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BASICS DEFECTS DESCRIBEWINESENSORYATTRIBUTES

For your own benefit, some of the commonly


The purpose of the wine aroma wheel is encountered wine defects can also be illustrated by IDENTIFY& MEMORIZEWINEAROMAS
to facilitate communication about wine making standards, although for some, such as a
flavor by providing a standard moldy cork, the BEST standard is the actual example
terminology. of the defect.

The requirements of words included in the Volatile acidity/VA - resulting from oxidation or
wheel was very simply that the terms had to be acetobacter spoilage
specific and analytical, and not be hedonic or • Ethyl Acetate (few drops ethyl acetate or
the result of an integrated or judgmental
nail polish remover)
response. Floral is a general but analytical
descriptive term, whereas "fragrant", "elegant" • Acetic acid (few drops vinegar)
or "harmonious" are either imprecise and Oxidation
vague (fragrant) or hedonic, and judgmental. • Acetaldehyde (few drops of sherry)

The wheel has very general terms located Sulfur


in the center, going to the most specific terms • H2S - Hydrogen sulfide (boiled egg or
in the outer tier. These terms are NOT the only black sand from Japanese store)
terms that can be used to describe wines, but • Ethyl mercaptan (smell of natural gas - tell
represent ones that are often encountered.
people to experiment on their own)

Novice tasters often complain that they • S02 - Sulfur dioxide (dried apricots that are
"cannot smell anything" or can't think of a way orange and say they have sulfites)
to describe the aroma of wine. Fortunately, it is Brettanomyces - a horsy , barnyard smell (drop of
very easy to train our noses and brains to creosote or piece of old fashioned band-aid)
connect and quickly link terms with odors. The USINGTHEWINEAROMAWHEEL
Moldy Cork
fastest way is to make physical standards to
illustrate important and major notes in wine • TCA - Trichloroanisole (a very potent
aroma. To do this, with few exceptions, compound) (just save a wine you find that
materials available from the grocery store are has this defect)
all you need. (One of the few standards that
cannot be provided is the linalool aroma of
Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Muscat wines; for To order Wine Aroma Wheels in
this, get handiwipes: the distinct floral, citrus Canada, please contact
aroma is Linalool; Put a opened handiwipe into
The Wine Aroma Wheel is distributed in
an empty covered glass. alternatively, bring Inno Vinum
some FROOTLOOPS and put them dry into an
Canada by
empty wine glass. Sounds silly, but it makes a T: (450) 674-1524
good linalool standard) F: (450) 674-6157

info@innovinum.com
www.innovinum.com

Text by A.C. Noble, revised by I. Lesschaeve


© A.C. Noble, 2000
a French version of the wheel is also
available from Inno Vinum for global sales.
From this point on, anything goes: smell the
WHITE WINES wines first, smell the standards, start to see which SPARKLING WINES
If you are just beginning then it is easier to terms describe which wines. Perhaps you all come up
with NEW terms (lichee/lychee--so get some!). Sparkling wines need different terms than those on
evaluate white wines, so start by selecting some the wine aroma wheel. In addition to citrus and berry
Smelling the BASE WINE makes it really easy to
wines with large differences in flavor. For example, standards, below are listed some of the terms most
identify the spiked aromas by contrast.
include an oaky, buttery Chardonnay (most relevant to sparkling wines, especially those with long
Australian,or California ones will do), for a aging on the yeast lees before being disgorged.
"vegetative" Sauvignon blanc, wines from Sancerre
or a Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand or cool parts RED WINES Standards for sparkling wines:
of California will suffice. A floral Riesling or (In 2 oz neutral white still wine)
Gewurztraminer from cooler parts of California (North For beginning red wine tasting, using the same
or Central Coast), Oregon, Germany, Alsace, France principle that you should include very different wines,
will provide a further contrast. If you wish to use a include a Pinot noir (Carneros or very cool central • Lime (Try few drops of Rose's lime Juice
fourth wine , you could try an unoaked Chardonnay coast area of Ca,, Oregon, or Burgundy),a Cabernet and make separate standard of squeezed
(IF you can find it), non-vegetative Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon (for vegetative, get a wine from a cooler lime juice)
or include another variety such as Viognier. CA region) for less vegetative, try Napa, Sonoma,
Washington, a black peppery Zinfandel(Sonoma, • Apple (Difficult to make; try apple juice
Then make some standards in a neutral white Placer county, El Dorado county of CA) . Additional and experiment)
wine (usually a cheaper jug white will be adequate wines could be Italian varieties such as Sangiovese.
• Toasted hazelnuts (Try different nuts in an
for this purpose). For each standard the approximate
recipes are provided below, but they all need to be The standards for the above red wines would empty glass)
tweaked. Add more "stuff" if the aroma is not then most importantly include (per single 2-oz glass • Sour cream/yogurt (Try tbsp in empty
identifiable; dilute with the base wine if it is too in a neutral red wine):
glass; try tbsp in base wine)
strong. • Asparagus (several drops of brine of
• Malt extract (Tbsp Malt syrup )
canned asparagus)
The standards for the white wines would then • Vermouth (Few drops to tsp)
most importantly include (per single 2-oz glass of • Bell Pepper (tiny piece of bell pepper -
wine standard): • Vegemite (Tiny amount of Vegemite in
don't leave in too long)
base of wine glass, add base wine)
• Asparagus (several drops of brine of • Vanilla (drop of vanilla extract)
canned asparagus) • Cherry/strawberry (Use a few drops to 1 oz
• Butter (drop of butter extract)
of cherry or strawberry flavoured juices or
• Bell Pepper (tiny piece of bell pepper -
• Clove (one clove - don't leave in too long) extracts)
don't leave in too long)
• Soy sauce (few drops, great for older reds; • Nutmeg (few grains)
• Vanilla (drop of vanilla extract)
try molasses separately)
• Caramel (crush one Kraft caramel in base
• Butter (drop of butter extract)
• Berry (mix of fresh or frozen berries and/or wine)
• Clove (one clove, don't leave in too long) berry jams - experiment!)
• Citrus (teaspoon or so of a mixture of fresh • Vanilla (as above).
• Strawberry jam ((for the Pinot noir) 1-3
orange and grapefruit juice) tablespoons OLD strawberry jam)
• Peach or apricot puree or juice (teaspoons)
Inno Vinum offers training
• Artificial fruit (add few crystals of red
programs on wine sensory
• Pineapple (teaspoons) Koolaid® powder)
evaluation.
• (Honey: optional standard, needs quite a • Black pepper (few grains black pepper) These courses aimed at
bit per glass) • Anise, black licorice (use few drops of developing one’s confidence in
• BASE WINE (the unadulterated wine used extract) wine tasting and in wine aroma
for making standards) • BASE WINE (the unadulterated wine used description using communication
Ann puts the standards in labelled wine glasses, for making standards) tools such as the Wine Aroma
and cover them with disposable plastic Petri dish lids, Wheel.
*Again, be sure to smell your creations to be
watch glasses or even saran wrap will do . The Please contact Inno Vinum to
sure that you can detect the desired aroma and
reason for the lids is to increase the intensity of the get more information on the
that it is not too strong.
aromas and to prevent contaminating the odour of
the entire room. current program.

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