HOW TO PROPERLY TASTE AND APPRECIATE WINE (STEP BY STEP GUIDE)
- Daniela DaSuta
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing wine tasting wrong,” you’re not alone.
Most people swirl, sniff, sip—and then immediately wonder what they’re supposed to be getting out of it. Meanwhile, someone nearby is confidently talking about “minerality,” which doesn’t help.
Here’s the reality: wine tasting is not intuitive. It’s a learned skill.
I first heard this idea from wine expert Jamie Goode, and it stuck because it explains why so many people feel lost. Humans are wired to look at something, decide if it’s safe, taste it, and move on.
Wine tasting flips that completely.
We slow down. We analyze. We pay attention in a way we’re not used to.
So if it feels awkward at first, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just learning.
Stop Overthinking This One Thing
Before we get into how to taste wine properly, let’s clear something up:
Wine legs do not tell you the quality of a wine.
Yes, those “tears” running down the glass can indicate alcohol or sugar levels. But they’re not a measure of how good the wine is.
And yet, I constantly see people fixate on this like it’s the key to everything.
It’s not.
You can acknowledge it and move on.
How to Taste Wine Step by Step
If you’re wondering how to properly taste wine, here’s the simplest and most effective framework:
Look → Smell → Taste → Assess
That’s it. The difference is how you move through each step.
1. Look at the Wine
Start by observing the color. This gives you subtle clues about the wine before you even smell it. I love to use the Wine Folly photos available for free online (see below).
For red wines, you might see:
Purple
Ruby
Garnet
Tawny
Brown
For white wines:
Lemon-green
Lemon
Gold
Amber (often aged or oxidative styles)
Brown
Not sure what these look like in the glass? Reference a photo! There are plenty online, like the one below by Wine Folly.
You’re not trying to be perfect here—you’re just building awareness.
2. Smell the Wine
This is where most of the experience actually lives.
Take a moment. Don’t rush it.
You don’t need to come up with hyper-specific descriptors. Just ask:
Does it smell like fruit?
Is it fresh or more earthy?
Is anything jumping out?
Most people move past this too quickly, which means they miss half the experience.
Pro Tip: Invest in a flavor/aroma wheel to get your creativity flowing!
3. Taste the Wine
Now we slow things down even more.
Take a sip. Then take another. Then another.
One of the biggest mistakes I see—especially in wine tastings—is people trying to assess everything in one sip: acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, flavor.
That’s not how it works.
Wine reveals itself over multiple sips. Give it a minute.
4. Assess the Wine
Only after a few sips should you start forming an opinion.
This is where you think about:
Balance
Structure (acid, tannin, alcohol, body)
Length (how long the flavor lasts)
And yes—do you actually enjoy it?
That part still matters.
Common Wine Tasting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Trying to Understand Everything Instantly
People feel pressure to “get it” right away.
You don’t need to.
Let the wine open up over a few sips instead of forcing a conclusion in the first 10 seconds.
Not Spitting During Tastings
If you’re at a wine tasting event with multiple wines—spit.
Wine professionals do this constantly. Otherwise, we wouldn’t make it very far.
It’s not rude. It’s necessary.
What Appreciating Wine Actually Feels Like
At a certain point, learning how to appreciate wine stops being about identifying flavors perfectly.
It becomes about presence.
When you’re truly tasting—especially in a blind tasting—you’re focused in a way that’s hard to replicate. Your mind doesn’t wander. You’re just paying attention to what’s in the glass.
And in a day where everything is competing for your attention, that’s surprisingly rare.
Final Thoughts on Learning How to Taste Wine
If you’re just starting out, here’s what matters:
You’re not supposed to be good at this right away.
You’re supposed to be curious.
The more you taste, the more things start to click—and the more enjoyable the entire experience becomes.
If you want to take this further, tasting with a professional, like the sommeliers we employ at Somm Space (who can guide you through these steps in real time) makes a huge difference—but even on your own, slowing down and following this process will completely change how you experience wine.
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