“Stick your nose in it,” said Miles in the
2004 film Sideways. “Don’t be shy. Really
get your nose right in there.”
Steven Cozine of Saturna Island Vineyards in British Columbia describes the smelling of wine as “one of the least understood and one of the most intriguing parts of tasting wine. Wines are one of those things that seem to mimic a bunch of different things from nature: flowers, herbs, spices, fruit, even things like chemicals and what have you.”
When you are first poured a glass of wine, hold it up against a white tablecloth or white piece of paper to check for clarity. Cloudiness may indicate there is something wrong with the wine. Color intensity can indicate age. White wine, for example, ages to a golden color.
Swirl the wine in the glass, hold it up to your nose, and take a deep smell that reaches the back of the throat. There is a dominant type of smell, such as fruity or floral. A musty or moldy smell may indicate there is something wrong with the wine.
According to Lou Rex, Hospitality Manager of Kendall-Jackson, most people have the ability to learn to identify up to 10,000 different aromas, but most people can identify fewer than 1,000. And the aroma is important because it has so much to do with the way the wine tastes. So how do you learn to identify a wine’s aroma?
The Wine Sensory Gardens within Kendall-Jackson’s Organic Demonstration Gardens are an excellent way to begin. Each garden is devoted to red or white wines, and each corner to descriptors of the aromas and flavors of specific varietals. For example, pear, peach, lemon, apple, gardenia and melon are descriptors for chardonnay.
The garden’s center is planted with affinities, or vegetables and herbs that go well with the wine.
“The Sensory Garden simplifies the process of learning about wine,” said Rex. “It takes the mystery out of it. Most times, when people are just starting to drink wine and learn about wine, it’s very confusing because we speak in our own language. We use metaphors. We use similes. We say this smells like lemon. This tastes like pineapple. It’s confusing and intimidating, and that’s what we want to get rid of.”
She encourages people to build a sense memory when it comes to smells and flavors. “Smell the wine and smell the fruit or herb, taste the wine and then taste the fruit or herb.” If the herb has a strong flavor, crush the leaf or stem so the oils are released to your hand, then lightly touch the tip of your tongue. See if you can detect those flavors within the wine.”
That does not mean that wine with a dill flavor is less desirable than wine with a lemon taste. “The most important thing when it comes to wine is know what you like,” said Cozine.
You don’t have to aspire to be like Miles, who, sniffing a glass detects: “the faintest soupçon of like asparagus and there’s just a flutter of like a nutty Edam cheese.”
“There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to it,” said Cozine. “Feel confident in what you like and don’t be worried about vintages or specific varieties. Try them all. Try the oddball ones. You might find something you really, really like.”
©2005 Sally M. Snell & Michael Snell, all rights reserved
All articles and photographs are registered with the United States Copyright Office. Publishing or reproducing said works without written authorization is in direct violation of the 1976 Copyright Act and will be subject to infringement action.
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Storage
Have you ever tasted wine at a winery, loved it, bought some bottles, and when time passed and you opened the bottle, it didn’t taste the same?
Julia Iantosca, Winemaker at Lambert Bridge Winery of Sonoma County, California, offers these recommendations:
- Ideally, wine should be kept at a 55º Fahrenheit, though slightly higher storage temperatures are all right as long as it remains constant. Extreme swings in temperature will accelerate the wine’s aging process.
- Wine refrigerators are an excellent way to ensure wine is kept at the best temperature. A basement or crawlspace may also be a suitable environment. The third option is a closet within the interior of a home. Keep the wine in its original box and cover it with a blanket or towel. Storing the bottle on its side will ensure the cork stays moist.
- One of the worst places to store wine is on top of a refrigerator, due to the heat of the appliance.
But a shift in taste may be part of the natural aging process in wine, rather than a side-effect of improper storage. Wine changes as it ages. When a wine is young, the fruity nature might be strongest, but as it ages, that may drop back and the oak and vanilla move forward. Some people prefer the characteristics of aged wine, while others prefer younger wines, said Iantosca, who likes the aged reds, but younger, fruitier whites.
For those that are curious, she suggests buying six bottles of a wine marketed as having good aging potential. Tasting the wine over a period of time is a good way to experience how wine evolve.
For most people, there is no reason to store wine for long periods. Wineries won’t release a wine until it is ready. And most California winemakers tend to produce wines that are styled to be consumed young, because of the high cost of storage. Around 98% of wine that is sold is consumed within 48 hours.
“So if you taste a wine and really like it, drink it right away and then come back for more,” said Iantosca.
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