The stimulus of the Spanish wine

The visual examination of the wine is the first step of the tasting. It is rare in our days that a wine presents defects clearly detectable by inspection. The steps in this kind of analysis are the following:

1. Examination of the cleanness. This is done by examining the surface of the wine and also laterally. It should be resplendent, without any impurities. If we lift the glass and look through it, the wine should be transparent, crystalline and without anything floating.

2. Appreciation of the colour. The analysis is done by inclining slightly the glass to enable us to appreciate:

a) The intensity (quantity)
b) Shade (description)

The evaluation of the colour gives an idea of the age, the aging and if the wine has suffered an excessive or accelerated maturation.

INTENSITY	WHITE WINE	ROSE WINE	RED WINE
Low	Low colourless Pale yellow Greenish yellow Lemon yellow	Violet rose Peonia rose Cherry rose Violet red	Puppy red Cherry red Currant red Medium
Medium	Straw yellow Golden yellow Pale yellow Greenish golden	Raspberry rose Carmine rose Yellowish rose Orange rose	Blood red Brick red Orange red Carmine
Alta	Strong golden Amber Copper coloured Brownish Mahogany Caramel	Apricot Salmon Onion skin Orange	Ruby Maroon Purple Russet Brown Coffee

3. Examination of the effervescence (quiet wine, pearly, frothy).

4. Fluency. This is the last of the visual examinations. The examiner inclines slightly the glass and applies circular movements in order to wet the inner surface of the glass. When the wine moves down it forms tears. Generally a wine that cries is better than one that does not, but this is subject to many interpretations.