One view, two smells, three tastes and four reviews are the basic steps of wine tasting, and the "shaking" before tasting is even more important to the result of tasting. "Shaking" means shaking the cup, which affects the result of wine tasting to a certain extent. So, what is the impact of shaking the cup? How to shake the cup correctly? Today, TECO wine cellar will reveal the mystery of shaking the glass in detail.
1、 Why shake the cup
1. Observe appearance
(1) One of the appearances: color. Generally speaking, the color of liquor is closely related to the variety, age and brewing technology of wine. When shaking the glass, the liquor rotates in the glass, which will form a gradual change in color. At this time, the hue of wine can be observed more easily.
(2) Appearance 2: hanging cup. When shaking the glass, the viscosity of wine can be preliminarily determined by rotating the liquor. When you stop shaking the cup, the liquor will converge into a liquid column in an arc or strip shape, and slowly flow down the wall of the cup, forming a "liquor leg" or "liquor tear". These "wine legs" are composed of alcohol, sugar and glycerol. Therefore, the thicker the "wine legs" are, the more glasses are hung, indicating that the more sugar in the liquor, the higher the alcohol level. In addition, the phenomenon of hanging glasses is also related to the material and cleanliness of wine glasses. It is worth noting that the degree of hanging the glass does not directly indicate the quality of wine.
(3) Appearance 3: bubbles. Shaking the cup makes it easier for you to observe bubbles. For example, when tasting slightly sparkling wine, shaking the cup can help you observe a small amount of bubbles in the cup.
2. Release fragrance
When many young wines are just opened, their aroma and flavor will appear relatively closed. Shaking the glass helps to release the flower and fruit fragrance of the wine itself. At the same time, wine will accelerate the release of more complex aging aroma through contact with oxygen. Just like the "heaven and earth roast goose" in the movie "God of food", although the appearance is already cool, and there is no aroma at all, when chef Yang Zhentian cuts open the cold goose belly and exposes the sparrow "just right to eat at this time" in the slowly rising steam, the enticing aroma will disperse.
Shaking the glass can release the aroma of wine thanks to alcohol. Because the boiling point of alcohol is lower than that of water, alcohol can still volatilize even at room temperature. At the same time, alcohol can dissolve the aromatic substances in wine and bring them into the air, so we smell the aroma. When you stop shaking the glass, the aroma above the glass is the strongest. By shaking the cup, even if there is only a slight difference between the aroma, it is easier to distinguish.
3. Enhance the taste
On the one hand, when shaking the cup, the contact area between the liquor and the air increases, and the oxygen in the air will dissolve in the liquor faster, and oxidize with the substances in the liquor. If a bottle of unopened wine is compared to a sleeping beauty who has been sleeping in the cellar for many years, oxygen is the prince who came here on a white horse and was dusty. When the prince kisses the sleeping beauty, the mountains are full of flowers and vitality is restored around. When oxygen comes into contact with liquor, the astringent tannins in wine will become softer through oxidation.
On the other hand, continuous contact with the air is conducive to accelerating the dispersion of unpleasant reducing odor. The reason why wine may have a reducing smell is due to the trace amount of sulfur dioxide in the liquor.
2、 How to shake a cup
First, we need to match a suitable wine glass for the wine. From the above aroma release process, we can see that the shape of the wine cup actually has a certain impact on the shaking of the cup. For example, the big belly, long thin legs and crystal clear thin-walled crystal cup are the best choice for tasting red wine. The large cup belly can maximize the contact area between the liquor and oxygen, and it is more difficult to spill the liquor when shaking the cup. The slender stem makes it easier for people to shake the glass. The thin and transparent wall can well refract light, making the red wine look brighter and more delicate.
The wine glass is ready. What about the posture of shaking the glass? In fact, the posture of shaking the cup is entirely up to you. You just need to find a way to make you drink and look comfortable. But it is worth noting that holding a cup belly will accelerate the rise of liquor temperature and affect the quality of wine. Therefore, unless necessary, try not to wrap your palm around the cup belly.
The so-called more professional or more "stylish" way to shake the cup is to hold the cup stem in hand and gently rotate the wine cup counterclockwise with the help of the power of the wrist. Why is it counterclockwise? In fact, this is a sweet little detail: when shaking the cup clockwise, the accidentally spilled liquor will spill outward to others, while shaking the cup counterclockwise is the opposite. In this way, even if there is an accident, the liquor tends to itself.
Shake the glass in half air, or put the glass flat on the table first, clamp the cup leg with your index finger and middle finger (or ring finger and middle finger), and shake the glass in a circle. When novices get started, they are difficult to control the strength of shaking the cup. They can try to practice shaking the cup with water instead of wine at home.
3、 Cases where shaking the cup is not required
1. When drinking fully foamed wine: fully foamed wine will lose bubbles after shaking the glass, and the taste is not good, so it is not recommended to shake the glass when drinking fully foamed wine.
2. After wine tasting: continuous shaking after wine tasting will cause wine to oxidize excessively and lose its original complex flavor.
TECO cellar is a modern enterprise integrating cellar engineering and supporting design from cellar R & D, cellar design, production and sales. With its own core technology and brand, and the pricing power of the brand, we can provide you with more preferential and cost-effective products and services, and even directly to you at the ex factory price. Welcome to consult!
