Wine Tips & Tricks
Mastering the Five S’s of Wine Tasting
Wine tasting does not need to be intimidating, and you certainly do not need to invent flavours just to sound impressive. The Five S’s give you a simple way to slow down, notice what is in your glass and understand why you enjoy one wine more than another.
The process is Sight, Smell, Swirl, Sip and Savour. You can use it with any bottle, from a fresh Swan Valley Chenin Blanc to a mature Margaret River Cabernet. It is not about finding the “correct” answer—it is about paying attention.
Step 1
Sight
Look at the wine’s colour, clarity and depth before you smell or taste it.
Step 2
Smell
Take a gentle first sniff and notice the aromas that appear immediately.
Step 3
Swirl
Move the wine around the glass to introduce air and release more aroma.
Step 4
Sip
Taste for fruit, acidity, tannin, sweetness, body, texture and balance.
Step 5
Savour
Pause after swallowing and notice the length, finish and final impression.
Before You Begin
Give the wine a fair chance
The glass, serving temperature and amount poured can all change what you notice. Use a clean wine glass, fill it no more than about one-third and avoid strong perfume, scented candles or cooking smells nearby.
Temperature matters too. A white served ice-cold can hide its aromas and texture, while a red that is too warm can seem heavy and overly alcoholic—particularly during a Perth summer.
Keep It Simple
You do not need expert vocabulary
If a wine reminds you of lemon, cherry, vanilla, herbs or something else familiar, that observation is useful. Another person may notice something different, and neither of you has to be wrong.
Start with broad descriptions such as fresh, ripe, floral, savoury, light, full, smooth or drying. More precise flavours often become easier to identify with practice.
Step One
Sight: look before you taste
Your first impression begins with the appearance of the wine. Hold the glass against a white background and look at its colour, clarity and intensity.
- Colour: whites can range from almost clear to deep gold; reds can move from purple and ruby towards garnet and brick.
- Clarity: most wines should look bright, although an unfiltered or minimally handled wine may have a slight haze or harmless sediment.
- Depth: a deeply coloured wine may suggest thicker skins, greater extraction or concentration, but colour alone does not tell you whether a wine is full-bodied.
- Age: whites often deepen in colour with time, while mature reds commonly become lighter and show garnet or brick tones around the rim.
From the pale straw of a young Riesling to the deep ruby of a Shiraz, appearance gives you clues—but save your final judgement until you have smelled and tasted the wine.
Step Two
Smell: take a first impression
Before swirling, take a short, gentle sniff. This first impression lets you notice the most obvious aromas and can help reveal whether something seems out of place.
- Primary aromas come mainly from the grape and can include fruit, flowers, herbs and spice.
- Secondary aromas come from winemaking, such as oak, toast, vanilla, butter or lees-derived bread and nuttiness.
- Tertiary aromas develop with bottle age and may include dried fruit, earth, mushroom, leather, tobacco or savoury spice.
If the wine smells strongly of damp cardboard, vinegar, nail-polish remover or tired, cooked fruit, it may be faulty. A flavour you simply dislike, however, is not automatically a fault.
Step Three
Swirl: help the wine open up
Place the glass on a flat surface and move it in small circles. This is the easiest way to swirl without decorating the table—or the person beside you.
Swirling increases the wine’s contact with air and encourages aromatic compounds to leave the liquid. Smell the wine again afterwards and compare it with your first sniff. You may notice more fruit, spice, oak, floral or savoury detail.
Both white and red wines can benefit from air. Rich Chardonnay, structured reds and wines with some bottle age often change noticeably after a few minutes in the glass.
Step Four
Sip: bring the pieces together
Take a modest sip and move the wine around your mouth. You are looking at how its different elements work together, not just whether it tastes fruity.
- Acidity: the refreshing, mouthwatering sensation that gives wine energy.
- Tannin: the drying or grippy feeling found mainly in red wine.
- Sweetness: actual residual sugar, which is different from ripe fruit flavour.
- Body: how light, medium or full the wine feels in your mouth.
- Balance: whether fruit, acid, tannin, alcohol and oak feel harmonious.
Some tasters draw a little air through their lips while the wine is in their mouth. It may look unusual, but it can lift aromas towards the back of the nose and make flavours seem more expressive.
Step Five
Savour: pay attention to the finish
After swallowing, pause before taking another sip. Notice which flavours remain, whether the wine changes as it fades and how long the impression lasts. This is known as the finish.
A long finish can be a sign of quality, but length is not the only consideration. Ask whether the finish is fresh, balanced and pleasant. Does the fruit continue? Does tannin become harsh? Does acidity leave you ready for another sip? Most importantly, do you want to taste it again?
That final question matters. Technical analysis can help explain a wine, but enjoyment is still the point.
Your Quick Tasting Checklist
Five questions to ask
- Sight: What does the wine look like?
- Smell: What do I notice before swirling?
- Swirl: What changes once the wine meets more air?
- Sip: Do the flavours and structure feel balanced?
- Savour: What remains after I swallow—and do I want another sip?
Put the Five S’s into practice
The best way to learn is to taste
Open a bottle you already know, pour a small glass and work through each step without rushing. Then try the same process with a different variety or region. The more wines you taste thoughtfully, the easier it becomes to recognise what you enjoy.
You can also watch Partners in Wine WA tasting wines on our YouTube channel or explore more practical wine guides.
