Enhancing Wines: Adding Aroma For A Sensory Experience

Wine aromas are diverse and complex, with over 800 aroma compounds identified, and the sense of smell is the primary way in which wine is tasted and evaluated. Wine professionals train their noses to discern these aromas, and you can too. One way to do this is to create your own wine aroma kit at home, using spices, herbs, jams, and wines. You can then sniff the aromas and/or infuse them in a glass of neutral-tasting wine to help you identify them more easily in the future.

Use a wine aroma kit

Using a wine aroma kit is a great way to improve your ability to identify aromas in a glass of wine. There are many wine aroma kits available, but they can be expensive, often costing well above $100. However, you can also make your own wine aroma kit at home for a fraction of the cost.

To make your own wine aroma kit, you will need a base wine, different produce, spices, or other materials. The base wine should be neutral, without strong aromas, tastes, or mouthfeels. Look for an inexpensive, neutral wine such as Pinot Grigio, Merlot, or Beaujolais. You will also need some small jars or containers to hold your aroma ingredients.

For the aroma ingredients, you can use common household spices, such as black peppercorns, white pepper, black cardamom, dried tobacco, and cedar chips. You can also use fresh or frozen produce, such as fruits, vegetables, or herbs. Some common wine aromas include lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, and vanilla.

Once you have your ingredients, you can blend them with a small portion of wine to understand how the aromas interact with the wine's volatile compounds. You can also smell the aromas directly from the jar and then smell the wine to overload your senses with the selected aroma and enhance your ability to smell the wine.

Another method for using a wine aroma kit is to create "aroma standards" by soaking different types of produce in glasses of neutral wine. Mark each glass with the name of the aroma, then pour 2 ounces or 4 tablespoons of wine into each glass. Add the indicated amount of each aroma ingredient and let it soak for an hour. Remove any solid ingredients, then swirl and sniff each glass of wine to familiarise yourself with the added aroma. You can also test yourself by covering up the names of the aromas and trying to identify them blindly.

Using a wine aroma kit can help you improve your sense of smell and enhance your wine-tasting experience. It can also be a fun and educational activity for anyone interested in learning more about wine.

Identify wine's 'bouquet'

The sense of smell is the primary way in which wine is tasted and evaluated. The human tongue can only perceive five basic tastes, but the olfactory bulb can detect a wide array of fruit, earthy, leathery, floral, herbal, mineral, and woodsy flavours present in wine.

In professional wine tasting, a distinction is made between "aromas" and a wine's "bouquet". An aroma refers to the smells unique to the grape variety, while a bouquet refers to the smells that arise from the chemical reactions of fermentation and aging. However, in casual wine tasting, these two terms are used interchangeably.

• Develop your sense of smell: Engage in regular smell exercises, such as smelling common aromas found in fruits, flowers, spices, and herbs. Practice scent memory by associating smells with specific objects or experiences.
• Engage in proper wine tasting techniques: Hold the wine glass by the stem to avoid heating the wine with your hand. Swirl the wine gently in the glass to release its aromas, then bring the glass to your nose and take a series of short sniffs to capture the full range of scents. Observe the colour and clarity of the wine while considering its potential aromas.
• Recognize common wine aromas: Familiarize yourself with the different categories of wine aromas, such as fruity, floral, herbal, oaky, and earthy aromas. This will help you identify and appreciate the nuances in the bouquet.
• Use a wine aroma wheel: Start with the general aroma categories, such as fruity, floral, herbal, or oaky, and then progress to more specific aromas within each category using the wheel as a reference. This will help you pinpoint the exact aroma and expand your vocabulary.
• Pair wine aromas with flavours: Match fruity aromas with corresponding fruit flavours in dishes or desserts, complement floral aromas with light and delicate flavours like seafood or white meats, and pair herbal aromas with dishes featuring fresh herbs or earthy ingredients. Experimenting with these pairings will enhance your tasting experience.

Train your nose

Wine professionals can discern aromas and flavours in wine with ease because they train their noses. The way to get good at identifying wine aromas is to practice smelling them. Wine professionals often use wine aroma kits to do this, but these can be expensive. However, you can make your own wine aroma kit at home for a fraction of the price with common household spices, fruit, and other items.

How to Make Your Own Wine Aroma Kit

To make your own wine aroma kit, you will need a base wine, different produce, spices, or other materials. The base wine should be neutral, without strong aromas, tastes, or mouthfeels. Bag-in-box wines are a good option as you will have a large volume of the same batch to work with.

For the other ingredients, choose items that you commonly expect to smell in the wines you will taste. For example, if you want to better understand what a Tempranillo from Spain smells like, you might pick up some blackberries, sour cherries, strawberries, a piece of clean leather, tobacco, and vanilla. You can also look up "wine characteristics" + "wine variety" to find specific ingredients to use.

Once you have your ingredients, you will need some wine glasses and a way to mark or label each glass so you know which aroma it contains. Pour 2 ounces or 4 tablespoons of wine into each glass, then add the indicated amount of each aroma ingredient to its own glass of wine and let it soak for an hour or so. After the hour is up, remove any solid ingredients, then swirl and sniff each glass of wine to become familiar with the aroma that has been added.

How to Use Your Wine Aroma Kit

There are a few different ways to use your wine aroma kit:

• Open the container and sniff. Be careful not to overwhelm your sense of smell by taking 2-3 short sniffs to avoid becoming desensitized. Keep a glass of wine nearby and sniff it in between the different aromas to keep your nose calibrated.
• Infuse some of the herb/spice/jam in a glass of neutral-tasting wine. This is an excellent way to use cheaper wine, such as boxed wine.
• Blend single aroma kit ingredients into a small portion of wine to understand how aromas interact with the volatile compounds of wine (a.k.a. alcohol).
• Smell an aroma in its jar, then smell a wine. This overloads your senses with the selected aroma and opens up your ability to smell the wine in a different context.

When smelling the wine, professional tasters usually use a system of taking 2 short sniffs followed by a longer, slower sniff. The short sniffs help to prime your nose, and the longer sniff helps you observe the aroma.

Understand primary, secondary and tertiary aromas

When it comes to wine, aromas are everything. The human tongue can only perceive five tastes: sourness, bitterness, saltiness, sweetness, and savouriness. The wide array of fruit, earthy, leathery, floral, herbal, mineral, and woodsy flavours present in wine are derived from aroma notes sensed by the olfactory bulb.

Wine aromas are classified into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. These aromas appear at different stages of vinification and can even evolve or disappear over time.

Primary aromas are specific to the grape variety itself. They are determined by the vine, although other factors also influence them, such as weather, cultivation area, and vineyard soil. Floral notes like jasmine, acacia, and rose, fruity notes like strawberry and raspberry, and mineral notes like flint are all examples of primary aromas. They are the easiest to identify when the wine is young.

Secondary aromas are derived from the winemaking process, particularly the fermentation phase of the wine. Notes of yeast, butter, cake, and bakery fall into this category. The intensity of these aromas is determined by the fermentation process, the temperature at which it is carried out, and the amount of human intervention during winemaking.

Tertiary aromas develop as the wine ages, whether in tanks, oak barrels, or bottles. They are also known as evolution aromas or the wine's "bouquet". During the aging phase, the aromas are modified, and new notes such as wood, vanilla, tobacco, honey, and leather appear.

Learn about volatile and non-volatile compounds

The aroma of wine is derived from volatile and non-volatile compounds. Volatile compounds are major contributors to wine aroma, while non-volatile compounds affect the flavour of wine through attributes like acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and astringency.

Volatile Compounds

Volatile compounds are present in the skin and juice of grape berries and vary in composition according to the individual grape variety. They are responsible for the wide array of fruity, earthy, leathery, floral, herbal, mineral, and woody flavours present in wine. During fermentation and the first few months of a wine's existence, chemical reactions among volatile compounds occur frequently, and a wine's aroma will change more rapidly during this period than at any other point. As wine ages and matures, changes in aroma will continue to take place but at a slower and more gradual pace.

Volatile compounds influence both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of wine, including aroma and flavour. They stimulate several sensations and promote odour perception, leading consumers to either accept or reject the wine.

Non-Volatile Compounds

Non-volatile compounds provide taste and tactile sensations and create a psychological sensory base for the flavour induced by volatiles. They affect the colour and gustatory properties of wines, such as astringency, bitterness, and structure. Phenolic compounds, which come from grapes and the oak wood of ageing barrels, are an example of non-volatile compounds. Organic acids, like tartaric, malic, lactic, and succinic, are another type of non-volatile compound that affects wine's acidity and other sensory perceptions.

Non-volatile compounds can interact with volatile compounds to change the aroma of wine. For example, ethanol, glycerol, glucose, and fructose can enhance the perception of viscosity and body in wine.

Frequently asked questions