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Viñedos y Bodegas

PRESENT AND SERVE THE WINE CORRECTLY

Check that the wines have been chosen, reading the labels and back labels. In clean bottles, which haven't been shaken and at the correct temperature. Put them in order them according to your preference. A possible guide could be: white wines, rosé wines, red wines, liqueurs, sparkling wines. Within each group, begin with the youngest and end with the oldest.

Uncork the bottles correctly. Cut the metal seal and clean the neck of the bottle. Keep the bottle vertical, without moving it, and use a good corkscrew, without boring through the cork completely. After drying it, smell it and check that there aren't any clear anomalies. Clean the neck and mouth of the bottle again. Use clean transparent glasses without any strange smells, filling them only a quarter or third full and picking them up by the base of the stem.

Taste the wines in a clean, quiet place, with plenty of light, without any strong smells (tobacco, perfume, etc.) and on tables with a white surface. Have other things on hand such as water to wash the glasses or rinse out your mouth, bread, containers to expel the tasted wine, etc. Remember that the taster should be in good health for such a noble task (rested, without a cold, carefree, etc.) and better still with an empty stomach and hungry. If you smoke, you should leave at least half an hour since your last cigarette.

TASTE WITH CARE

Use the five senses in this order:

• Hearing: Appreciate the sound during serving and you'll have some idea of how fluid or viscous the wine is.
  
  
• Sight: As well as the color and tone, assess:
      - Transparency when held up to the light.
      - Shine on the surface.
      - Hues, such as iridescence, oily areas, etc.
      - Meniscus or the join between the surface and the glass.
      - Legs or the rivulets formed on the sides of the glass after swirling it.
  
  
• Smell: Enjoy the aroma and/or bouquet, first when it is still and then after swirling it or moving it sharply, covering the glass with your hand.
  
  
• Taste: Distinguish the intensity, balance and duration of the taste with its sweet, bitter, acid and salty tones, as well as its age or aging, maturing or reserva, mildness or mellowness, fruitiness, etc.
  
  
• Buccal Comtact: On the tongue, palate, teeth and gums. Notice, according to the wine, different sensations of flavor such as roughness, fineness, freshness, oiliness, sting, etc.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS

Make your own personal classification of the wines, independently of other people's opinions (propaganda, reputation, tradition, etc.) Learn to assess wines by tasting them and not drinking them indiscriminately. Don't forget that wine is an aesthetic food which is not meant to quench your thirst but instead to give healthy pleasure. At the same time, it has healthy properties, and other elements of unquestionable value, providing conviviality and creating a friendly atmosphere, when drunk in moderation. Pluck up the courage to carry out tastings and to appreciate the sensations with your family and friends. Wines with Denomination of Origin are a guarantee of authenticity and quality, having complied with the technical regulations for production and undergone the necessary controls.