by Tony Catalano

Created on: December 02, 2009

It's in fact a common misconception that more expensive wine taste undoubtedly better. In blind taste studies in fact the average person slightly more often than not preferred the cheaper stuff, so it seems apparent the difference is minute. You don't need to break the bank just to enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Now when you're buying a more expensive wine often it's a given that it'll be good quality. With cheap wine the problem isn't that it's all bad, it's that you have to try a bit harder to find the good wines, and to get the biggest value for your dollar.

Well inevitably experimentation will ensue. You have to explore some of the basics of wine-tasting. People often forget to do even the most obvious part: taste. Take a sip and let it sit, think about it. Even before that though use some of your other senses.

Learn to differentiate wine by sight. Look at it's color. If it is a red wine, what kind of red is it? Brick, maroon, violet, just red? Look at how transulucent it is. Older red wines are more transparent than newer ones.

Smell. The senses of smell and taste are deeply connected. Swirl the wine and take a quick whiff what do you smell? Next sniff deep, practically put your nose in the glass. Take note of what you actually smell, berries, vanilla, flowery scents, anything. Stir it up and sniff again.

Now when you taste, as stated above take a small sip, and just let it roll around your tongue for a bit. Observe the taste's attack, the initial phase of the whole thing. After that, in the middle phase you'll taste the body of it. Finally, let the aftertaste sit for a bit, and actually think about it. Look for the flavors you smelled within the taste, and in this way you'll really start to understand what separates the character of each wine.

An example of a good inexpensive wine with some character is Twin Vine. It's a white wine, refreshing and crisp, and it's got a whee bit of sparkle. It's the kind of thing that's nice to come home to. Check it out: http://www.jmftwinvines.com/

The thing about tasting wine is it is contrary to our normal mode of tasting, where food and drink are enjoyed but rarely savored. All it requires is a little bit of time with the drink and some thought, and soon you'll start to get the palate for it.

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