💡 Sips of Wisdom #2: First Impressions – What Wine Appearance Tells Us

💡 Sips of Wisdom #2: First Impressions – What Wine Appearance Tells Us

Before the swirl, sniff, and sip, there’s the look. And it’s not just about admiring a pretty pour—your wine’s appearance holds valuable clues.

In this post, we explore how to assess a wine visually using the Systematic Approach to Tasting, and what those first impressions can tell you about what’s in your glass.

👁 Step One: Look

Hold your glass at an angle against a white background or in natural light. Here’s what to observe:

✹ Clarity

Ask yourself: Is the wine clear or cloudy?

  • Clear wines tend to indicate a clean, well-filtered wine—especially common in commercial styles.

  • Hazy or slightly dull wines might signal minimal filtration, age, sediment, or even a natural winemaking approach. (Not always a fault—some hazy wines are intentionally unfiltered for texture and expression.)

A crystal-clear Sauvignon Blanc? Likely young and fresh. A slightly cloudy orange wine? Likely natural, textural, and unfiltered.

🎹 Intensity

Look at how deep or pale the colour is. Tilt the glass and observe the rim.

  • Pale wines are often lighter-bodied, possibly from a cool climate or early-picked grapes.

  • Medium intensity is the most common across all styles.

  • Deep wines may suggest thick-skinned grapes (like Syrah or Cabernet), a warmer climate, or longer extraction during winemaking.

Colour intensity gives hints about how the wine might feel and taste.

🌈 Colour

Colour is where things get exciting—it can speak volumes about grape variety, age, winemaking, and style.

🍋 White Wines

  • Lemon – youthful, vibrant, likely unoaked

  • Gold – often oak-aged, aged, or from a warmer climate

  • Amber – oxidized or aged, possibly sweet or orange-style wines

🌾 RosĂ© Wines

  • Pink – fresh, fruity, youthful

  • Pink-orange / Salmon – a touch of age or a more savory style

  • Orange – skin-contact rosĂ© or aged expression

🍒 Red Wines

  • Purple – very young, juicy, fruit-driven wines

  • Ruby – typical for most young to mid-aged reds

  • Garnet – some age, possibly oak-aged

  • Tawny – significant age or fortified (think aged Port)

As wines age, they generally shift in colour—whites darken, reds lighten. It’s one of the easiest ways to guess a wine’s age at a glance.

🧠 What It Can Tell You

From just looking, you might already know if the wine is:

  • Young or aged

  • Light or full-bodied

  • From a warm or cool climate

  • Oaked, filtered, or made with minimal intervention

You don’t need to get it perfect—but training your eyes to notice these details builds awareness and appreciation.

đŸ· Try This at Home:

Line up three wines—a young Sauvignon Blanc, an aged Chardonnay, and a natural-style skin-contact white. Observe their clarity, intensity, and colour. You’ll be amazed at how much variety there is before you even take a sip.

đŸ«¶ Coming Up Next:

In the next edition of Sips of Wisdom, we’ll move from the eyes to the nose—how to smell wine like a pro (and what those aromas really mean).

Until then, stay curious. Sip wisely.
— Wine Curious

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