🍷 Finish (wine)
How long the taste stays in the mouth after a sip.
The finish is how long the taste stays in the mouth after you take a sip or spit the wine. It is also called the aftertaste. Tasters consider it one of the important signs of wine quality.
In a simple wine the taste disappears in a few seconds. In a good one it lasts noticeably longer, sometimes ten seconds or more. In French a unit called a "caudalie", one second, is used to measure the length. But it is not only about length: the finish should be pleasant and complex.
New shades can appear in it: spice, nuts, minerality or fruity notes. If the finish is sharp, bitter or burning from alcohol, it points to a lack of balance in the wine.
The finish is part of wine tasting along with colour, aroma, taste and balance. To sense it better, take a small sip, swallow and pay attention to the sensations.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Finish (wine) → kind of → 🍷 Wine tasting → works with → 🍷 Sommelier → works with → 🍷 Wine
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Frequently asked questions
What is the finish of a wine?
It is how long and in what way the taste stays in the mouth after a sip.
What does a long finish tell you?
Usually good quality: a complex, pleasant wine holds its taste longer.
How is the finish measured?
In seconds: tasters judge how long the taste remains in the mouth.