Wine Journal on Sommo — AI Wine Scanner, WSET Prep & Wine Journal App

Wine Tasting Notes Explained: How to Write Yours Like a Sommelier

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most people write wine tasting notes the wrong way. They reach for poetic adjectives, copy phrases from the back label, and end up with something that reads well but tells them nothing useful three months later. That is not a tasting note. That is a sentence.

A real tasting note is a structured record that lets you compare bottles, track your palate, and recognise patterns over time. It does not need to be eloquent. It needs to be precise. This guide walks through the framework used by professional tasters and wine students worldwide (the Systematic Approach to Tasting, or SAT, developed by the WSET), explains the vocabulary that actually matters, and shows you how to start writing notes that train your palate while you drink.

How to Build a Wine Palate: A Progression Guide from Beginner to Confident Taster

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A good wine palate is not something you are born with. It is something you build, deliberately, through habits and practice. The difference between someone who drinks wine and someone who understands wine is not talent or genetics. It is attention.

This guide is not about tasting technique. If you want step-by-step instructions on how to assess a wine’s appearance, nose, and palate, read our guide to the five S’s of wine tasting. This post is about the journey itself: the habits, exercises, and progression stages that take you from casual drinker to someone who can pick up a glass and genuinely understand what is in it.

How to Remember Every Wine You've Loved

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You’re at a restaurant. The sommelier brings a bottle. One sip and you know: this is exceptional. You savor every glass.

Two weeks later, someone asks what you’ve been drinking lately.

You remember it was red. French, maybe? The label had something on it. Was it a 2019 or 2020?

Gone. Another great wine lost to the void.

Research from the Wine Market Council shows the average wine drinker forgets 94% of wines they’ve enjoyed within two weeks. Names blur together. Vintages evaporate. That perfect bottle becomes a vague, frustrating memory.

How to Build a Personal Wine Tasting Journal (And Why It Changes Everything)

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a scenario you’ve probably experienced: someone pours you an incredible wine at a dinner party. You love it. You ask what it is. You even repeat the name to yourself. And two days later, you can’t remember if it was from Spain or Italy, red or… no, definitely red. The name is gone.

A wine journal fixes this forever. But more than that, it transforms how you experience wine.