How To Sniff A Glass Of Wine

The ability to sniff out and untangle the subtle threads that weave into complex wine aromas is essential for tasting. Try holding your nose while you swallow a mouthful of wine; you will find that most of the flavor is muted. Your nose is the key to your palate. Once you learn how to give the wine a good sniff, you’ll begin to develop the ability to isolate flavors—to notice the way they unfold and interact—and, to some degree, assign language to describe them.
First and foremost, you need to be methodical and focused. Find your own approach and consistently follow it. Whenever you have a glass of wine in your hand, make it a habit to take a minute to stop all conversation, shut out all distractions, and focus your attention on the wine’s appearance, scents, flavors and finish.
You can run through this mental checklist in a minute or less, and it will quickly help you to plot out the compass points of your palate.
Enjoy!