An essential step to savor the elixir of our passion, here are three vital points to prepare you to approach the vintages of your end of year festive evenings with a few guidelines.
How to taste champagne ?
During a moment of sharing, it will not be all the more interesting to educate those around you about tasting. Even if it is a formal aspect, this step will enrich the moment, and it will also be a tribute to the work of the winegrower or the Champagne Houses who work their bubbles for our pleasure (and their pleasure too, without a doubt!).
The following advice is of course only indicative and is not exhaustive. Do not hesitate to deepen your passion if you are new and new, or to continue if you are learned !
Nice gift idea, if you are an amateur or want to please, the book The taste of champagne is also very interesting to continue the momentum.
1.The robe (Colour)
For each tasting, I advise you to prepare your bottles, to choose your champagne glass. For tasting, before smelling your champagne, you need to take a good look at its color: the dress. Fill your (clean) glass slightly tilted and look at it in a bright place against a light background, preferably white. And of course, a sparkling wine requires an examination of its bubbles, their finesse, their regularity and persistence. Note also that the holding of the bubbles and foam are the "symptoms" of a good and great Champagne.
Some nuances of champagne wines :
- Colorless : dry and young
- Very light yellow with green reflections : dry, young and good acidity
- Straw yellow or golden yellow : dry when ripe
- Copper gold : sweet when ripe
- Amber : old and possibly oxidized
For the rosés
- From salmon to red "red fruits" : young and fruity
- Shade yellow or strawberry : begins to age
- Apricot : old
2. The aromas families
Olfaction is very important. Which means your state of health, what you've eaten (and if you smoke!), The nose is an exceptional tool. The olfactory bulb allows, thanks to its power and finesse, to determine the family of your champagne. Using a direct route (feeling) and a retronasal route (passage between the palate and the nasal cavities), it is by deepening your "scent" that you will be able to understand whether the "family" of this champagne will be adequate to accompany a type of dish: animal (meat, game, etc.), balsamic (balm, pine, resin, etc.), woody (bark, etc.), empyreumatic (smoke, burnt, leather, roasted coffee, etc.), floral (violet, honey, acacia, etc.) , spicy (cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper,…), etc.
3. Flavors
Flavors are made up of basic tastes :
- Sugar
- The acid
- The salty
- Bitter
The evolution of flavors evolve over time, with:
About ...
- 2 to 5 seconds, Attack : predominance of sweet tastes
- 6 to 12 seconds, the Evolution: a gradual decrease in sweet tastes and a gradual increase in acidic and then bitter tastes
- 5 seconds and more, the final impression: a predominance of sour and especially bitter tastes
Finally, to complete this post, I invite you to read or re-read the various articles on topics that will give you tips or other leads!
