When it comes to tasting wines, or simply enjoying them, there are a few steps that can help to make the experience even more enjoyable. Swirling the wine in the glass is not to pretend that you understand wine, but it is a trick and here we tell you what it is for.

Whether or not you are a wine expert, the action of swirling the wine in the glass (note that this does not count for sparkling wines since you would only get rid of the bubbles), plays an important role in three aspects of the tasting: the observation, the aroma and the taste. Let’s go part.

When you pour yourself a drink, the first thing you ask yourself is what am I about to drink. Well, this is when observation can give you information about it, but just looking at the colour is not enough.

If we swirl the glass we can also see its viscosity. Have you ever heard of the legs of the wine? Those drops that fall down the walls of the glass after swirling it? The more legs you see, it means that the more alcohol and residual sugar the wine has. That is, the wine is more alcoholic and sweeter.

The second point, and one of the most important in the enjoyment of wine, has to do with the aroma. When we swirl the glass, what we do is that the wine comes into contact with oxygen, which in turn helps to release volatile compounds from the wine and reach the nose in a much more intense way than if we did not swirl the glass. Now, you don’t need to swirl it all the time. After doing so you can stop, bring your nose to the glass to smell and then take the first sip. This action is especially good for interpreting the secondary aromas of more complex wines, those that appear in a “second layer” because they are more hidden and need a bit of air to develop.

Like, for example, the hints of graphite, silt and minerals in Carmín de Peumo, or the nuances of black tea leaves in Amelia Pinot Noir. It also helps to obtain relevant information on the type of fermentation. If a wine has a bubblegum aroma, it is very likely that its clusters have been fermented whole.

And lastly, swirling the wine in the glass will enhance the flavour of the wine.

As you know, smelling and tasting are strictly connected. So, thanks to the influence of the oxygen that enters the wine, the aromas will be enhanced, feeling fresher and juicier on the palate.

 

How to swirl the glass correctly?

It is important that you have a relatively wide wine gladd and that you are careful when performing the movement. The idea is that it be a constant rotation, but not too fast or too slow, so as not to overdo it by spilling the wine.