Chateau Neuf de Pape Wine Tour with Francoise and David

We are just back from a full day of driving around the Chateau neuf de Pape region with Francoise and David. We visited 4 wineries, Brotte, Nalys, Roger Sabon, Clos de Michel, and had a three course lunch avec wine in Bedarrides. We were given a lot of information that seemed to disappear after the third tasting. Here are the stages of wine tasting as we remember them:
1. Check the colour by tipping it sideways (don't spill) against a white background
2. Stick your nose in for the "first nose" smell; check for the different families of smell: fruit, flower, spice, elements, minerals, animal
3. Swirl your wine and do the "second nose" smell (this is where I let the others come up with suggestions as all I could smell was wine).
4. Swirl again, hold up to a light source to see if has "legs" - fast legs = more oil = a wetter growing season("Fingers off the glass, Marie!") or slow legs = more alcohol and a drier summer/wine.
5. Drink half your amount of wine, look down, breathe in(slurp like through a straw), raise your head and "chew" your wine, then spit or swallow(we mostly chose the latter).
6. Empty your glass and rotate your glass between thumb and index finger while airing and
then do your "third nose" to get the final aromas of yor wine.

If you actually read all of this you deserve a glass of wine.

Sante!

K & M

Location:Rue Bernheim-Lyon,Avignon,France