Q&A: Wine & Food Questions
wine tasting
Do you go from sweeter/lighter to drier/fuller wines when doing wine sampling? Of course this would exclude ports or dessert wines.
Answer From Expert Roger C. Bohmrich, MW
Your question brings up the importance of sequencing in a wine tasting, a critical factor governing our reaction to each wine. As a general practice, it makes sense to start with the lightest, driest wines and progress to fuller, more powerful ones, and then finish with those that are sweet, with fortified wines at the very end. I do want to be sure I've understood your question, however, since you have drawn a distinction between "sweeter" and "dessert" wines. Are you referring to wines which have a small degree of apparent sweetness, perhaps the level of a German Kabinett or Spatlese (other than the Trocken versions)? If this type of wine is included in the tasting, then the sequence is not as clear, since these "sweeter" whites are also light-bodied, fairly low in alcohol, and have high acidity. The order would then depend on the other wines, and it might be a good idea - in terms of how your palate would be affected - to place these delicate, off-dry wines either after any that are truly bone dry, and before rich, oak-influenced whites, or at the end of the entire group of white wines. To guide you further, I would need to know the exact wines you intend to include in your sampling.
About The Expert
Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with Europe's leader in direct sales of fine wines to consumers. Previously, he served as senior executive of Frederick Wildman & Sons, traveling regularly around the world to visit wineries and taste the new vintage from barrel. Roger became one of America's first Masters of Wine in 1993.
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