Buddha Kat TV: Episode 4
Ready to move on to "S" number two? Good, let's do this.
"What's the big deal about swirling?" you may ask?
Well, the big deal is aromatics. Everything you drink has an aroma. Good or bad it's there. Why is that a big deal? Well, because 70% - 80% of what we taste is actually what we smell. If you ask me that's kind of a big deal.
"Why swirl the wine? Why not just stick your nose in the glass?" What a great question! It has to do with surface area, the more surface area the wine is spread over the more aromatic compounds are released out of the wine. The more aromatics that are released the better you can smell the overall wine.
Surface area isn't the only factor to take into account though, some aromas are more volatile than others, being released easier than others. Curious? Try this, pour a glass of wine and just let it sit for a few minutes. Then stick your nose in there and get a good whiff. If you are using a red wine you probably smell a lot of caramel and oak. If it's white wine you probably smell fruitiness. Ok, now give the wine a couple of nice swirls to get that glass coated, now smell. That caramel and oak is now a part of something bigger...the grape. Take a sniff, wait a few seconds, sniff again. Is the aroma changing over time? It should be. As those aromas blow off the aromatics change, then when you swirl again it's starts the whole process over. But, because you are adding oxygen to the wine when you swirl it will never smell exactly the same every time. (Probably close enough that you can't tell the difference every time, but technically it's different)
Now, things a bit tricky here because we are starting to move into our next "S" which is sniffing, so to finish up swirling I just have to say, don't get over zealous and throw the wine everywhere, but enjoy those aromas and know what that little swirl can do.
-Josh
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