So You Want to be a Wine Connoisseur: See & Swirl

Wine cellars from Rosehill Wine Cellars

Custom wine cellar with tasting nook from Rosehill Wine Cellars.

One way to add new dimension to life is to reach for your heart-felt aspirations. For many people, becoming a wine connoisseur is a great way to take life to the next level. There is no college degree or set of classes required to earn the distinction of being a wine connoisseur, unlike becoming a sommelier. Although a particular education is not required, expectations are high, since a connoisseur is supposed to be a bona fide wine expert. At Rosehill Wine Cellars, we believe that includes knowing about the importance of wine storage in a wine cellar in Toronto that has a reliable wine cooling unit establishing just the right setting for the wines. Some aspects of becoming connoisseur are more difficult than others, and some knowledge is foundational.

What Everyone Agrees on about Wine Connoisseurs

It would be dishonest to say that there’s not that much a person can learn about wine. The topic is vast! You could spend the rest of your life building on your knowledge of wine without running out of resources. Many people exploring the qualifications of a connoisseur begin with the basics of the 5 S’s, which are see, swirl, sniff, sip, and savor:

See

When you look at wine before drinking it, there are some things you can conclude about the drink before ever tasting it. Hold the glass toward natural light and against a white background. The color of wine can give you hints about varietal, flavor, age, and even the climate where the grapes were grown. Red wines range in color from pink to almost black. Red wine that has aged for a longer period of time is usually lighter than young vintages. White wines range from almost clear to rich shades of gold. Typically, the longer white wine has aged, the darker it is. If there is a cloudy appearance to the wine, it may indicate that the wine is mature or unfiltered.

Swirl

When you swirl the wine against the side and then watch how quickly the wine on the sides dissipates, you learn about the “legs,” which is to say the alcohol content. When there is a higher alcohol content, the wine is thicker. More is happening during the swirling process. You are letting in more oxygen, to release flavors and aromas. This is referred to as “volatizing the esters.” Because of the swirl step, do not fill your wine glass to more than a third, to avoid sloshing. Note: Swirling is not a step to be used on sparkling wines, since it disturbs the bubbles.

Contact Rosehill Wine Cellars

Every true wine connoisseur has their own place to properly store wine. Contact Rosehill Wine Cellars for a custom wine cellar in Toronto. We always use trusted wine cooling units from a variety of top cooling unit manufacturers. Be sure to check back to learn more about becoming a wine connoisseur, including the other three S’s of wine drinking.