It's all about the smell!
With wine that is oh so true. Really, when it comes right down to it, our sense of smell is the most important sense and factor in our ability to taste and talk about wine. Our sense of taste and flavor identification in wine is directly connected to our sense of smell so, in many ways, this is the most important installment in our How To Taste & Talk Wine Series. In part one we talked about The Purpose of A Wine Tasting Note and in part two we talked about What You See & How To See It. Part three today, a PTC TV episode, What You Smell & How You Smell It is the lynchpin that holds together a wine tasting and a good tasting note.
Immediately following the video below we have a quick comment about nasal fatigue and a helfpul chart for you to use in stimulating how to think about aroma and bouquet in wine (yes, there is a difference - watch the video to find out about it). The chart is not designed to be all inclusive of every possible aroma or bouquet descriptor but merely a guide with some of the most common descriptors listed in some general categories. If you are new to tasting and talking about wine then this chart should be a huge help. If you have been tasting for a long time and have a rather mature nose and palate this may be of no use to you at all - but then again it might be a nice refresher. So let's get on with it - PTC TV episode 09-008 - What You Smell & How To Smell It!
Thanks for checking out PTC TV and our series on How To Taste & Talk Wine.
When smelling a wine for Aroma Intensity and Aroma Identity be sure not to over do it with the sniffing. A few sniffs in the glass for each is sufficient and going back over and over again for more sniffing could induce nasal fatigue. Nasal fatigue is exactly what it sounds like, your retro-nasal passage becomes tired from the sniffing workout and almost shuts down, preventing you from being able to identify anything. So, in the interest of your nasal receptors, don't over do it.
As promised, here is the chart of the most common Aroma and Bouquet descriptors by general category. Again, it is not meant to be all inclusive but just a good starting point to help you think about what you might be smelling in wine. Enjoy!
Got a number of emails from this video that specifically asked about the "poop" smell in some red wines. We answered the question in a quick video called Why You Might Smell Poop In Your Wine.
