WINE TASTING

The visual examination, the olfactory analysis and the taste analysis are the three ways to do the wine tasting.

The visual examination.
Limpidity in a wine corresponds to absence of suspended particles, even if in some cases ( aged wines, non-filtrated wines or wines bottled on yeast) a limited presence can be acceptable. According to the degree of limpidity, a wine may be defined: veiled. quite limpid, limpid, crystal clear, brilliant.

Veiled is a wine with a strong opalescence and strong cloudiness, due to the presence of numerous suspended particles. Generally this occurs in wines in which undesired fermentation occurred, such as malolactic fermentation as we'll as other process. This is always an unacceptable situation.

Quite limpid is a wine with some suspended particles, which do not necessarily compromise its quality. Causes may vary from a long aging in bottle for some reds, bottling with yeast and consequent  double fermentation, often in white aromatic wines, bottling without filtration of reds rich in extract and coloring matter, In these cases the bottle must be handled with particular care while pouring the wine. In all other cases the presence of some particles should arouse some doubt.

Limpid is a wine free from any suspended particles, which consequently does not have any sediment. You can easily verify limpidity by tilting the glass of wine above an inscription and checking if the outlines of the letters are perfectly sharp.

Crystal clear is a wine totally free from suspended particles, having a peculiar intense brightness. The term may be applied to most white and rosé wines on the market, but also to some highly transparent red.

Brilliant is a wine with a wonderful brightness, which vividly reflects the rays of light.This is favored by the presence of carbon dioxide bubbles which refracts rays of light, it is more frequent semi-sparkling and sparkling wines. But this is not the only case. In spite of absence of bubbles, some excellent white wines, passito wines and liqueur wines, present a spectacular brightness.