Wine Tasting
A whole new experience
Welcome to our new blog series on wine tasting as we learn about the Seventh S which is “Spit”!
The six steps, which were See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Slurp and Savour have led to this step where you’ll learn why spitting is important. This is where you’re going to maximize your senses throughout a wine-tasting event.
The Purpose of Spitting
The main purpose of spitting is to make sure you don’t dull your senses while tasting many wines. It can also help you avoid making bad purchase decisions.
Let’s say you’re at a winery and you’re tasting 6 different wines. Assuming a 2-ounce pour, you’ll be drinking 12 ounces of wine if you don’t spit. That’s almost half a bottle of wine in what’s probably a relatively short period of time. The more you drink, the less able you’ll be to evaluate all the wines.
Alternatively, if you’re at a big wine tasting event, you may be served 3 or 4 times that amount! Imagine your level of inebriation at the end of it.
In any case, it’s best to be sure to have a designated driver.
The Spittoon
It might surprise you to learn that spittoons have been in use since the 14th century. They’ve been used for medical purposes to limit the spread of disease. They were also introduced in some countries to discourage spitting on the ground. Today they’re used primarily in wine tasting.
How to Spit
Before you begin a wine tasting adventure, be sure to find your spitting receptacle. Once you have some wine in your mouth and have swished it around over your teeth and into your cheeks, this is a good time to spit. Then, focus on the flavours, how your mouth feels, how long it lasts and whether it was pleasant, with full control of all your senses.
Now you’ve learned why and how to See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Slurp, Savour and Spit wine.
Have you been taking notes at each stage of the wine tasting process?
We hope you’re enjoying our new blog series on wine tasting and that the Seventh S has you intrigued to learn more. What more is there to learn? Now that you know what you’re doing, you can plan your own wine tasting event, learn what food pairings to serve and carry on the tradition. That’s what our next three blog posts are about. The food one is my favourite!
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels