Sure, wine tasting might sound like the best job in the world (okay, to be fair, it really is) but have you ever wondered how we sort the corkers from the corked?
Our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute are all trained by The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, often referred to as WSET, a global organisation widely regarded as one of the world's leading providers of drinks education.
Here's a simple, step-by-step method we use to determine quality — and avoid a dud. Plus, how to do it yourself at home.
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How the Good Housekeeping Institute tests wine
We follow the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) to ensure consistency across styles and price points. But what does that mean?
Well, our testing team set up a blind tasting, ensuring identifying labels are removed, controlled serving temperatures and consistent pours. These are then presented to our panel, which consists of trained tasters.
Each tester takes detailed notes on the appearance, nose and palate of a wine, before coming to their conclusion, using the BLIC framework (balance, length, intensity, complexity) and readiness to drink. We'll eventually reach an overall consensus on the score after (sometimes lengthy!) discussion.
These notes and scores are then captured in detail, allowing our senior food and drink writer, Stacey Smith, to create the content you read across Good Housekeeping (so you know what bottles are worth buying!).
Here's a step-by-step guide to finding the best wines.
Step 1: Appearance
Look at the colour; wines should be clear and bright vs. hazy and dull (unless intentionally unfiltered). The colour intensity will range from pale to deep, and can help set expectations of a wine.
Step 2: Smell
Next, assess the aroma. Starting with primary notes, you might smell elements like citrus (lemon, lime and grapefruit) in your white wine. Or there might be more tropical notes such as pineapple, mango and passionfruit. Red wines may display red or black fruit (or both!). Aside from fruit, you should also look out for floral, herbal, vegetal, spicy, and oak-derived notes.
Secondary aromas may include anything from biscuit and brioche to butter and cream and even forest floor! And tertiary notes will come from ageing – here, we’re looking for the likes of dried fruit, nuts, tobacco, coffee and more.
The intensity of these aromas will also range from light to pronounced.
Step 3: Taste
This is where we start to assess the structure and flavour of a wine. Is your wine sweet or dry, does it have fresh, mouth-watering acidity or silky tannins? Is the alcohol well-balanced or does it burn?
We also look to see if the flavours mirror what we found on the nose, check the intensity, and see if any feel more defined. Texture-wise, your wine might feel as light as water, or more full-bodied like mango juice. We also access the finish – the longer those pleasant flavours persist, often, the higher quality the wine.
Step 4: Verdict
So is the wine any good? To come to a verdict, we think about the BLIC (Balance, Length, Intensity, Complexity).
- Balance: Are the components in harmony?
- Length: Does it have a satisfying finish?
- Intensity: Are the aromas and flavours well-defined and powerful?
- Complexity: Does the wine display a range of primary (fruit/herbal), secondary (oak/lees) and tertiary (aged notes) in an appropriate way for the style?
Finally, we consider whether the wine is ready to drink now, or suitable for ageing, and consider the typicity i.e. does it taste how we’d expect for this grape variety and region?
How to practise the Good Housekeeping Institute method at home
- Line up two to four wines with clear differences (e.g., sauvignon blanc vs. chardonnay; a young rioja crianza vs. an aged gran reserva rioja).
- Taste blind if possible; take notes about the appearance, aroma, flavour, finish and your overall verdict.
- Use the aroma families list; compare notes with a friend.
- Revisit after 10–15 minutes to see how the air has changed the wine.
Want to learn more? WSET offers a range of courses for the complete novice, through to the wine pro, across a range of study options including evening, weekend, weekday, intensive and online courses. Prices start from £210 for Level 1 Award in Wines online.
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
