Aftertaste
Definition - What does Aftertaste mean?
The aftertaste of a wine includes all the flavors and the taste which lingers in the mouth after the wine is savored. This is also referred to as the "finish" and is an important factor in the final analysis of a wine.
A good aftertaste with a balanced mouthfeel and lingering flavors are indicative of a quality wine.
WineFrog explains Aftertaste
in order to properly analyze a wine, a few steps need to be taken so that each element and aspect is taken into consideration.
- The appearance of the wine is observed for its color, its ability to reflect light and for its transparency or opacity.
- The taster swirls and smells the wine in order to make notes of its aroma and bouquet.
- The taster then tastes the wine and "pulls" it around their palate in order to appreciate the tastes, flavors, tertiary aromas and its mouthfeel.
- The wine is then swallowed or spat out and the finish and/or aftertaste is then noted.
This final step will enable the individual to decipher the quality of the wine or which category the wine may fall under. They rate its body (light, medium, or full body), its style and finally its quality and whether it should be consumed while it is young or if further bottle-aging should be taken into consideration.
