Our sense of smell is probably one of the most important tools for studying, analyzing, and ultimately enjoying wine. The Court of Master Sommeliers teaches the importance of smell as part of their Deductive Tasting methodology. Throughout the Introductory Sommelier Course & Examination journey, we have been inundated with wine-centric terminology. This includes a plethora of words used to describe the color, smell, taste, and other characteristics of wine. Terminology used to describe the color and density of wine seems less obscure and subjective than describing aroma. Why is that?

We each have a lifetime of references to color. Aromas are different. Aromas can be difficult. One issue that I have noticed is the varying differences of an aromatic characteristic across wines with different alcohol levels. In other words, the black cherry aroma in a Primitivo will not smell the same as in an Amarone. Your brain along with your entire olfactory system needs to be calibrated to isolate these pure scents from the alcohol–and of course, the other scents. How do you do that?

With an unlimited supply of wine, you could taste and hopefully remember every varietal and vintage. For the rest of us, I recommend investing in a wine aroma kit. Thanks to a very thoughtful Santa, I am in possession of the Wine Aroma Kit from the Aroma Academy. I can’t speak to the quality and accuracy of other aroma kits, but this one has far exceeded my expectations. The idea is to coat the special paper strips with the various scents and start a regiment of smell-and-remember. This is something that takes time. Your goal is to become familiar with the individual aromas that are present in wine. [warning: music reference ahead] Your nose is an important instrument, and this is the process of keeping your instrument calibrated and in tune 😉

Sniff, sniff hooray!

Next article in the series: Enthusiast to Sommelier: A Glimmer of Hope

First article in this series: Enthusiast to Sommelier: Getting Started