The swirling. The sniffing. The pause before anyone speaks. From the outside, wine tasting looks like a performance designed to make everyone else feel excluded.
It is not. Every step has a practical purpose, and the whole thing takes about thirty seconds once you know what you are doing.
The point is not to impress anyone. It is to notice more, so you can work out what you like and buy it again on purpose rather than by luck.
Here is the whole process.
Before You Start
Two quick things that matter more than the technique:
Pour a third of a glass. You need the space above the wine for aroma to gather, and room to swirl without redecorating the room.
Get the temperature roughly right. A red served too warm or a white straight from a very cold fridge will not show you much. Our guide to serving wine covers this — but briefly: reds want twenty minutes in the fridge, whites want five minutes out of it.
Now, four steps.
Step 1: Look
Tilt the glass slightly against something pale — a wall, a tablecloth, a napkin — and look at the wine from above and from the side.
What you are actually looking for:
Depth of colour. Pale or intense? Deeper colour in reds usually means more skin contact, and often a fuller, more powerful wine. A very pale red is likely light in body too.
The colour itself. Young reds tend towards purple or bright ruby. As they age they shift towards brick and garnet. Young whites are pale straw or greenish; with age they deepen towards gold. So colour gives you a rough hint about age.
The rim. Look at where the wine thins out at the edge of the glass. A purple rim suggests youth; a browning or orange rim suggests some age.
Clarity. Most wine is clear. A slight haze is usually just an unfiltered wine, not a fault.
Honestly? This is the least important step, and experienced tasters do it in a second. Do not agonise over it. But it is a useful habit, because it starts you paying attention.
Step 2: Swirl
Hold the base or the stem, keep the glass on the table, and move it in small circles. The wine should climb the sides of the glass. If it splashes out, you are being too enthusiastic.
Why this actually works: swirling introduces air and coats the inside of the glass with a thin film of wine. That dramatically increases the surface area, which releases far more aroma into the space above the wine.
Since most of what you experience as flavour arrives through your nose, this genuinely changes what you taste. It is not theatre.
A bonus observation: watch the streaks running back down the glass — sometimes called legs or tears. Thick, slow streaks suggest higher alcohol or more sugar. It tells you almost nothing about quality, despite what people claim, but it is a fair clue to weight.
Step 3: Smell
This is the step that matters most, and the one people rush.
Put your nose into the glass — properly in, not hovering politely above it — and take a couple of short sniffs rather than one long inhale. Short sniffs work better because your sense of smell adapts quickly and then stops registering.
Do not try to be clever. Ask yourself one question: what does this remind me of?
Anything is a valid answer. Real tasting notes come from ordinary comparisons:
In reds: plum, blackberry, cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry. Then perhaps pepper, chocolate, vanilla, smoke, leather, dried herbs.
In whites: lemon, lime, green apple, pear, peach, pineapple. Then perhaps butter, vanilla, honey, or a grassy note.
In rosés: strawberry, watermelon, raspberry, citrus peel.
In sparkling wines: apple, citrus, and sometimes bread or biscuit.
A tip that unlocks it for most people: it is easier to compare than to describe. Smell two different wines side by side and the differences leap out — one is fruitier, one is more herbal — where a single glass on its own gives you nothing. This is why tastings pour several wines.
And if you smell nothing? Swirl again and wait a minute. Cold wine and freshly opened wine are both quiet. Give it air and time.
One thing to know: if a wine smells strongly of wet cardboard or a damp cupboard, it may be corked — a fault caused by a tainted cork. It is nobody’s fault, it is not harmful, and a good shop will replace the bottle.
Step 4: Taste
Take a decent sip — not a timid one — and hold it in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Move it around a little.
You can draw in a small amount of air across the wine if you like, which spreads the aroma. It makes a slurping noise. Do it at home first.
What to notice, in order:
Sweetness. Is there sugar? Your tongue registers this immediately. Dry, off-dry, or sweet.
Acidity. Does it make your mouth water? High acidity feels fresh and zesty, and it is what makes a wine refreshing. Low acidity feels soft and round.
Tannin (reds mainly). Does your mouth feel slightly dry and grippy, like after strong black tea? That is tannin. Firm and grippy, or soft and smooth?
Body. Does it feel light like water, or fuller like milk? This is about weight and texture, not flavour.
Flavour. What does it taste of? Usually similar to what you smelled.
The finish. After you swallow, how long does the flavour last? A few seconds, or does it linger? A long finish is generally a marker of quality — one of the more reliable ones.
Then Ask the Only Question That Matters
Do I like it?
That is the purpose of all four steps. Not to produce a paragraph of tasting notes — to know your own preference well enough to buy the right bottle next time.
How to Describe Wine Without Sounding Ridiculous
Nobody needs you to say “hints of graphite and forest floor.” Four plain words cover almost everything:
Light or full? Dry or sweet? Fruity or savoury? Smooth or grippy?
“A full, dry, fruity red that’s fairly smooth” is a genuinely useful description. Any wine shop in the world can find you another one from that sentence. It is worth more than a paragraph of poetry.
A Simple Way to Practise at Home
You do not need a course. You need two bottles and thirty minutes.
Buy two wines of the same type from different countries — say two Cabernet Sauvignons, one Argentine and one South African. Similar price. Open both.
Pour a small glass of each, side by side, and work through the four steps. Which is fruitier? Which is firmer? Which do you prefer?
Do that three or four times over a couple of months and you will develop a real palate — not because you studied, but because you compared. Comparison is the entire secret. It is also why a tasting bar is such an efficient way to learn: several small pours, side by side, in one sitting.
Keep two lines of notes on your phone for each wine. Name, and what you thought. In six months that list will be more useful to you than any wine book.
What Not to Worry About
You do not need to identify grapes blind. Almost nobody can do this reliably.
You do not need special vocabulary. Plain words are better.
You do not need to spit. That is for tasting twenty wines professionally, not for enjoying two at home.
You are not wrong if your impression differs from someone else’s. Palates genuinely vary — sensitivity to bitterness and sweetness differs measurably between people. If you taste raspberry and your friend tastes cherry, you are both right.
You do not need to do any of this every time. Most evenings, pour a glass and drink it. Taste properly when you are trying something new and want to learn from it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you swirl wine in the glass? Swirling introduces air and coats the glass with a thin film of wine, which greatly increases the surface area releasing aroma. Since most of what we perceive as flavour comes through the nose, this noticeably changes what you taste. It is practical, not decorative.
How do I describe wine if I don’t know the terminology? Use four plain comparisons: light or full, dry or sweet, fruity or savoury, smooth or grippy. A description like “a full, dry, fruity red that’s quite smooth” is genuinely useful and lets any wine shop find you something similar. Specialist vocabulary adds nothing for most purposes.
What is the best way to learn to taste wine? Compare two similar wines side by side — the same grape from two different countries, at a similar price. Differences that are invisible in a single glass become obvious in comparison. Doing this a few times, and keeping two lines of notes on your phone, teaches you more than any book.
Practise With Two Bottles
Pick two wines of the same grape from different countries and taste them side by side. Browse the shop — and we stock glasses and decanters if you want a proper tasting glass. Delivery in Nairobi.
Want us to choose a comparison pair for you? WhatsApp 0718 003 302 and we will pick two bottles designed to show a clear difference.
Or learn the fastest way — several small pours in one sitting — at our wine bar. 291 Loresho Ridge, Nairobi, next to Tribal Gallery, where wines are served by the glass so you can compare side by side without buying full bottles.