Tilt the glass to your nose and inhale deeply (don’t be shy) at the rim.  Do the same at the center of the glass; your nose should actually breach the bowl.  Some scents will be present in the center that are absent from the rim and vice versa, so it is important to sample from both.  Now for the fun part: holding the stem, rotate the glass in small circles and swirl the wine around.  For those of us who are less coordinated, set the glass on the table and keep the base flat against it while you slide the glass in circles.  Now repeat your inhalations at the rim and the center.  You should notice some remarkable transformations in the aromas of the wine now that you have agitated it.

The scents you are looking for will be brief and fleeting.  You will find yourself on the verge of finding the perfect descriptions just as the sensation fades.  Take your time; this sniff may not have given you all of the answers, but you are one step closer to the one that will.  You are a natural, after all.  We all are.  Smell is the sense most closely tied to memory.  Begin free associating, developing a stream-of-consciousness list of related aromas: fruity, citrusy, strawberries, craberries, etc.  Most of these words will be inaccurate.  What you are doing is allowing your brain to form associations until it finds the right ones.  Be as specific as possible, and do not be afraid of sounding silly.  If you detect the familiar aroma of Flintstones vitamins, say so.  The goal is not to sound sophisticated; the goal is to be specific and dig deep.  Dig through your memories and form new ones.

Tasting is only one-third of wine tasting.  The whole process begins with the eyes: your eyes and the wine’s eye.  Tilt the glass away from you and hold it over a well-lit, white surface, like a table cloth.  The oval of liquid that you are looking at is referred to as the “eye.”  The center of the eye, where the wine is at its deepest, is wher eyou will look for the wine’s color.  Record your impressions in your wine journal.  Is your red wine a bright ruby, or is it a faded brownish-red?  Is your white wine a straw color, or is it almost orange.

There will be a more transparent circle around the edge of the eye; this is called the meniscus.  It will be barely visible in most whites, clear or pink in most young reds, and brownish in aged reds.  The most important part of the visual stage of wine tasting is to insure that the wine is free of sediments.  Ruby and violet are both good colors, so long as they are not clouded.

As you swirl your wine and tilt it, you may see clear ribbons running down the sides of your glass.  These are called legs and they used to be considered an indicator of quality.  Now we know that they are caused by a combination of factors: viscosity, sugar content, and evaporation rates.  You can note their presence and character in your wine journal, but do not let their absence ruin your wine tasting experience.

The Chianti district of Tuscany is one of Italy’s largest wine producing zones, most famous for the blended read that bears its name.  Your Scotch drinking friends have probably convinced you that “blended” is a four-letter word, but wine blending is common and is normally done to improve upon the quality of the drink, not just to reduce costs.

The chief ingredient in Chianti wines is the Sangiovese grape.  As with all varieties, each bottle has its own individual character, but you can buy Chianti wines rated in the high eighties and up with the confidence that you are about to enjoy a taste of well-balanced medium acidity and firm tannins.  The resulting mouth feel approaches velvet.  When tasting Chianti wines, look for the flavors of dark-pitted fruits, particularly plums and tart cherries.  Highly acidic examples will be closer to cranberries.

Do not let your Chianti shopping experience intimidate you.  The labels will often indicate which specific area within the Chianti district produced the wine.  This binomial nomenclature might make you feel like you are in a biology class, but think more like an English class, where there are no wrong answers.  If you want to play it safe, select a Chianti Classico.  This district is the heartland of Chianti and plenty of great wines are produced there.  Alternatively, Chianti Riservas (reserve) are an excellent choice as well.  They may or may not hail from one of Chianti’s more famous districts, but the minimum of two years aging helps level the playing field.

The acidity is still there, but it does not linger on the wine’s finish the way that it does with most Sauvignon Blancs.  Instead, it exists in the forward “crisp” flavors, which make Pinot Grigios popular as summer fare.  In fact, rare is the Pinot Grigio label that neglects to use the word “crisp” at least once.  When having a glass, resist the temptation to gulp it down; take the time to savor it.  It may be gentle, but it is by no means simple.  See if you can detect reminders of fruit skins, peaches, plums, apples, or pears.

It has taken time for Americans and Pinot Grigios to warm up to each other.  The grapes are difficult to grow outside of Europe, but Oregon and California have had remarkable success in cultivating them.  Now that the fruit has found a home in our soil, inexpensive and delectable bottles are finding a place in our wine racks.

The secret is in the grapes.  If you have ever been on a wine vineyard tour, one of the first things heard was, “The grapes you see here are not the same kind that you buy at the supermarket.”  Muscat grapes are an exception; they are cultivated both as a table fruit and as a wine fruit.  You may have heard aromas and tastes of other wines described as resembling tobacco, citrus fruits, blackberries, or currants, but Moscato wine has a flavor that you will rarely find anywhere else: grapes.  This variety reflects its mother fruit like no other.  Moscato wine is flavorful without being overpowering.  This makes it perfect for drinking on its own or with desserts like fruit or chocolate.  Pair it spicy meals to help your tastebuds recover and to temper the sweetness of the wine.

Most bottles are semi-sweet with low acidity.  Dry specimens are easy to find since wine makers proudly and plainly label them as such.  Alsace is particularly famous for its dry Moscato wine.  Those with a sweet tooth would benefit from looking for bottles with the words “late harvest” on the label.

Besides the “grapey” flavor, the other defining characteristic of Muscato wine is its bouquet.  Most wine drinkers describe it as “floral”.  Novice tasters, do not fret if you do not pick up on the same sensation.  Inhale deeply from the center (not the rim) of the glass and see if you can conjure up some memories of mild flowery scents like lily of the valley, violets, or fresh roses.  Be sure to keep the actual flowers in mind and not the scented home products that supposedly resemble them.  If you do not detect these aromas, it could mean that your particular wine does not exhibit them strongly or it may mean that you need to develop your personal library of scents.  Either way, it means that you should try more; how’s that for a glass half-full?