Incredible variety of wines that were made in the last few centuries have created the wide following of wine tasters, who examine and evaluate every sensory aspect of wine. As thousand year old recipes started changing with the advancement of winemaking technologies, many new tastes and flavors introduced new era of wine tasting. First practice of wine tasting started in 13th century, and since then tasters introduced variety of new ways to describe the range of flavors, aromas and general characteristics of a wine.
The main goal of winetasting is establishing the complexity and character of the wine, potential for aging or immediate drinking, and possible faults. To ensure the impartial judgment of professional tasters, wine is often served "blind" - without the possibility for taster to see the label or shape of the bottle, sometimes served in black glass which masks the color of the wine (this is done to fight the tester's prejudices of specific vintages, regions, color or other considerations).These examinations are done by following four main steps of winetasting:
Wine tasting competitions started occurring regularly ever since the first one was established in 1224 by the French king. Wines from all around the world compete following strict rules concerning vintage, glassware, storing and serving temperature, and scoring systems. In the last few years several schools have even offered classes that teach the public the intricacies of the winetasting art.