In our last article we briefly described the process of tasting fine wines. The first step is to test the scent of the wine, so we will elaborate on this topic today. The first thing you should be aware of is the difference between a wine’s aroma and its bouquet. This difference is similar to the difference between tone and pitch in terms of music. Tone is a measure of the pitch of a note over time, and you cannot measure tone until you have listened to the note for a certain amount of time.
An aroma is the scent given off by the combination of ingredients in the wine. Aromas are generally only used to describe grape-based wines, however this is not always the case. This term is also generally used to describe young wines that have not yet developed a bouquet.
Once a wine has aged properly and the process has been given the proper amount of time, new scents will begin to blend in with the wine. This depends on how the wine was made. For example if the wine is stored in an oak container, it will begin to develop an oak scent. A bouquet is best thought of as a term used to describe aroma, as well as the scents gained through the aging process.
Before you can be an expert at smelling wine, you must learn how to detect certain aromas to determine the different compounds that make up the wine. For example, a grassy or plant-type scent indicates the presence of Methoxypyrazines in the wine, which tend to be undesirable.
Also if you are able to detect a moldy or wet newspaper scent, then you can infer that the wine was not corked properly and should be avoided. This indicates that the wine is low quality and generally synthetic as well, because if it has a plastic or screw-on cork then those chemicals from the cap will blend in to the wine.
Eventually we will delve even deeper in to this topic so that you can learn what each individual scent truly indicates. Begin learning more about this topic and be sure to check back each week and learn more about understanding fine wines! If you are in the Florida area, come by Brixx 33 for fine wine tastings every Wednesday night in New Port Richey FL.
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