Drink this Now! Lesson 2 Activity

 For this activity, I chose to engage in Drink this Now, Lesson 2 Activity, where you test out a variety of glassware to see how it affects your perception of taste. After sending my friend out to buy wines for this week's Lesson on how to drink wine I was delighted to see that the wines he picked out looked delicious.

The different glasses that I selected to use

The red wine that was picked out is a 2017 Old Vine Zinfandel from the Scotto Family Cellar. The bottle was about $12 and says it contains flavors of blackberry, cherry, and spice with mild oak accents and soft tannins.

The White wine we purchased is a 2021 Albarino, from Valminor. 

1. The first thing we did was scout out cups in the kitchen to find ones we thought would work well for this lesson. I also placed our white wine in the fridge, and then uncorked the red. 

The Albarino (Left) and the Zinfandel (Right)

2. I then filled each of the glasses with one shot of the Albarino.

The Shot of the Albarino in each of the glasses

3. I then sniffed each of the glasses and took the following notes.

Shot Glass: I noticed some aromas of apple, but not much to take note of as the scent was limited.

Rocks Glass: I noticed a slightly floral aroma, maybe some lemon, and definitely more aromas coming off the wine than with the shot glass.

Water Glass: In addition to the earlier notes of lemon, and apple, I also picked up some grapefruit. I could tell that the larger area of the glass was beginning to influence the scent. The citrusy scent was strong and easy to pick up.

Flared Smaller Glass: I will be real,  I think the glass smelled bad. Like a kinda atrocious odor that I think must have been coming out of the glass itself- worrying since it was fresh out of the dishwasher. The citrussy fruity scent was still present.

Big flared glass: Strong scent of apple juice, like if you told me this was a glass of apple juice based off smell alone I would believe you. I was also picking up a scent of melon, and lemon.

4. The next step was to drink the wine but in a different order!

First the shot glass: It tastes like pretty much every other wine I've had, but the ending note was very acidic and citrusy, hard to discern what type of citrus, but was still present within the palette. The wine felt to be very alcohol flavored, with it taking over the taste of the wine.

Small Flared Glass: moving to this glass, the initial taste of the wine was quite different. I thought it felt a lot smoother in my mouth and wasn't quite so punchy while it moved around my mouth. I was able to tap into that melon flavor again. I could sense the different flavors in the wine as well as 

Large Flared Glass: I thought it was insane how different the wine tasted in this glass. I could sense melon, apple, and lemon, without even trying. The original flavor of citrus that I had noticed while tasting out of the shot glass had clearly developed into an aroma of grapefruit. The bigger glass had clearly made a difference in how the wine tasted, as I went from it being something I thought was kinda basic and bland to being full of aromas and scents.

5. It was then time to repeat with the red wine! 

The different glasses with Red Wine

Here are the notes that I took after sniffing each of the reds!

Shot Glass: Once again there wasn't much to pick up on here. I got the slightest scent of some sort of spice (maybe like cloves but milder?)

Rocks Glass: Still was able to pick up the spice scent, but also picked up some form of berry. I am thinking it was a muted raspberry scent

Water Glass: I was able to pick up more of the raspberry but in a concentrated way, like a jam or a jelly.

Short Flared Glass: The jammy raspberry scent is becoming stronger, I can tell there are other flavors but I can't quite put a finger on them, I think they are fruity and similar to raspberry, 

Large Flared Glass: Berry flavor was extremely present. I was able to pick up on other fruity flavors which I can now tell are also berries. I think there is still some sort of spice to it, which I think is like clove, cinnamon, or maybe allspice? Not so familiar with my spices but I can tell there is something else there. It was crazy to see the change from the shot glass to this in terms of just scent.

These are my tasting notes:

Shot Glass: After smelling the large flared glass and then smelling this one, there was hardly any aroma coming off of the glass after swirling it around. What I found interesting about my tasting of this wine is that I could pick up on bold fruity flavors that tasted thick, but it was hard to tell them apart. I thought I was picking up a slight flavor of nectarine or plum.

Small Flared Glass: The wine felt silky smooth as it was sliding onto my tongue, I could tell the sniffing and swirling had prepared me for the flavors I was about to encounter. I was able to pick up the raspberry jam, as well as nectarine again but in a stronger more developed way. There was a peppery taste as well.

Large Flared Glass: The wine smelled and tasted its best here. I could pick up on so many different flavors. I got the raspberry, nectarine, and pepper, and I thought I could pick up on golden raisin. Using this glass made the wine come to its full potential and the flavors were truly vibrant.

6. the final step was to pour more wine into the large flared glass and using both hands while cupping it swirl it around for a couple minutes, then compare it to the small flared glass. 

Swirling the red!

 What I noticed in the small glass was the same as I had noticed before.

The bigger glass was a more pronounced raisin flavor, as well as how it somehow smelled warm(?). Overall I thought that the wine tasted warmer, but maybe not in a great way. It might be because of my strong dislike towards luke-warm beverages, but I did not like the taste as much.

Overall, I thought this was an interesting lesson to learn how glassware could effect how you smell and taste wine. Now I know that during wine nights I need to scramble for the big glass so that I can have a better wine experience than everyone else. I think that this less has proven to be helpful and I look forward to learning what else can impact the way I drink wine!