How To Taste Wine: The Complete 2025 Guide

The Five Steps of Wine Tasting

The fundamentals of wine tasting haven't changed, they're still rooted in engaging all your senses systematically. What has changed is how we talk about what we're experiencing and the tools we use to deepen our understanding.

Each of these five steps is important to get the most out of your wine-tasting experience: Sight. Swirl. Smell. Sip. Savour.

Step 1: Sight

First, look straight down into the glass, then hold it to the light, and finally, give it a tilt so the wine rolls toward the rim. This allows you to see the wine's complete colour range, not just the dark centre.

Tilting the glass gives you a sense of the depth of colour, which can also give a clue to the wine's density and age. A wine with a brownish tinge at the rim is likely older, while bright, vibrant edges suggest youth.

You can also get an idea of certain grapes by colour. A deep, purple-black hue might well be Syrah or Zinfandel, while a lighter, translucent ruby shade would suggest Pinot Noir or Gamay.

Step 2: Swirl

Swirling the wine aerates it. It adds oxygen and each distinct aroma attaches itself to the oxygen molecules, making them easier to detect.

The saying that you "taste" wine with your nose comes from these subtle aromas that can only be smelt. Swirling wine also helps to eliminate any foul-smelling compounds that may stem from sulphides or sulphites.

Of course, aeration is much improved if you've decanted your wine. But you always do that, don't you? If not, have a look at our guide on decanting.

The Proper Swirling Technique

There is a proper swirling technique to reduce spillage. Pinch the base of the glass's stem with your thumb and forefinger. Then draw little circles whilst keeping the glass firmly on the table. A few seconds is enough.

When you've had a bit of practice, try drawing the same circles whilst holding the glass in the air by the stem, it looks much cooler!

Swirling the wine will also show off the wine's legs, or tears as some call them. The legs are the lines of lingering wine that continue to run down the sides of the glass after you've swirled.

Step 3: Smell

Many people know this step, but few perform it correctly.

To properly smell the wine, you want your nose as close to the top of the rim as possible, aroma compounds rise, and take several short sniffs whilst keeping your mouth slightly open. As taste and smell are connected, keeping your mouth open whilst sniffing allows you to fully experience the aromatics. Sniff in through the nose, then breathe out through the mouth.

Remember, whilst handling your glass, always hold it by the stem. Holding it by the bowl will warm up the wine, even if only slightly.

Identifying Faults

Initially, you want to look for off-aromas that indicate a wine is spoiled:

• Cork taint: A wine that is corked will smell musty and taste like wet cardboard or a damp newspaper. This is an unfixable flaw affecting roughly 3-5% of wines sealed with natural cork.
• Sulphur dioxide: A wine bottled with a strong dose of SO₂ will smell like burnt matches. This will dissipate if you give it vigorous swirling.
• Volatile acidity: A smell of vinegar indicates volatile acidity, which can add complexity at low levels but becomes unpleasant in excess.
• Ethyl acetate: A nail polish remover smell, a by-product of over-fermentation.
• Brettanomyces: An undesirable yeast that reeks of barnyard, sweat and gym socks. A little bit of "brett" gives red wines an earthy, leathery component, but too much obliterates fruit flavours.

What You Should Smell

Wine is made from grapes, so it should smell like fresh fruit, unless it's very old, very sweet, or very cold.

Floral aromas are particularly common in cool-climate white wines like Riesling and Gewürztraminer, and some Rhône varieties, including Viognier.

Some grapes carry herbal or grassy scents. Sauvignon Blanc is often strongly grassy or citrusy, whilst Cabernet Sauvignon can be herby, with hints of vegetation.

Another group of common wine aromas might be characterised as earthy. Scents of mushroom, damp earth, leather and minerals can exist in many red wines. A mushroom smell can add nuance and help you determine a possible grape or place of origin.

Scents of earth, mineral and rock sometimes exist in the very finest white and red wines. These can be indications of "terroir", though in 2025, even this term is being reconsidered and debated within the wine community.

Step 4: Sip

This isn't a race to get tipsy. You don't want to glug.

Instead, take a slightly larger than normal sip and let the wine sit in your mouth for 3-5 seconds so you can take in all the tastes. Wine will have hidden secondary flavours that come from the winemaking process and are less bold, but definitely significant.

A balanced wine should have its basic flavours in proportion. Our taste buds detect sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Sweet (residual sugar) and sour (acidity) are obviously important components of wine. Saltiness is rarely encountered and bitterness should be more a feeling of astringency (from tannins) than actual bitter flavours.

Swirl the wine gently around in your mouth. Then swallow and savour the aftertastes of the wine.

Step 5: Savour

Note if there's an alcohol burn (which there shouldn't be in a well-made wine), notice how long the flavour stays with you, and whether any new flavours appear. This is called the "finish."

A longer finish generally indicates a higher-quality wine, though this isn't an absolute rule. What matters more is whether the finish is pleasant and balanced.

Understanding Wine's Key Components

The way a wine tastes is dictated by several key components. It takes practice to identify them, but think of it like learning anything, riding a bike, playing piano, even reading. Stick with it and you'll develop the skills over time.

Acidity

This bright, mouth-watering sensation is crucial for food pairing and palate refreshment. Acid levels are primarily determined by the grape variety and the climate where the grapes were grown.

For example, a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling will make your mouth water more than a low-acid Chardonnay. High-acid wines are particularly food-friendly and age well.

Alcohol

Most still wines range from 8-14% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 12-14% being typical for red wine. Alcohol influences the wine's body and intensity of flavours.

Higher ABVs can make food pairing trickier (the wine can overpower the food) and may catch up with you quicker. In 2025, there's growing interest in lower-alcohol wines, particularly among health-conscious younger drinkers.

Body

This refers to the weight or viscosity of the wine in your mouth. Full-bodied wines feel richer and denser, whilst light-bodied ones are more refreshing and "easy-drinking."

Think of the difference between skimmed milk and full-fat cream, that's the spectrum of wine body.

Tannins

Found in grape skins, seeds and stems, tannins interact with the proteins in your saliva and create that astringent, drying sensation in the mouth.

You'll mostly find them in red wines, especially bolder styles like Rioja, Barolo and Syrah. Tannins act as a natural preservative, which is why tannic wines often age beautifully.

Sweetness

Contrary to what you might assume, most wines are technically dry with little to no residual sugar. Some are off-dry (just a hint of sweetness) whilst dessert wines are overtly sweet.

Taste a dry, fruit-forward Sauvignon Blanc next to a sweet Riesling Spätlese to understand the difference.

Flavours and Aromas

These are the fruit, floral, herbal, earthy, and other descriptors that are often front and centre when you stick your nose in the glass. The aromas will evolve as the wine breathes.

Oak Influence

Using new oak barrels during winemaking can add vanilla, spice, cedar and toasty flavours, depending on the level of "oakiness." Some wines are aged in neutral oak (old barrels that don't impart flavour), whilst others are unoaked entirely.

Terroir

This French term, meaning "sense of place," refers to how aspects like soil type, climate, elevation, and terrain impact the wine's personality. The same grape variety can taste dramatically different when grown in different terroirs.

The Language of Wine is Evolving

One of the most exciting developments in 2025 is how we talk about wine.

The traditional wine terminology, built over decades by predominantly Western, male voices, is being questioned and reimagined. Terms like "masculine" and "feminine" are being phased out as unnecessarily gendered and often meaningless. Even concepts like "minerality" are under scrutiny.

As wine writer Meg Maker notes, the current wine vocabulary has been "shaped by hierarchy, a subtle way of separating insiders from everyone else." But that's changing.

This shift makes wine more accessible to everyone, moving away from intimidating jargon toward descriptions that actually help you understand what's in your glass.

What This Means for You

You don't need to memorise the "correct" tasting notes. You don't need to detect "pencil lead" or "crushed river stones" to be taken seriously.

If you taste nectarine and someone else gets pear, that's the start of a conversation, not the end of one. Your experience is valid. Your vocabulary is enough.

The wine community in 2025 increasingly values diverse, personalised approaches to describing wine over standardised lexicons that exclude more people than they include.

Sharpening Your Palate

The best way to sharpen your palate is by tasting contrasting styles side-by-side.

Compare a strong, yet delicate Albariño with an oaky, buttery Californian Chardonnay. Or try a Pinot Noir from Burgundy and compare its lighter, more elegant style to a bolder, fruitier Oregon Pinot.

Experiencing these differing expressions develops your senses far more quickly than tasting wines in isolation.

The Digital Revolution: Wine Apps in 2025

Using smartphone apps has become invaluable for wine lovers, and 2025 offers more sophisticated options than ever.

Vivino

Vivino remains the undisputed king, with over 70 million users worldwide. The app's label-scanning technology is remarkably accurate, giving you instant access to ratings, reviews, and food pairings.

What's evolved since 2024 is the depth of information available. The app now includes professional tasting notes that make sense to trained palates, not just consumer-generated content. Their "Match for You" feature learns your preferences and gives you a personalised prediction for any wine.

You can track your wine journey, build a virtual cellar, and even purchase wines directly through the app from vetted merchants.

Delectable

Delectable has carved out its niche with superior social features and a more polished interface. You can follow top sommeliers, winemakers, and wine industry professionals, seeing what they're drinking in real-time.

The app's manual review feature is surprisingly quick, if it can't identify your wine, submit it for review and you'll typically get an answer within an hour.

Delectable also offers in-app wine purchasing with free shipping on orders of four or more bottles, making it more convenient than Vivino's approach of showing you nearby retailers.

CellarTracker

For serious collectors, CellarTracker is unbeatable. It's the best free wine app for managing cellar collections, with UPC scanning and extensive database management tools.

The app helps you track drinking windows, storage locations, and provides professional reviews alongside community tasting notes.

Newer Players Worth Watching

Wine Ring uses machine learning to curate personalised recommendations based on your activity, constantly refining its suggestions as you log more wines.

OENO by Vintec provides professional advice on when to open bottles, ideal serving temperatures, and glassware recommendations. Because OENO uses Vivino's label recognition AI, you don't need to manually enter wine information.

Living Wine Labels offers augmented reality experiences for certain wine brands, particularly fun if you're drinking 19 Crimes or Beringer Brothers.

Tips for Selecting Wines

Reading the Label

Reading the label is key. Look for the producer's name, region or appellation, vintage year, grape varieties (if listed, more common for New World than Old World wines) and alcohol level. This gives clues about what's in the bottle.

The Price Sweet Spot

Don't assume you need to spend a fortune. Whilst splurging occasionally can be rewarding, there are plenty of delicious wines in the £15-30 range from quality producers.

In fact, this price bracket has become the new sweet spot in 2025. Younger consumers are driving growth in the £25-35 range, which offers exceptional quality without entering "special occasion only" territory.

Ask for Recommendations

If you're unsure whilst shopping, ask the wine shop staff for recommendations, especially if you can provide information on your preferences.

Know your Cabernet from your Merlot? Partial to that Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc? Giving them a reference point makes it easier to steer you right.

2025 Trends to Know

White wines are surging: White wine now accounts for 43% of global consumption, overtaking red wine for the first time. Look for underrated varieties like Chenin Blanc, which combines Sauvignon Blanc's crispness with Chardonnay's complexity.

Low-alcohol wines: Health-conscious consumers are driving demand for wines with reduced alcohol (typically 8-11% ABV). Major producers like Duckhorn and Kendall-Jackson now offer lower-alcohol ranges that don't sacrifice flavour.

Natural and low-intervention wines: Younger drinkers want fewer additives, more sustainable practices, and transparency. Natural wines continue to captivate adventurous drinkers who value authenticity.

Climate-adapted varieties: As traditional wine regions warm, expect to see unexpected grape varieties in familiar places. Albariño thriving in Southern England, anyone?

Why Glassware Actually Matters

After years of selling Riedel glassware, we can tell you with absolute certainty: the glass makes a difference.

Not in a pretentious, wine-snob way. But in a real, scientifically demonstrable way that affects your experience.

How Glass Shape Affects Wine

The shape of the glass influences three critical factors:

1. Aroma Delivery: The bowl shape concentrates or disperses aromatic compounds. A wider bowl allows more wine surface to come into contact with air, releasing aromatics. A narrower opening traps those aromatics, delivering them directly to your nose.

2. Wine Flow: The rim design directs wine to different parts of your tongue, emphasising different taste sensations. A wider rim spreads wine across your palate, whilst a narrower rim delivers it to specific areas.

3. Temperature Management: The stem allows you to hold the glass without warming the wine with your hand. Bowl size also affects how quickly the wine warms, critical for temperature-sensitive wines like Champagne.

You don't need a different glass for every grape variety. But having appropriate glasses for:

• Red wines (larger bowl for aeration)
• White wines (smaller bowl to preserve freshness)
• Sparkling wines (tall, narrow flute or tulip shape to preserve bubbles)

...will genuinely improve your wine experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the proper temperature to serve wine?

White wines are best served at 7-13°C, red wines at 12-18°C, and sparkling wines at 5-8°C. Most people serve red wine too warm (room temperature is usually too warm) and white wine too cold. When white wine is over-chilled, you can't taste its nuances.

How long should I let wine breathe?

Most red wines benefit from 20-60 minutes of breathing. Young, tannic wines need more time, whilst older, delicate wines need less. Decanting accelerates this process. White wines generally don't need breathing time, though some fuller-bodied whites can benefit from 10-15 minutes.

What does "dry" wine actually mean?

A dry wine has little to no residual sugar, typically less than 4 grams per litre. The opposite of dry isn't "wet" but "sweet." Even though a dry wine may taste fruity, that doesn't mean it's sweet, you're tasting the fruit characteristics of the grape, not added sugar.

Why do some wines give me headaches?

Contrary to popular belief, sulphites are rarely the culprit (unless you have a sulphite allergy). More likely causes include histamines, tannins, dehydration, or simply drinking too much alcohol. Red wines contain more histamines than whites, which may explain why they're more commonly associated with headaches.

Should I spend more money on wine?

Not necessarily. There's a law of diminishing returns with wine. The jump from £7 to £15 is enormous in quality. The jump from £15 to £25 is significant. But the jump from £50 to £100 may be imperceptible to most drinkers. Find your sweet spot, for most people, that's £15-35.

What's the difference between Old World and New World wines?

Old World refers to traditional European wine regions (France, Italy, Spain, Germany) where wines tend to be more subtle, earthy, and food-focused. New World refers to wine regions outside Europe (USA, Australia, New Zealand, South America, South Africa) where wines tend to be fruit-forward, bolder, and higher in alcohol. These are generalisations, and modern winemaking is blurring these distinctions.

How long can I keep an opened bottle?

White wines: 3-5 days in the fridge. Red wines: 3-5 days in a cool, dark place. Sparkling wines: 1-3 days with a proper stopper. Use a wine preservation system (vacuum pump or argon gas) to extend these timeframes. The better the wine, generally the longer it lasts once opened.

Is expensive wine better than cheap wine?

Not always, but generally yes, to a point. More expensive wines typically come from better vineyards, lower yields, more careful winemaking, and better ageing. But once you're above £30-40, you're often paying for rarity, prestige, or specific terroir rather than proportionally better quality.

What does "terroir" really mean?

Terroir encompasses everything that makes a wine taste like it comes from a specific place: soil composition, climate, elevation, slope, nearby vegetation, and even local winemaking traditions. Two wines made from the same grape variety can taste completely different due to terroir. However, in 2025, we're acknowledging that human decisions in the winery matter just as much as what happens in the vineyard.

Are wine apps actually accurate?

Generally, yes. Vivino and Delectable have sophisticated label recognition technology that correctly identifies wines the vast majority of the time. User ratings can be helpful but remember they're subjective. Professional ratings within these apps tend to be more reliable benchmarks for quality.

Should I let wine "breathe" in the bottle or decant it?

Decanting is far more effective. Just opening the bottle and letting it sit exposes only a tiny surface area to oxygen. Decanting pours the wine into a vessel with a much larger surface area, dramatically speeding up aeration. For young, tannic reds, decanting for 30-60 minutes makes a noticeable difference.

What's the difference between aroma and bouquet?

Aroma refers to smells from the grape itself and fermentation, fresh, primary fruit and floral notes. Bouquet refers to smells that develop through ageing, leather, tobacco, earth, nuts, dried fruits. Young wines have aroma. Aged wines develop bouquet. Though honestly, most people use these terms interchangeably.

Why do sommeliers spit when tasting wine?

Professional tasters often taste 50-100+ wines in a session. Swallowing all that alcohol would impair their judgement (and their ability to walk). Spitting allows them to evaluate the wine's characteristics without consuming the alcohol. For casual tasting at home, swallowing is perfectly fine, and frankly, half the point.

Do I really need different glasses for different wines?

You don't strictly need them, but they do enhance your experience. At minimum, have separate glasses for reds (larger bowl), whites (smaller bowl), and sparkling wines (flute or tulip). If you're serious about wine, investing in varietal-specific glasses, particularly for wines you drink regularly, is worthwhile. After selling Riedel glasses for over a decade, we've seen countless customers amazed by the difference.

What does "corked" wine taste like?

Corked wine smells and tastes musty, like wet cardboard, damp newspaper, or a musty basement. It strips away fruit flavours and makes the wine flat and unpleasant. Cork taint is caused by TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), a compound that forms when natural fungi come into contact with chlorine-based cleaning products. About 3-5% of wines sealed with natural cork are affected.

The Most Important Thing

Relax and have fun.

Wine is all about relaxing and savouring the experience, not stressing over it. If you find yourself getting worked up about whether you're detecting the "correct" notes or using the "proper" terminology, you're missing the point.

It's just fermented grape juice, after all, meant to be sipped and enjoyed, not obsessed over.

Whether you're a seasoned sommelier or just starting to discover the world of wine, 2025 offers exciting opportunities to explore, learn, and savour.

The beauty of wine today is that technology has made it more accessible whilst maintaining the artistry and tradition that makes it special. You can now take a photo of any label and instantly know whether it's worth trying, connect with wine lovers worldwide, and discover incredible bottles from regions you've never heard of.

It's meant to be an enjoyable journey, so enjoy it. The world of wine is more exciting, diverse, and accessible than ever before.

Cheers to that!