After your initial visual impressions, swirl wine in your glass. While this may be tricky at first, you will pick it up quickly. This reveals "legs". The more wine sticks to side of a glass, higher alcohol content.

The Role of Sense of Smell During Wine Tasting

As mentioned earlier, many of subtle "tastes" of wine are actually perceived by your sense of smell. While there are only four perceptible tastes, there are thousands of different scents. Revealingly, sinus congestion will stop even most experienced and accomplished wine taster in his/her tracks. Smell is perceived through upper nose as well as through back of throat. Molecules of different scents are registed by olfactory bulb in sinuses.

Before smelling a wine, swirl glass again to reveal aroma. When smelling a wine, attempt to put any familiar aromas into context of previous tastings. This is fundamental basis for increasing your knowledge of tasting wine.

After smelling wine, majority of registered perceptions occur very quickly. Sense of smell is very delicate and easily overwhelmed. Smelling same thing repeatedly becomes less and less revelatory in rapid succession. If you do not immediately pick out array of aromas in a wine, relax for a minute or two, then try again.

The Actual Tasting Begins

After experiencing aroma of a wine, it is logically time to taste. Swirl wine once more, and then swallow a small sip. After your initial impression, take a slightly larger sip and make an effort to coat your entire mouth. This is called, "chewing" wine. Before swallowing, aerate wine in your mouth. While this makes a slightly strange sound, enhanced flavors and aromas that are released are more than worth it.

Another important component in tasting process is touch, or how wine feels in your mouth. Major variables to be aware of are body of wine, serving temperature, and astringency. The body of a wine includes depth of flavor and alcohol content. If these components are underrepresented, a wine will taste dilluted.

Serving temperature is an important variable that mainly hinges on varietal(s) that compose a particular wine. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc will taste flat at room temperature, and should be chilled. On contrary, a well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon will not reveal its true complexity when served too cold. The incorrect serving temperature for a wine will adversely affect both aroma and flavor.

Astringency is basically a synonym for bitterness, and is caused by excessive or unmellowed tannins. Great red wines often taste astringent in their youth, but develop into opulent masterpieces when mature.

I hope that you believe that proper wine tasting skills are within your reach; because they certainly are. Mankind's ancient enjoyment of wine is largely derived from fact that our senses, feelings, and preferences are basic components of what makes us human.

Because every state has power to make their own laws regarding wine sales, it has effectively made commercial wine distribution a convoluted mess. Marketing wine in U.S. continues to be a difficult and frustrating task, especially for smaller wineries.

The effects of 21st Amendment have had a major impact on history of wine consumption in U.S. during 20th and 21st Centuries. Its legacy is a tangle of state and county laws that regulate production and sale of wine.

The Fortified Wine Years

Immediately after repeal of Prohibition, wine consumption dropped as Americans had renewed access to spirits and beer. From repeal of Prohibition to late 1950s, high-alcohol dessert and fortified wines dominated market. These were darkest days of history of wine production and consumption. Many fortified wines were produced and sold extremely cheaply, and catered to "misery market". "Winos" drank these overly alcoholic concoctions becauses they were cheapest way to get drunk. In quest for short-term profits, unscrupulous producers stamped a black mark on history of wine in America.

From 1934 to early 1950s, immigrant families consumed majority of table wines. Unfortunately, many of their offspring did not follow their parents traditional drink choices and began consuming beer and cocktails as they assimilated into American society. Table wine was a mysterious beverage to most Americans and was associated with high-society and recent arrivals from Southern and Central Europe.

The Jug Wine Years

America's taste for non-fortified wines finally began to develop in early 1960s. The majority of these new wine drinkers were young, well-traveled, and relatively affluent. As Baby Boom generation came of age, ranks of wine drinkers increased. Even still, majority of consumers bought simple, sweet wines.

The early 1980s saw height of frenzy to promote and sell inexpensive wines to American public. The White Zinfandel rage was and continues to be a major part of market. Total American wine consumption reached an all-time high due to a massive influx of capital and advertising. Despite predictions of continued increases, it did not materialize.

At same time, overall alcohol consumption decreased in United States during 1980s. The anti-drug and alcohol movement justifyably discouraged dangerous levels of drug and alcohol ingestion. Unfortunately, extremists in movement also attacked history of wine consumption in America. Zero-tolerance attitudes portrayed moderate wine consumption as not only hazardous to individual, but also as detrimental to entire population.

The Renaissance Years

In late 1980s, jug wine consumption fell sharply. American tastes were changing, and market began to demand wines with defined characteristics. Mike Benziger's Glen Ellen Winery entered void, creating hugely popular "fighting varietals" genre. These wines bridged gap between generic production of past, and boutique wineries of following decade.

Much of America's current interest in quality wine stems from a 1991 60 Minutes Program that examined health benefits of moderate wine consumption. The "French Paradox" is fact that French consume fatty foods, significant red wine, and have a very low incidence of heart disease. This news had a major impact on American wine consumption, especially in aging, affluent demographic groups.

The Future...Factors to Consider

As American society becomes increasingly more fast-paced and hectic, fewer families are sitting down together for dinner. This is not a positive sign for American wine consumption as few people open up a bottle of wine to drink with their drive-thru or take-out dinners.

Wine enjoyment is symtomatic of relaxation, and these days American society is anything but relaxed. The history of wine is also synonymous with stable family relationships, and divorce rate in U.S. is currently about 50%.

Furthermore, wine is a complicated subject that generally requires a certain amount of leisure time and money to become a true adherent. Additionally, wine has an unflattering image amongst many American alcohol consumers who prefer beer or liquor. In my opinion, there are limits to how large quality wine market can increase.

On a more positive note, American population is aging, and older, more affluent people tend to enjoy wine more than other demographic groups. Hopefully they will pass their appreciation of wine to next generation.

In many ways, history of wine consumption in U.S. is a microcosm of both positives and negatives that have come with innate American experience. Studying history of wine consumption in U.S. illuminates political, cultural, religious, and racial diversity that has made nation what it is today.

America has a relatively small but growing population of wine-lovers. Although number of regular wine drinkers are far from being a majority, they will continue to grow as population ages. Future trends will probably include an increase in consumption of quality varietals grown in specific, terroir-driven locations.