When it comes to wine, you will inevitably hear people around you talking about "tasting". Why wine is tasted and how this process can enrich us, you will learn from our series of publications on "Basic Concepts of Tasting".
In the first article of the series, we looked at what the color of wine can tell us and why appearance is always important, even with wine. We move on to the next, very important, step of tasting, which is related to the nose – ours and the wine's. Our task here is to capture, categorize and evaluate the aromatic components in the wine's profile. Quite simply, this is done by swirling the glass and smelling.
Why do we swirl the glass? Because the human sense of smell can only recognize a given odor if it is in a gaseous state, and swirling the glass will release the volatile substances in the wine. Interesting facts are that humans can distinguish between 2000 and 3000 different odors (and those who create wine, whiskey, and perfumes – up to 10,000), and that women have a better sense of smell than men, which they retain for a longer time. From an evolutionary perspective, smell is one of the oldest perceptions, and odors are processed in our brain where memories are also processed. It is not uncommon for an odor to transport us back in time and make us relive an event. Common childhood memories, for example, are the smells from our grandparents' houses – dried herbs, jams, smells of specific dishes, etc., and a given aroma can unlock a highly individual memory that is difficult to explain to others. That is why, as wine tasters, we learn to abstract ourselves from overly personal associations and to recognize and categorize the odors we may encounter in a wine.
After swirling the glass to aerate the wine well, we immerse our nose in it to fully inhale the aromas we have "awakened." A whirlwind of aromas passes through our senses, and that is why it is worth working a little on classifying the different aromas.
One of the most successful aids for accurately identifying aromas, suitable for use by both professionals and amateurs, is "The Aroma Wheel". In 1990, Professor Ann Noble from the University of California, Davis, developed her "Aroma Wheel" system. She created standard terminology and divided the circle into 12 main categories, including fruity, floral, woody, nutty aromas, etc. She, in turn, divided these into 94 more specific aromas.
When we first consciously taste wine, we understand why the sense of smell is called an "accidental" sense. It is used much less often than our hearing or sight, and therefore quickly gets out of shape – we often detect a smell but cannot define or name it. The good news is that everyone can train their sense of smell – just start consciously looking for and recognizing smells. It is very important to avoid overly intense body creams and lotions, and perfume should ideally not be present at all during this exercise.
