Have you ever read a wine review in a magazine, in
this newsletter, or a shelf talker (those hanging tags
located under a particular bottle in a wine shop) and
wonder how they ever came up with the adjectives
and scents to describe the broad scope of flavors
you may experience in a bottle of wine? Or been to a
wine tasting where tasters are debating the many
characters they find in certain wine. It’s a mystery
even Andy Rooney would have trouble explaining on
60 Minutes. This month, with a little guidance and
help from my own personal cheat sheet, I hope to
help you better understand how these opinions are
formed and how you also can easily describe what
nuances you find in whatever type of wine you may
be drinking.
First of all, you need not be a professional tasting
expert to be able to translate verbally or on paper
what fruit scents and pleasant aromas you
experience while sampling your favorite quaff. How
often do you find a wine that you enjoy but just
can't find the right words to tell yourself or someone
else what exactly it is you are tasting? Your mind
races to find the correct term yet you cannot
pinpoint the exact verbiage. It can be frustrating.
Simply put, the answer is as easy as this: Smell
equals taste.
Scents you experience everyday should come as
second nature. If I were to put a rose, a piece of
chocolate, a strawberry, a cup of coffee, a lemon,
and a clump of dirt on a table in front of you and had
you to smell each one individually, my guess is that
you would be able to correctly tell me what each one
was 100 percent. I would go as far as to say that
even if I were to blindfold you, chances are you
would be able to name them all as well. Smelling
these and many other scents in wine are nearly one
in the same. It takes a bit of practice, but remember,
what you smell translates to what you taste.
Wine pro's who do this work for a living have a vast
glossary of terms and adjectives to aid them in their
writing assignments. They swirl, sniff, taste, and spit
many times over, usually never swallowing a drop.
This becomes a routine. With smelling, tasting and
spitting with never actually drinking or swallowing,
how are they able to form an opinion, you ask. The
repetitive nature of tasting a large number of wines in
a single day and finding the correct terms to describe
them can be a daunting task, especially when
receptors in the brain are unable to translate what
sits on the tastebuds. Which is the main reason for
tasting and spitting. Your tasting senses actually
would become numb if you didn't.
Often times, false senses of taste can severely
effect ones ability to correctly evaluate a wines
character. A number of factors come into play when
one is trying to decipher a wines multiple layers. The
setting, your mood, tiredness, an illness, time of day,
or a simple cold could in fact influence the taste of a
wine. Which could be the reason why multiple tasters
may have completely opposite reviews for the exact
same wine. This may answer the often asked
question when you do not agree with their review:
What the heck was he tasting?
The best way to begin evaluating a wine is by
swirling it vigorously in the glass. This process of
aerating, mixing wine with air, allows its various
characters to open up. After swirling, immediately put
your nose deep into the glass to experience the
maximum aroma possible. Those who simply swirl and
put their nose a few inches from the glass and take a
brief sniff achieve nothing at all. This action is just a
waste of time. Its best to swirl, delve deep, and
enjoy every wonderful accent the wine has to offer.
Keep in mind, a wine that is served too cold will not
offer much if any aroma. If you are presented a wine
that seems to be too chilled, cup the bowl of the
glass with both hands to give it a bit of warmth,
which should release some of its character. Then
begin to evaluate.
When it comes time to express your opinion on a
wine, trust your senses and record the first thing
that comes to mind. Your first reaction is usually the
correct one. If you feel you haven't succeeded, you
can always go back and do it again. Wine has the
ability to change over the course of minutes, even
hours, as more air comes in contact with it. Thus,
you will be stimulated by many more attributes as
time passes. Below is a list a characteristics I most
often find when I review wines. Having these
descriptive in front of me whenever I sample wines is
an invaluable crutch. Print out these terms as a
cheat sheet for yourself and see how many come to
mind when next you taste. It can also be used as a
beneficial tool when you next attend one of our many
wine tasting’s here at Champanes. Always remember
what I like to say is the ultimate factor in knowing
when you are experiencing a truly great wine: That
when you get as much pleasure from a wines smell as
you do its taste.
WHITE WINE FRUITS Peach, pear, apple, citrus,
melon, lemon grass, pineapple, lemon, lime, kiwi,
passion fruit, grapefruit, apricot, orange, fig, green
apple, tropical fruit, banana.
RED WINE FRUITS Blackberry, raspberry, blueberry,
cherry, cranberry, plum, black cherry, strawberry,
cassis, currant, dried fruit, mountain fruit, red berries,
black berries.
WHITE WINE TERMS Buttery, honey, almond,
hazelnut, creamy, grassy, tart, clean, acidic, crisp,
flinty, zesty, butterscotch, spicy, caramel.
RED WINE TERMS Roses, violets, barnyard, gamey,
meaty, smoke, toast, leather, coffee, espresso, tea,
tobacco, tar, mushroom.
TERMS FOR BOTH RED & WHITE Floral, raison,
licorice, nutty, vanilla, white pepper, black pepper,
exotic spice, oak, cedar, herbal, cinnamon, mineral,
earthy, clove, mint.
DEFINING ADJECTIVES Jammy, juicy, grapey,
concentrated, rustic, dusty, muscular, bold, gritty,
lean, powerful, tangy, firm, vibrant, chewy, thick,
sharp, austere, pungent, tight, dense, solid, layered,
balanced, length, structure, texture, complex, classy,
elegant, plush, rich, luscious, straightforward, silky,
pure, polished, plump, ripe, distinctive, mature, deep,
refined, velvety, racy, seductive, bright, lively, fresh,
explosive, young, raw, pleasant, hot, perfumy.
