The Perfect Wine Date

Finding the perfect wine is truly an art. It takes lots of skill and patience. In fact, it is so methodical a process that I cannot honestly say that I have mastered it. However, finding the perfect wine date does not have to be tedious. If you ask a regular wine connoisseur, they will tell you to sniff the wine, swirl it, sniff again, suck in a little air before you take a small sip, fold your tongue and then swallow. If you ask me, that seems like a LOT of work. You could do this of course, or even go to a local vineyard to take wine tasting tutorials, or you could just sip around until you find what you like.

The easiest way to learn how to pair wine aside from taking a sip is to learn each type of wine’s personality. If you just want a glass to calm down and enjoy yourself, it is okay to just pick your favorite. Personally, I’m quite alright with cheap Arbor Mist or a cheap Moscato. But again, it is personal choice. Let me give you a few tips to shed some insight into which wines you should choose.

There are 5 taste characteristics about wine that you should keep in mind: Sweetness, Acidity, Tannin, Fruit, and Body.  Sweetness can be detected if you dip your tongue and tip tingles.  This is an indication of sweetness.  If you like a wine that has a sweet hint to it, Moscato is a very popular choice.

If you like wine that makes your mouth feel wet and leaves your tongue feeling slightly rough after a sip, you prefer acidic wine.  Try Italian Vini wine for this.

Tannin is what gives wine its bitter taste and dries out your tongue.  It also helps the wine to last longer.  If you like wines that are drier, get a nice Cabernet Savignon.  Keep in mind that wine with a lot of tannin in it is typically NOT sweet, though.

Fruit is used in wine making solely for flavor, so the question for you when choosing a wine is really do you prefer darker fruits like blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, or do you like lighter fruits like apples, lemons, or peaches.  If you like darker fruits, naturally you need to pick a red wine.  Lighter fruits call for a white wine.

Body is what gives wine its light or full taste.  If the taste lingers in your mouth for a bit after drinking, it is a wine that has full body, if it doesn’t, it is lighter.  Typically wines with higher alcohol content have a fuller body.

Simply put, there is no ‘perfect wine date’ that is universal for everyone, but with a little tasting, you can easily find your ideal wine.