A useful way through
- Decide what you are comparing and who is participating. Include an alcohol-free choice and make participation optional. Use a small, manageable selection. Do not turn a tasting into a challenge to finish every sample.
- Prepare comparable clean glasses, clear sample labels, water, a spittoon and a notebook. Keep the identity key separate if you want to record impressions before seeing labels. Consistency matters more to this exercise than buying an expensive aroma kit.
- Use the same observation order for each sample: appearance, aroma and, only if you choose to taste, your description of flavour and finish. Record serving conditions you know. Separate “I noticed…” from a factual claim about the product or its origin.
- Compare notes after writing them. Mark uncertainty and personal preference. If the conditions changed, record that limitation rather than presenting the exercise as a controlled test. Clean and store equipment according to its own care instructions.
Read the map as text
A CONSISTENT PLACE FOR OBSERVATIONS · A · B · Notes · Same prompts • clear labels • water • spittoon · Optional tasting. Record “not tasted” or “uncertain” when appropriate.
- Consistent glasses and labels
- Water and a spittoon
- Observation sequence
- Notes without a ranking claim
Put it into practice
For a fictional two-sample exercise, label the glasses A and B, use a note sheet with the same prompts and keep the identity key aside. A participant records “citrus-like aroma” for A and “I cannot identify this aroma” for B. Both are valid observations; neither establishes a quality score or professional qualification.
Illustrative example, not a reported client project or test.
Your take-away checklist
A small tasting setup with a useful notebook
- □ Consistent glasses and labels: ____________________
- □ Water and a spittoon: ____________________
- □ Observation sequence: ____________________
- □ Notes without a ranking claim: ____________________
Before you act
This is a note-taking exercise for adults who choose to participate, not health advice or encouragement to drink. Spitting does not make an activity suitable before driving or remove all risks. Choose alcohol-free participation whenever appropriate.
The note sheet
Sample code; known serving conditions; appearance; aroma description; optional flavour observation; preference; uncertainty; context. Leave room for “not tasted”. Avoid inventing a numerical precision your observations cannot support.
What you do not need to buy first
A themed kit can be enjoyable, but it is not a prerequisite for a simple comparison. Start with the equipment you can use consistently and safely. This guide does not certify expertise or recommend a paid course.
Keep label facts separate from tasting impressions
Write the exact product, version, producer information and any relevant label values separately from your own colour, aroma or taste notes. Do not infer a grape variety from red or white colour alone, or sugar content from a non-alcoholic description. The earlier article’s broad red-equals-Cabernet and white-equals-Chardonnay claims are not retained.
If comparing a declared quantity, keep the unit visible. In a purely arithmetic example, a label stating 5 g of sugars per 100 ml corresponds to 7.5 g in 150 ml: 5 × 150 ÷ 100. That is not a recommended serving, a health judgement or a measured value for an unnamed drink. Use the actual label and an appropriate professional for individual health or dietary decisions. Your personal tasting words can remain useful without pretending to be laboratory measurements.
- Identity
- Exact product and versionActual label
- Declared value
- 5 g / 100 ml in the exampleNot a generic category claim
- Arithmetic
- 150 ml → 7.5 gIllustrative conversion only
- Impression
- Your own descriptive wordsSeparate from composition
Sources for this addition
- What If There Was Another Way to Write Tasting Notes? ↗ — 2021-07-09, Maria Baldwin. The present addition is by MichaelT.
- Do Non-Alcoholic Wines Contain Sugar? ↗ — 2022-08-18, Maria Baldwin. The present addition is by MichaelT.
Sources & context
The earlier The Basics of Wine Tasting Accessories page was dated 2021-09-06. Its subject is developed here as a new procedure, with the original byline retained separately. This edition does not carry forward the page’s supplier recommendations or unsupported outcome claims.