The Nose Knows - Wine Aroma

Filed in archive Drinking on February 16, 2010

© star5112

While you might think of wine as something you taste, the simple truth is that a wine's aroma has a great deal to do with our perception of how it tastes.

I found a piece recently by Stacy Slinkard that reminded of the importance of aroma (or bouquet) in the wine experience. While the tongue has a relatively limited repertoire of tastes (combinations of sweet, sour, acidic, and bitter), the nose detects a much larger array of identifable fragrances. And our brain tends to blend sensory input into perceptions we call experience.

Alot of things contribute to a wine's aroma.

In general, a wine's "aroma," or "nose," is the smell of the wine in the glass. The aroma can be floral, citrus, fruity, vegetal, earthy or any number of familiar scents depending on the grape varietal used, the winemaking process implemented and the wine's storage conditions.

If you're not paying attention toa wine's aroma, you're mising much of the experience.