How to write wine tasting notes you'll actually use
Most tasting notes are never read again. They're too long, too vague, or full of words the writer wouldn't use in conversation. The notes worth keeping are the ones that help you decide something later: whether to buy the wine again, when to open your next bottle, or what to serve it with.
I'll admit something: I'm not good at picking out individual smells and flavours in wine. So my own notes focus on what I can feel instead:
- How intense the wine is
- How long it lasts
- Whether it's complex
- Whether it's interesting
Wine courses have a name for most of this: BLIC, from the WSET courses, which stands for Balance, Length, Intensity and Complexity. It's a quick way to judge quality without naming a single aroma, and "interesting" is my own addition.
I try to find a few aromas, but describing how a wine feels when I drink it is much easier for me to remember. That's also why I started logging every wine in an app in the first place: to remember what I'd been drinking and what I thought of it. If aromas aren't your strength either, a note like mine is still a good note.
What should a tasting note include?
Five things, in this order:
- The wine. Producer, name, vintage. Without this, the note is useless.
- What it looks like. One or two words. Colour and depth.
- What it smells like. The main aromas.
- What it tastes like. Flavours plus structure: sweetness, acidity, tannin, body, finish.
- Your verdict. Did you like it, is it ready, would you buy it again?
Add context if it'll help later: where you drank it, with whom, and what you ate.
How do you describe each part?
Look. Tilt the glass against something white. Is a white wine pale lemon, gold or amber? Is a red purple, ruby or brick-coloured at the rim? Young reds are purple, older ones turn orange-brown at the edge. Whites deepen in colour as they age.
Smell. Swirl, then sniff in short breaths. Start broad, then get specific:
| Broad | Specific examples |
|---|---|
| Fruit | Lemon, green apple, peach, cherry, blackcurrant, plum, fig |
| Floral | Blossom, rose, violet |
| Herbal | Grass, mint, eucalyptus, green pepper |
| Spice | Black pepper, clove, cinnamon, liquorice |
| Oak | Vanilla, toast, smoke, cedar, coconut |
| Earth and age | Mushroom, leather, forest floor, tobacco, honey, nuts |
You don't need many words. "Blackcurrant, cedar, a bit of mint" says plenty.
Taste. Take a sip, move it around your mouth, and pay attention to structure as well as flavour:
- Sweetness: dry, off-dry, medium, sweet.
- Acidity: does it make your mouth water? Low, medium, high.
- Tannin (reds): does it dry your gums? Soft, firm, grippy.
- Body: light like skimmed milk, full like cream.
- Finish: how long the flavour lasts after you swallow. Short, medium, long.
Verdict. This is the part you'll read most. Two or three words is fine: "Lovely, buy again", "Too young, wait two years", "Past it, drink up the others".
What does a good note look like?
Here are two examples of notes that are short and useful:
Domaine X Morgon 2022. Bright ruby. Cherry, raspberry, a bit of pepper. Light, juicy, soft tannin, fresh. Great slightly chilled with roast chicken. Buy again, drink now.
Château Y 2016, Pauillac. Deep ruby, no browning yet. Blackcurrant, cedar, pencil shavings. Firm tannin, still grippy, long finish. Good but tight, needed two hours in a decanter. Wait 5 years for the next bottle.
Both tell you everything you need when you see the wine again.
What should you leave out?
- Lists of 15 aromas. Pick the two or three you really noticed.
- Words you'd need to look up. Use your own language.
- Scores without words. A number alone won't remind you why.
- Things you think you should taste. Write what you actually found.
How do you get better at it?
- Taste side by side. Comparing two wines makes differences obvious. A blind tasting is the best training there is.
- Smell things. Fruit, spices and herbs in your kitchen are free aroma training.
- Read your old notes before opening another bottle of the same wine.
- Write something every time, even one line. Consistency beats detail.
Where should you keep tasting notes?
A notebook works until you need to find something in it. Smart Wine Cellar lets you rate and note any wine the moment you taste it, whether it came from your own cellar, a restaurant or a friend's table, and keeps every review in one place next to the bottles you own. When you open the second bottle of a case, your note from the first is right there.
Questions people also ask
How long should a tasting note be?
One to four sentences is enough for most wines. A note you actually write every time is worth more than a perfect one you only manage now and then.
What is the finish of a wine?
The finish is how long the flavour stays in your mouth after you swallow or spit. A long finish, ten seconds or more, is usually a sign of quality.
Do I need to use wine jargon in tasting notes?
No. Words you understand are more useful than terms you would have to look up. 'Tastes like cherries and pencil shavings, a bit sharp, I'd wait a year' is a great note.
Wine Reviews
Review every wine you drink, not just the ones in your cellar
Rate and note any wine the moment you taste it, whether it came from your own cellar, a restaurant or a friend's table, and keep every review in one place.
