Alice King's wine course
Part 1: getting started

Reds: very young red wines will be purple in colour. As a red matures, the colour will become brick red and eventually browny orange.

Whites: young white wines tend to be greeny gold in colour. Those aged in oak barrels become more golden, and mature and sweet whites will have a golden orange hue.

Have a good sniff
Gently swirl the wine around the glass. This is not just for effect – it simply releases the wine’s aromas. Then, stick your nose in the glass and take a really good sniff. Does the wine smell fresh? If it smells of mouldy cork, it’s what’s known as ‘corked’ and you should return the wine. This expression has nothing to do with bits of cork floating in the wine.

Then, try to conjure up what the wine’s aroma reminds you of. There is no set text, here, so any words will do. Does it smell like a certain fruit or food, like vanilla, or a certain spice? It’s worth developing your own wine-tasting vocabulary. So it if smells like a wet dog or bounty bars, say so.

Give it a swirl
Now it’s time, at last, for a taste. Take a small sip and try to roll the wine around your tongue (especially the tip of it) and the top of your mouth. Ask yourself:

• Is the wine dry or sweet? Rich and full bodied or light and elegant?
• What does it taste like?
• What does it remind you of? (Apple pies? Gamey meat stew?). Again, all descriptions are equally valid.

At this stage, a professional would spit the wine out, as we often taste 50 in a row. Obviously you won’t be doing this if you want your evening to be a bit of a party.

Part 2: white wines
Part 3: red wines
Part 4: champagne and sparkling wine
Part 5: port

Do you have a question about wine? Ask Alice

For more information on wine courses, contact the Alice King School of Wine.