Sight, smell, sip, summarize

Swirling, sniffing and swishing. Bordeaux, Pinot Grigio and Riesling. Who really cares what this lingo means? Chances are if you have ever swirled a glass of merlot, sniffed a flute of chardonnay or swished a goblet of port, then you've participated in a wine tasting. Wine snobs need not apply -- the art of tasting wine is based on using the senses to your advantage and being eager to appreciate the age-old practice.\n"There are two camps of wine drinkers," said Jerry Comfort, director of wine education at Beringer Blass Wine Estates in Napa, California. "There are beverage drinkers and drinkers (interested in) the historic growth of wine." \nComfort leads hundreds of seminars in the United States and Canada annually for professionals and consumers of wine. He refers to an easy, general way of tasting wine as the "deductive tasting method," used by the Court of Master Sommeliers, which involves the four S's -- sight, smell, sip and summarize. Comfort also mentioned that while some wine is named for the grapes it is made with, there are also some known as varietals -- wine named by the geographic location of where its grapes were grown. \nTasting wine involves more than just the mouth. To effectively experience a glass of wine, sight, smell and touch are used as well. After a glass has been poured, a taster should pick up the glass and examine its contents. Should the wine be categorized as red, white or blush? Is it opaque or transparent? Does it have "legs" -- lines running down the side of the glass that determine the wine's viscosity, or density? \nAccording to www.wineloverspage.com, after determining these simple questions, the taster should swirl the wine, which releases the "aroma" and "bouquet" encased in the liquid. Sniffing is the next step. Considering the sense of smell is closely related to taste, sniffing is important when trying to deduce what flavors make up a wine. To get a good grasp on the scents of a wine, a taster should bring the glass to their nose and breathe in deeply, closing their eyes if they wish. The aroma -- the smell of the fruit used -- ranges from different grapes and other fruits, including apples, melons, and currants. The bouquet -- the overtones from aging -- can smell of a variety of floral, spicy, herbal, earthy and oak scents. The bouquet may also sometimes reveal where the wine was fermented, if it was in an oak barrel or a stainless steel vat. \n"Try to name two to three qualities out loud," Comfort suggested. \nThe main event of tasting the wine may seem overdue after the process aforementioned. When wine has finally made it to the taster's mouth, swishing is the proper way to gauge its flavors and tastes. Touch is part of this step as well, used to determine the weight and texture of wine in the mouth. Is it full-bodied, velvety, or thin? There are many descriptive terms that can be applied to how wine feels in the mouth. Many of the scents detected while sniffing wine can be applied to how it tastes, but some can be deceptive.\n"Wine may or may not mirror in flavor the aromas you smell," Comfort said.\nAfter a successful wine tasting, a taster can sit back and summarize the experience by remembering certain characteristics of the wine, from color to taste.\nWhether looking for a tasteful wine to entertain a date for the evening or trying to formulate an activity for Parents Weekend, Bloomington has a plethora of vendors that cater to the public -- from wine amateur to sommelier -- an individual with extensive knowledge of wine. Oliver Winery, located at 8024 N. State Road 37, is Bloomington's own renowned winery and offers a numerous selection of dry, semi-sweet, and semi-dry wines. \n"We have over 20 wines on our list," said promotions director Sarah Villwock. \n"Favorites among students include the Soft Red Wine and the Muscat Canelli," she said.\n"I like the Soft Red Wine because it tastes sweet and I enjoy sweeter wine," said senior Lisa Ledbetter, who works with wine at Grazie!. "It's really light and fruity and I think that's why a lot of younger people are partial to it. It pairs well with pasta."\nVilwock also said students should drink what they enjoy and not feel pressured to choose a wine just because it is popular. \nTutto Bène Wine Café at 213 S. Rogers St. offers wine tasting and jazz on Wednesday evenings. Its extensive wine list is accompanied by tapas-style dining with small dishes of various, savory Spanish food.\n"We get a fair amount of students, the majority being graduate," said General Manager Joel Pietropaolo. He also mentions that Tutto Bène changes its selections of wine often and said at the moment, they offer wines from Israel, Argentina and Lebanon.\nMini-classes are offered every Saturday and span from topics like viticulture to the physiology of taste. Pietropaolo encourages anyone who is interested to drop in for a class or two. \n"We just started the free classes, and there has been a decent turnout," he said. "You can impress a date with your wine knowledge, have lunch and taste a couple of wines. The classes are geared toward an introductory level and you can go from there." \nScholars Inn Gourmet Café and Wine Bar at 717 N. College has an array of gourmet cuisine and gives customers a large selection of wine from which to choose. They also have champagne brunches on Sundays, where champagne cocktails are half-price. Other less intimidating spots to pick out wine are the local Big Red Liquors and Kroger stores. They both have large sections devoted to wine that range in price. Grazie!, 106 W. Sixth St., gives wine-loving patrons a break on Wednesdays and Sundays, selling bottles at half-price.\nComfort said until recently, the basic rule of wine and food pairings was white wine with white meat and fish, red wine with beef, and sweet -- usually blush -- wines with desserts or after dinner. In today's world of wine, this guideline has been abandoned. According to www.wineloverspage.com, if in need of a place to begin, simply complement foods with wine that has similar flavors or those that are opposite. But this is only a benchmark, the Web site warns, so be creative! A good food and wine combination is one that is enjoyable and happens easiest when a taster is open-minded and experimental. \n"Wine is somewhat of its own genre with many levels to get into," said Comfort enthusiastically. "There is a mysteriousness to wine. (Wine tasting) is the quest for more knowledge of it"