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THE TASTE AND SMELL TO APPRECIATE THE
WINE
The tongue only feels if the wine is sweet, sour (on the sides), salty
(in the front sides), or bitter (at the rear).
The volatile components (ethers and aldehydes) go up as vapour from the
nostrils and from the back of the palate, up to the top of the nasal
cavity. The humidity of this activity dissolves vapours and very
delicate nerves take them to the olfactory bulb in the brain. Behind the
olfactory bulb, there is the temporary bulb, the warehouse of our memory.
The olfactory sensations easily arouse memories, the experience is
analyzed in the parietal lobe, and a judgement is formed in the frontal
lobe.
The wine starts the brain and memories appear, but immediately a
delicate balance of brain functions is imposed. Finally, the tasters
spit the wine after obtaining all the information they need.
THE SIGHT
In the visual analysis you should pay attention to three basic aspects:
colour, clarity and viscosity.
In the first case, the colour shows two aspects: the vivacity and
intensity.
In red wines, the colours - generally ruby red - suffer significant
changes over time. This situation allows us to know if a wine is young
or old. In the young ones appear intense purplish red shades. In the old,
brick, tile or brownish red shades appear.
In whites, the shades are greenish yellow, bright and lively. When a
wine is oxidized, its colour turns to a dark yellow or opaque. In the
rose wines, the predominant colour is the lively onionskin. When a rose
is old, it becomes purplish pink.
The analysis of viscosity is done by observing the veil on the walls of
the glass when the liquid is given a rotational movement. The content of
alcohol or glycerine (element which the wines contain) is observed in
the formation of "arches" on the walls of the glass with the downward
movement of the liquid. These arcs are called "tears" of wine; the more
intense and consistent are the arches, the higher the alcohol content.
THE SMELL
It has been proved that the smell is the most sensitive and
comprehensive sense. A normal person accumulates up to 40,000 different
scents in the memory and with practice, this person can have up to
100,000 (usually reached by those who are responsible for discovering
the aromas of perfumes). Hence, it is often difficult to find the
complex aromas of wine. However, with attention and concentration, these
scents can be discovered. There are two ways of perceiving aromatics
substances: aspiration directly and through the retro nasal route.
The direct aspiration is to smell repeatedly as to identify the
different sensations. For retro nasal route, eliminating the wine of the
mouth and exhaling so that the volatile substances pass through the
olfactory system again.
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