Aroma Types in Wine and Training Your Nose To Identify Them

Do you struggle to identify aromas in wine? Have you shaken your head in frustration at tastings when a wine is being described in great detail, but you aren’t really smelling anything? If you have answered yes to either of these questions you are not alone. For years I struggled to get anything other than a whiff of cherry or lemon out of the glass. I have now learned that your ability to smell is a skill that can be developed with regular practice. It’s like building muscle memory but with your nose. Sure you can practice building a scent database from your nose to your brain by purchasing an aroma kit. However the best ones like Le Nez du Vin are quite expensive.

The Farmer’s Market

The best and more affordable idea that I came across is to practice scent training using a farmer’s market, grocery store, plant nursery, or even your own garden. Be warned, you may get strange looks if you start sniffing with abandon at every fruit, flower, or herb you pick up. It’s better to purchase what you need and practice your sensory development in the privacy of your own home.

My husband and I are fortunate to live in the Burlington, VT area where we not only have an excellent farmer’s market, but also local farm stores. We are able purchase a wide array of fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs to enjoy. This has made it possible for us to not only eat healthier, but to take my time while preparing our food. I taste and smell each ingredient that I am using. Make sure to smell each item numerous times both before and after chopping. This will help create a scent memory. With herbs rub them between your fingers to release their oils. This gives you a better concentration of fragrance.

Wine Aroma Types

When analyzing a wine’s scent there are three tiers of aromas and flavors found in wine: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Primary aromas can be easier to identify and come from the grape itself. Each grape variety has aroma and flavor characteristics that it is known for. Primary aromas in wine are fruit, citrus, herbs, and flowers. When assessing fruit aromas you should ask yourself is the fruit black or red? For example, are you smelling red or black cherry, red or black plum? Are you getting stone fruit (peach, apricot) or tropical fruit (pineapple, mango)? Is the fruit ripe, tart, dried, or cooked?

Secondary aromas and flavors in wine are the result of post-fermentation winemaking processes. These include pastry, biscuit, and toasted bread from extended contact with yeast. Butter and cream result from malolactic fermentation. Oak aging gives aromas of vanilla, coconut, dill, spice, chocolate, and coffee.

Finally, tertiary aromas and flavors develop in a wine that has been aged. Examples of tertiary aromas are leather, earth, mushroom, dried fruit, tobacco, caramel, hazelnut, honey, and forest floor.

Less Familiar Wine Aromas

Luckily many types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs are readily available for us to become acquainted with their smells. What about some less common aromas that you may see mentioned in a tasting note or wine book which you haven’t experienced before? Many people aren’t familiar with currants, gooseberries, lychee, and garrigue. How about strange aromas such as petroleum, cat pee, bell pepper, tomato leaf, and barnyard?

I recently purchased black currants and gooseberries to reacquaint myself with their taste and smell. It’s been years since I last tried them. Red Bordeaux, Brachetto, Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, and Tannat are red wines that you may smell and taste black currant. Gooseberry is prevalent in Sauvignon Blanc from both Sancerre in the Loire Valley and Marlborough, New Zealand. Lychee fruit is a tough one to find. This is a tell tale note that you have a Gewürtztraminer in your glass. I’ve only ever tasted this fruit at restaurants.

You have probably smelled garrigue if you drink red or rosé wine from Southern France or the Mediterranean Coast. Garrigue is a combination of sun drenched vegetation consisting of lavender, thyme, juniper, broom, sage, and rosemary that grows wild in limestone soil. Try the reds of Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhône or a Provence rosé to see if you experience the aroma of garrigue. Close your eyes and picture yourself sipping the day away in France!

Weird Wine Aromas

As for those strange aromas I mentioned above? I have two cats and smell cat pee often. I really don’t want to smell it in my glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I am sure most people would agree with me. Petroleum, bell pepper, tomato leaf and barnyard, yes barnyard, are some of the most exciting aromas that I love perceiving in a wine. Some of my favorite Rieslings from the Finger Lakes region in New York State smell of petrol and for me its amazing. If I smell and taste green bell pepper in a Cabernet Franc from Chinon in the Loire Valley, France or in a Carménère from Chile, then I am in love. Italian reds, especially Chianti Classico always give me that tomato leaf aroma that takes me back to Tuscany and makes me crave cinghiale in red sauce.

Wine Fault Aromas

I am probably the only person I know who loves the smell of a barnyard. I do live in Vermont after all and am obsessed with cows. Yes it’s bizarre and no I don’t mind if you think it’s gross! To me the best cheeses have that barnyard smell, but for many people it’s not what they enjoy in a red wine. The barnyard aroma is caused by a wild yeast found on some grape skins called brettanomyces. Many in the wine industry see brettanomyces or brett as it’s commonly referred to, as a flaw in the wine. Other people, me included, actually don’t mind it. Some wines where brett may be present are in some French reds from the Burgundy and Rhône regions, and a few red wines from the state of California.

True flaws in a wine do not smell good and most likely will not be pleasant to drink. Any whiff of wet dog, damp cardboard, rotten eggs, or acetone could be an indicator that the wine is off and is probably unsuitable for consumption.

Tips For Analyzing Wine Aromas

Now that we have discussed the types of aromas you may encounter wafting from you wine glass, there are some important things to remember to that will help you to better hone your wine aroma skills:

Make sure you are using proper glassware that will direct aromas easily to your nose. Sniff FIRST before you swirl. You will get a better first impression of the wine this way and also get the ability to grab a note or two right off the top. Then swirl and sniff several times to pick out as many aromas as you are able.

Do not serve wine too cold. Chilling a wine too much mutes the aromas and flavors you are trying to identify and enjoy, making them difficult to differentiate.

Lastly, remember that aromas and flavors in a wine is subjective. Everybody’s senses are unique and what you smell or taste in a wine may be a little different than that of another person you are tasting with. This doesn’t mean either of you is incorrect. Have fun with it and compare what you are smelling and tasting with others. The wine tasting experience should be a pleasurable one no matter what level of tasting skills or wine education you possess.

Aromatic Wine Recommendations

Ready to explore interesting aromas in wine? Here are some examples of wines I’ve tried as well as grapes and their wine regions that I recommend. Try and see if you can identify some of the aromas that were mentioned in this post.

Cabernet Franc from Loire Valley, France

Nebbiolo from Barolo, Italy