Wine drinkers: Just chew it

Even as wine increases in popularity with most age groups year after year, it’s surprising how many people treat it like a common drink and just quaff it away.  Not only is this a waste of money, but by quickly downing a glass of wine (over the teeth and over the gums…), you miss out on the life’s experience provided by this time-honored beverage.

In fact, if you really want to tick-off the staff in a wine tasting room, just start chugging every round.  That’s definitely one way to get the evil eye from the guy or gal behind the counter!  So chugger, if you get off easy with a snide remark like, “Hey you, you’re really lookin’ a little thirsty”, consider yourself lucky.  Some get cutoff.  The reason for this attitude is that everyone in the wine business has been trained to at least understand the 4 basic “esses” of wine tasting:  Sniff, Savor, Swallow (or Spit if you’re a pro), and Study.

But of all our tasting faux pas, the most common one is forgetting to Savor.  Hey, it just happens, as we get older, many of us simply forget the power of the tongue.  But for wine professionals, the senses of the tongue are revered as an extraordinary gift.  Covered with thousands of taste buds all around, it can sense sweet, sour, salt, bitter, and more.  And those sensations make wine worth its cost.

So how does one put the tongue to work when tasting wine?  Just chew it!  That’s right, after taking your time to Sniff and enjoy the bouquet, roll that magic fluid around and let it attack your mouth.  Glide it over and under.  Treat it like a piece of sirloin between your cheeks and teeth, and even gargle it if you want.  Enjoy the acid, fruit, tannins, and countless other goodies.  By doing this, you will not only please yourself but also your server!

Remember, once wine is Swallowed, the taste is done (no taste buds down there), and all that’s left is the finish (Study it), and of course, the buzz.  So give your wine a good chew next time and be sure to use the cheese and/or crackers in between.  You’ll know you’ve arrived when your teeth start getting purple.  It’s the wine taster’s badge of honor.

And don’t forget to practice wine tasting at the ”Experience the Terroirs of Arizona” Festival this weekend.  A lot of Arizona wineries will be there with mucho varietals to enjoy.  Make them happy.  Cheers to the Purple Tooth Club!

Article by Tom Peiffer, Phoenix Wine Shopping Examiner at Examiner.com

View more of Tom’s articles on Examiner.com by visiting his writer’s page.