Wine Tasting Notes
April 23, 2008
Wine Virgin, I’m very new to all this but I want to know what wine tasting notes are and what’s the purpose behind them? - Pam in Salem, OR
The reason why wine tasting notes are taken to begin with is so that a person who attends a wine tasting event can comment on the particular style and flavor of a wine. There is a vernacular all it’s own that is based around wine tasting terms and here is a brief overview of what I mean.
Wine tasting notes are categorized into 3 separate events. When utilizing these agreed upon perceptions, a rough guide can be made that will communicate the characteristics of a particular wine.
- Color - Clarity of the wine when the contents are viewed in light
- Smell - Known as the “wine nose“. Also, another helpful tool to pinpoint the smell is with something called a
wine aroma wheel
- Taste - How it is perceived in by the “mouth” or “palate”, followed by the “finish”
After years of being a lover of wine, I have found that my wine tasting notes create something similar to an index. From this I’m able to have reference a wine that reminds me of previous bottle that I have enjoyed before. Also, taking these types of notes can really help you refine your senses and leads to an overall richer experience because you are able to pinpoint all of those subtle flavors and aromas. Cheers!!
Wine Aroma Wheel
March 12, 2008
Will you please tell me what a wine aroma wheel is and possibly where I can get one? Thank you! - Fiona in Tuscon, AZ
The wine scientists at the University of California at Davis many years ago developed this tool as an aid to wine virgins and experts as well. They then organized and categorized these smells and left out all that was not perfectly clear. From there they ended up with a list of 12 major categories of wine smells, subdivided into 29 subcategories and in 94 specific terms. This makes it much easier to arrive at a standardized format for classifying this information.
The wheel is an incredibly useful tool to learn about wines and enhance one’s ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. The wide variety of wine that this world has to offer allows for thousands of scents in an almost infinite combination. It’s called an aroma wheel because it is a circular table, with relatively similar smells placed close together around its circumference. The wine aroma wheel is made of three tiers. This provides very general terms located in the center which then proceeds to the most specific terms in the outer tier.
These terms are not the only ones that can be used to describe wines but are those that you will most often find. Whether you are a beginner or a wine connoisseur, the use of the wheel during wine tasting will facilitate the description of the flavors you perceive. More importantly, you will be able to recognize and remember specific details about wines and will develop confidence in your ability by practicing with the aroma wheel if a wine really worth your time and expense.
Fiona, look online for to order a proper wine aroma wheel or you might be able to find one that you can download to check it out and get an idea of the various aromas and flavors. Cheers!!