Go with someone in the know.
First time out to the wineries, > You want to know How to do a Cellar Door Wine Tasting? Wine tasting can be intimidating for those wanting to go out for a tasting but know nothing about Wine. We all know a Wine Snob and how they can waffle on about back palates, hints of cherry, acidity gorgeous aromatics etc etc
The rules are really quite simple, ‘You’ll either Like a wine or you Won’t”. Forget all you may have heard about Best Shiraz, Worlds Best Riesling and all of the other accolades placed on bottles. You only have to make your taste buds happy, that’s all that counts.
How do Judges assess wine?
Judges scoring a wine use a set criteria, It’s an Objective tasting.
3 points for sight – Clarity -depth – intensity
7 points for nose – initial aroma- bouquet – fruit character
10 points for palate – flavour – complexity – balance – length
They add up their points and awrd accordingly
18.5- 20 points = Gold Medal, outstanding quality
17-18.4 points = Silver medal Excellent standard
15.5-16.9 points = bronze Medal, very good wine for its class.
How to do a Cellar Door Wine Tasting
You don’t need to know any of the terms or be intimidated by the sophistication that can be found in the industry.
This is the best way to do a Cellar Door Wine Tasting.
I suggest going to a smaller boutique cellar door, they are usually much friendlier and have more time for you. Be honest and say you dont know anything and ask to be guided through a tasting. A good cellar door peson will quickly work out your palate by you telling them what you like or don’t like and they will lead you to try different wines. Let you taste buds do the talking, make it a simple as you can, You can always learn more latter if you want.
Go on a tour, ie, a Clare UnCorked tour and ask your guide to help you find the best cellar doors to introduce you to new experiences.
Simply enjoy your day out
Go out and enjoy the ambience of the regions, remember, its all about you, what you like. Thats all that matters. All of the chatter about wine, aroma, chocolates, raspberries, lemon, citrus etc, is only background noise. You are the only judge that really counts. Hope this helps, Cheers, Dave