Have you discovered your taste in wine?

There is a wine love for everyone…you can discover yours by knowing what tastes agree with you. Your tongue’s 9000-plus taste receptors recognize five tastes: sweet, sour, savory*, bitter, and salty. Wine grapes can produce all these tastes when fermented.

Good wine is a well-balanced set of tastes, primarily sweet, acid, and bitter flavors, with savory and salty tastes trailing behind. In practice, you can expect a blend of these tastes, with one taking the lead.

So, with that in mind, you can get started determining what type of wine you will love by asking yourself: 

Do I like cake over pretzels (sweet or salty)? 

Do I like tart apples over black olives (sour over savory)? 

Do I like Brussels sprouts or asparagus (bitter)? 

Let’s look at examples of where to find each of the five tastes in wine. 

Sweet as in the sweetness of caramel, raisins, or honey. 

This can be found in Australian “stickies,” a nickname for fortified sweet wine from Australia, German Eiswein, Sauternes from Bordeaux, and the famous Greek sweet wine, Mavrodaphne of Patra. Italian wines, Moscato d’Asti, and Brachetto d’Acqui, are excellent choices, and of course, you must try Portugal’s famous Port, Maderia, and Setúbal.

Spain’s six unique Sherry styles are a must-try; guaranteed, you will find one to suit your taste. Hungry’s Tokaji Aszu is a great wine that must be included on this list. It’s complex and sweet with various aromas and tastes, such as dried apricot, fig, pineapple, honey, and dried citrus peel.  

Sour (acidity), as in the tartness of green apples, pineapple, or berries.

Balancing sweetness is sour, or acidity, referred to in wine terms. This is not a negative trait and expresses itself with mouth-watering tart fruit sensations. Acids are found naturally in grapes and are a byproduct of wine-making, and to a degree, the amount can be up to the winemaker’s discretion. Some wines that showcase acidity are France’s Loire Valley Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, both from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. Central Loire Valley Savennières and Vouvray from the Chenin Blanc grape are other high-acid beauties. Portugal’s famous Vinho Verde is an excellent example of acidic tartness in a good way. And Virginia’s Sauvignon Blancs and Viogniers from the Monticello or Middleburg AVAs shine with balanced acidity.

Savory, as in smoked or grilled meat, olives, dark berries, thyme, and minerals. 

Reds, whites, and rosés can have a savoriness; even sparkling wines sometimes have the savory smell of baked bread or yeast. Reds such as Mourvedre, Bordeaux, Chianti, and Tempranillo have savory expressions that jump out of a glass. In contrast, California Chardonnays aged in oak can have a smoky, savory component. Some Sauvignon Blancs, the French ones, Spanish Verdejos, and Austria’s Grüner Veltliner are good examples of savory whites.

*Savory is often known by its Japanese term “umami,” which translates to ‘delicious.’    

Bitter of black coffee, tea, hopped IPAs, or dark chocolate.

The bitter taste is primarily caused by tannin, a naturally occurring substance in grape skins, seeds, stems, and oak barrels. Alcohol also can be perceived as bitter by people who are hypersensitive to it. Red wines such as Tannat, Petite Sirah, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, and Mourvedre are high in tannins. Tannins can also be found in some whites. An example is Orange wine, a white wine fermented with grape skins with a nice bitter bite to its finish. White Pinot Gris, a pink-skinned grape, has more tannin than typical white grapes and has a touch of bitterness. German Gewürztraminers also can undoubtedly have a bitterness to their finish. 

Salty, briny tastes, as in fresh oysters or tomato juice. 

Saltiness, although not expected, can be found in wine. My friend swears he detects a briny salt air taste in wine from Virginia’s Eastern Shore AVA. Spain’s Manzanilla Sherry, aged by the Gulf of Cadiz on the Atlantic coast, has produced salty tastes. I recently read of some Austrian wines independently blind-tasted by three tasters, and all detected saltiness. The article went on to say this is attributed to the mineral content of the soil.  

With this information in mind and some enjoyable experimentation, I am confident you will find wines you love.