Regarding wine tasting, see under Spittoon.
The wines tasted at a professional tasting are of course not swallowed or drunk due to the quantities involved. After tasting, they are spat out into an appropriate container (picture on the right). Since there are no nerves in the throat for the sensation of taste and smell, this does not detract from a serious examination. Lay people sometimes doubt...
In the past, you needed a wealth of encyclopaedias and specialist literature to keep up to date in your vinophile professional life. Today, Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one of my best helpers and can rightly be called the "bible of wine knowledge".
Prof. Dr. Walter Kutscher
Lehrgangsleiter Sommelierausbildung WIFI-Wien