Wine touches all the senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound.

At wine competitions, we judges use all our senses and the “S” system to evaluate the wines:

See—observing the wine’s color and clarity

Swirl—exposing the wine to air to release its aroma

Sniff—”You can tell by the smell” is what I like to say when assessing when a wine is likely to taste good; and aroma is at least half the pleasure

Sip—Take a good sip and swirl it around so it touches all the taste buds for a full impression

Spit—Judges do this because they typically taste about 100 wines per day, but obviously this does not apply at home

Swallow—This is what we do at home

Savor—While the liquid may be gone, a good wine lingers in the mouth with a “long finish”

Oh, and for sound? Clink your glasses with a toast!

 Obviously you don’t need to do all this with every sip at home, but the point is to fill your senses with the magic of wine by admiring the color, inhaling the aroma, and savoring the taste.

The magic of wine is that it is many things at once—a true cultural phenomenon that makes life better and richer and more beautiful. You can learn more about this in WineAmerica’s special website section The Magic of Wine. It has pages on fun facts, quotes about wine, its agricultural roots, economic impact and much more. This is not just for you to enjoy, but to download, link to, and pass on to your friends and colleagues.