Learn the Art of Identifying Aromas of a Wine

Do you know the power of our sensory organs? There are thousands of taste buds present on the tongue that allow you to differentiate between sweet, sour and bitter tastes. Our nose can detect uncountable odours and scents. You might wonder why are we discussing this today?! Drinking wine is like a journey with various steps—enjoying the colour, aromas & flavours. In this blog post, we’ll be talking about the art of identifying aromas of wine.

Smelling Wine
After a brief look at the wine and appreciating its appearance, it’s time for the next step i.e., smelling it. We suggest you swirl the glass carefully. Some oxidation is required especially for red wines, it helps release their aromas. For a better understanding, these aromas are categorised into primary, secondary and tertiary.
Derived from the fruit, primary aromas can be fruity or floral such as red berries, blackberries and lime. Delve a bit deeper and uncover subtle aromas. These are referred to as secondary aromas and are the result of the fermentation process. Next, tertiary aromas are a result of bottle or oak aging. Mostly red wines are oak-aged. Quite unlikely for white wine, winemakers often produce oak-aged Chardonnay. Such wines offer aromas of vanilla, tobacco, roasted nuts and cedar hints.
The aromas you are able to identify may differ from what another person does. Our brain is to be blamed! It identifies aromas with those that you would have come across before in some form or the other.

Difference Between Aroma and Bouquet
You must have read or heard the terms aroma and bouquet. These terms are commonly used by experts while describing a wine. Aromas are referred to as the characteristics imparted by the fruit (the grape variety). On the other hand, the bouquet is a result of the winemaking process, from fermentation to maturation.

That was all on identifying the aromas of wine! Do share your thoughts in the comment section below!