The ViniCode™ is broken down into six sliding scales. These scales describe the wine that you are tasting. It is not meant to be an evaluation of the quallity of the wine, that is left up to you. The beauty of the ViniCode™ is that the more wine you taste, you will begin to notice patterns of preference. And as you taste and ViniCode™ more wines, your sense of flavors and textures will only get sharper, increasing your overall enjoyment of wine.

The six scales of the ViniCode™ are:

• dry to sweet
• rounded to edged
• oak to no oak
• fruit to no fruit
• earth to no earth
• full to light

To more fully understand what the physical characteristics of each scale are, and what you can expect, we will describe each one separately.

The apparent sweetness of a wine is due to the residual sugar left after fermentation. The actual taste of sweetness is not just dependent upon the sugar, but it can be affected by the acid and the alcohol in the wine. A crisp acidic bite can temper sweetness, and alcohol itself is slightly sweet and can enhance that sensation in the mouth. In wine speak, the opposite of sweet is dry. As you taste, focus on the balance of the wine. Does the sweetness predominate? But be careful not to confuse sweetness and fruitiness. A wine can be fruity and very dry. If you feel the wine is sweet, give it a 1, 2 or 3. A dry wine will receive a 7, 8 or 9. Somewhere in the middle receives a 4, 5 or 6.

One of the things vintners are trying to achieve is the perfect balance of sweet and acid when they are out in the vineyard, sampling the grapes. If the grapes are too sweet the resulting wine can be "flabby" and lack backbone. But if the grapes are too acidic the wine will be "green" and unpleasant. This scale focuses on the acidity in the wine. Don't think that an edged wine is a bad wine. New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs have just the right amount of crisp acidity to make them very clean and mouthwatering. This evaluation may take several mouthfuls. If the wine is predominately edged, give it a 1, 2 or 3. If it is round, give it a 7, 8 or 9. Somewhere in the middle receives a 4, 5 or 6.

It is essential that the ViniCode™ addresses oakiness in wine. It is such a pivotal component because many buyers will decide whether or not to buy a wine based solely on this quality. Of course oakiness comes from the barrel in which the wine has been stored. To seal these barrels, vintners will actually burn the inside of them. This will release chemicals in the oak that have the characteristics of vanilla or burnt sugar. Over time some of the wine will be absorbed into the wood, and the wood will transfer some of its flavors and smells to the wine. This is a simple scale to determine the oakiness of the wine. The greater the oakiness the higher the number on the scale. Characteristics to look for: caramel, chocolate, leather, tobacco, smoke, toast, popcorn, vanilla.

During fermentation many aromatic chemicals are produced. This is why wine smells of so many fruits, but rarely grapes. Fruits can offer a wide variety of experiences. Think of the crisp bite of an apple, or the mellow firmness of a pear. The best way to increase your fruit vocabulary is by tasting. And remember, the actual fruit detected is very subjective. One person's raspberry is another person's peach. We also include floral smells and tastes in this category. Like the oak scale, this is a simple sliding scale to determine the strength of the fruitiness of the wine. Characteristics to look for: apple, apricot, berry, citrus, melon, pear, plum, sour cherry, fig, jam, prune, honeysuckle, perfume, rose, violets.

Some wines will exhibit distinct smells and flavors of the earth. They can add to the complexity of a wine, or they can easily overwhelm the wine and become unpleasant. Sometimes this unpleasantness comes from a particular yeast called brettanomyces. Once it works its way into a vat it is very hard to get rid of. It can destroy an entire season's yield. BUT, if the wine is of very high quality and the winemakers know what they are doing, it can add an interesting damp earth quality to the wine. But not all "earthy" smells have this damp quality. Also included in this category are the aromas and flavors of herbs and spices which can come directly from the grape variety itself. Zinfandel is a particularly spicy grape. Again, this is another sliding scale. Decide on the level of earthiness in the wine and mark it on the ViniCode™. Characteristics to look for: asparagus, bell pepper, grass, mushroom, petroleum, chalk, moss, wet leaves, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, licorice, mint, nutmeg.

This scale is a determination of the body or weight of the wine and not the depth of color. Often body is directly associated with the alcohol content of the wine. There are many alcohols produced during fermentation. The most common being ethanol, the inebriation factor. But there are other alcohols present and they can cause "off" flavors in wine if they are out of balance. These "out of balance" wines can actually burn as they are swallowed. It makes sense that they are referred to as "hot". As a rule of thumb, wines made from warm climate grapes will typically have more alcohol than wines made from cool climate grapes. Hold the wine in your mouth and try to determine if the wine is full or light bodied. Does it seem weighty and intense? Then give it a 7, 8 or 9. Is it light and breezy? Then give it a 1, 2 or 3.. Somewhere in the middle receives a 4, 5 or 6.

Once you have recorded your impression in each of the six categories, bring down the numbers to the squares at the bottom of the scales. This is your ViniCode™ for that wine. After you have tried several wines you can begin to pick out patterns. Do you tend to like wines that are round and oaky, or light and edged? Once you have a idea of what you prefer, you have a better shot of guiding your local wine merchant to the perfect wine for you.