken up before being poured. A wine that looks clear and brilliant and shows some sparkle is always a good sign.

 

 

Smell

 

You can tell a lot about a glass of wine from merely smelling it. Give the wine a swirl in the glass to allow more oxygen to get in and then take a good sniff of the wine. Once you’ve had a sniff think about what you can smell.

 

Do you smell juicy dark berries, fresh cut grass or something else? You can more often than not smell the characteristic of wine, where the grapes are grown, etc. by smelling the wine in the glass.

 

Do you smell fruits, flowers, etc.? Please take a couple of smells of the wine before tasting it to get the full array of aromas.

 

 

Taste

 

It’s finally time to sip your wine and enjoy the flavours. Try to taste all the unique wine characteristics by swishing it around in your mouth before you swallow to get the full range of flavours.

 

Again, you’ll encounter a wide range of fruit, flower, herb, mineral, barrel and other flavours.

 

 

Pick what YOU like

 

Now to the most important part, pick a wine that you like the taste of. We all have very different tastes, so don’t be swayed by the winemaker, the salesperson, the price or your friends.

 

If the wine tastes well balanced and delicious to you, then you are most definitely onto a winner.

 

What’s your favourite Barossa Valley winery to visit?