Thanks to some of you who have given me feedback on my blog, as well as all the encouragement. Yes, probably so far my focus is on producers and their wines, but maybe it is also good to include something more 'friendly'. So I decided to write what I call 'Wine 101', to share something that even for the more casual drinkers will be of interest. And what is more fundamental - the reason got most of us to start our study in the subject - organize a wine tasting event?
Drinking wine is simple, normally we are just concerned whether it gives a good overall impression (and I think it is still the most important aspect - whether we like it or not!). However, for tasting, we are more particular in the identification of the components of the wine that affect our senses - appearance, nose and palate. In Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), they have developed a Systematic Approach to Tasting which can help and guide people to do the tasting evaluations. I also practised this approach in writing my tasting note. I will write more on each of this aspect later in this series. 
Ideally, the room should be free of other smells (avoid fragrance), with white tablecloth, odorless glasses, moderate temperature and a relaxing atmosphere. Not difficult right? If possible we should try to do blind tasting by covering the bottle, as all of us will be affected by the name of the producer and other info on the label (like vintage). It will be good to have thematic tasting which allows comparisons between wines, for example, same grape variety across different regions, same type of wine across different producers, or same producer across different vintages. There should be a theme and an objective - what you want to compare.
Writing notes is important as the more wines you tasted, the more difficult for you to recall your impressions of the wine. So now with everything in place, all set for the beginning of the tasting? Let me continue next week on the first element - appearance of the wine!
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