APRIL 25, 2024
Can you detect wine aromas?
Discover our number 1 secret!
Reading Time: 4 mins
When tasting your favorite wine, can you detect the world of its aromas, exploring how our senses of sight taste and smell collaborate to understand the nuance of each sip?
Often, during my wine tastings, I get asked: “Claudia, how do you recognize all these aromas? You are right, I did not realize until you mentioned it!”
Even though I always tell my kids this is not the way to do it, I often reply with another question: “Did you ever take some time and attention to smell the world around you?”
The number 1 secret to become a better taster and identify all the different aromas of the wine is as simple as this: the best way to do so is to start smelling more! Everything that surrounds us has a smell of some kind. And in order to be able to recognize it in a glass of wine, you need to know it in nature.
From the delicate fragrance of flowers encountered on our daily commute, to the aromatic herbs nestled in our kitchen. Each scent enriches our sensory perception, guiding us to discover the complexities of wine.
If you have a high-quality fruit and vegetable store nearby, don’t be afraid to go there and try to smell every single good around: from orange zest to red pepper, take some time to train your senses and your memory. I promise you that, next time you will smell that same aroma in a glass of wine, you will remember it associated with the specific day you went to the shop and, why not, you might even remember me and this blog article!
Talking about wine aromas, it is important to break them down into 3 different categories: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary aromas.
Primary aromas are the scents that come from the grape variety itself, often referred to the fruits and flowers. Sangiovese, for instance, delivers aromas of cherry and often fig. These aromas are a part of the grape and are noticeable before the fermentation starts.
Secondary aromas on the other hand are developed at the winery, when the must starts turning into wine, they arise from the interaction between the grape and the yeasts, which let the alcoholic fermentation happen. Here we have aromas such as yeast, bread or dairy (cheese and butter in Chardonnay for example).
Tertiary aromas, which are the results of ageing in oak, where the wine will develop aromas such as coffee, toffee, chocolate and caramel. Whereas when the ageing is carried out in the bottle, the wine will develop flavors such as mushrooms, truffle, and earthy aromas. Tertiary aromas are therefore a key indicator of a wine’s maturity and quality.
Furthermore, you’ll begin to notice patterns and correlations between certain characteristics and the factors that influence them. Factors like soil composition, climate, elevation, grape variety, and winemaking techniques… all play significant roles in shaping the flavor profile of a wine! For example, wines from cooler climates might exhibit brighter acidity and more pronounced fruit flavors, while wines from warmer regions might showcase riper fruit characteristics and fuller body.
In conclusion, my number one secret to became a better taster is a simple as this: by regularly exposing ourselves to a variety of aromas and consciously noting their characteristics, we will become more adept at picking out similar scents in wine. Just like exercising in sports or even in music, it takes time. The more we smell the more we will perceive!
What are you waiting for?
Once you have practiced a bit in your kitchen or nearby park,
get your training on with some Tuscan finest from
our Spring/Summer collection to get started!
Ready to toast?
