The 3 Sip System ~ Enjoying Wine & Beer Tasting to the fullest. By Kevin Celli for use in Stem & Steins December 2011 issue.

For the first edition of Stem & Stein Magazine I figured I would write about something that would help everyone from the beginner to the expert to fully enjoy and appreciate their next wine tasting or beer tasting experience. I host a private wine tasting class 2 or 3 times each week at our South Jersey Vineyard. By no means do I consider myself as a wine snob. The majority of my knowledge is in the 15 different types of grapes that we grow and the 24 different types of wines that we produce. The beauty in this profession is that on our farm not only do we grow it by hand and pick by hand, but we also ferment, age, and bottle one bottle at a time all on site BY HAND. With this type of environment I get to enjoy every grape taste imaginable from the vine to the wine. With all this being said my palate has become quite advanced for all taste & smells and I have a new appreciation of unique flavors and bouquets which has driven my passion for wine and beer tasting.

Right before a tasting begins, I recommend taking a good smell of yourself by burying your nose into your wrist. Smelling yourself it is like hitting a reboot button your senses. "Nothing is more natural then yourself," says Dr. Alfred Natali, wine maker for Natali Vineyards and wine judge extraordinaire. So now that we have our systems rebooted lets begin with my very own 3 SIP SYSTEM.

One important thing to remember is this: BEFORE EACH SIP make sure you get your nose in the glass and smell the wine or beer before each taste and observe how much of a difference the "NOSE" of the beer or wine changes as they begin to invade your palate with each sip. When doing a full flight or or many samples of your favorite beverage flavors will run together and you will hear people say things like, "everything taste the same." To avoid this, follow these 3 simple steps and really make your palate work for every drop of hard work that went into the product in hand.

SIP#1 Take one small SIP of your sample and swish it around throughout your mouth making sure to include all of your tongue. This first sip is truly to cleanse your palate and to clean off any previous things you have had in your mouth that day like foods, cigarettes, toothpaste or the previous sample of wine or beer.

*SIDE NOTE Before each SIP do not forget to smell your wine or beer and observe the difference in the bouquet. With each SIP your taste buds are working together with your nose and your mind.

SIP#2 Now this one is a little tricky. Take one small SIP, do a light swish around the tongue and then swallow hard against your throat, keep your mouth closed and exhale all of the fumes through your nose. Immediately get your nose in the glass and smell the difference now that the wine or beer is all over your palate. This is where people will get to know flavors and smells and use terms like spicy, earthy, citrus, sweet, acidic or floral to describe what their senses are picking up. I have always found it incredible when 2 people pick up the same flavors in a brew or wine at the same time. Our sense of smell is truly amazing and I think we as a culture do not appreciate it as much as we should.

The Final Sip! By this time your mouth should be completely embodied with your wine or beer. Your mind knows the flavors and where it is effecting your palate and your nose is filled with that product's unique effervescence.

SIP#3 This one is all up to you.

Take a nice size SIP and do what ever you like some people slurp, some just swallow and some even do a little gargle. But by this time your palate is completely taken over by that particular style of product. Now comes the fun part. Decide if you like it and then go figure out what you would pair it with. food, snacks or just a nice hot day by the pool or a chilly night by the fire place.?

I hope this helps everyone appreciate a tasting a little more if it seems too complicated log onto NATALIWINES.COM under top news and watch my video demonstration at our vineyard.

Drink Well Everyone
yours truly
Kevin M. Celli
NJ WINEGUY

Questions or Comments
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