Make Your Own Wine Aroma Standards
Start a Tasting Group
MAKE YOUR OWN WINE AROMA STANDARDS
Once you have experienced known aroma standards in a neutral wine, you will find it easier to identify those aromas when you encounter them in more complex wines.
Supplies
One glass for each aroma standard you plan to make
One bottle of an inexpensive, neutral white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Colombard is enough to make 10-12 white wine aroma standards
One bottle of an inexpensive, neutral red wine such as Merlot or Beaujolais is enough to make 10-12 red wine aroma standards
Directions
Mark each glass so you know which aroma it will contain; write the name of each aroma on a small sticker (the removable kind are best) and label each glass.
Pour 2 ounces or 4 tablespoons of wine into each wine glass.
Add the indicated amount of each aroma ingredient to its own glass of wine and let it macerate for an hour or so.
After the hour is up, remove any solid ingredients.
Swirl and sniff each glass of wine so you can become familiar with the aroma that has been added to it.
Next, test yourself by transferring each sticker to the bottom of its glass where it can’t be read. Then shuffle the glasses. Swirl and sniff the standards. Can you identify any of them?
White Wine Aroma Standard
|
Ingredient |
| Lemon |
A small portion of fresh lemon peel and one teaspoon lemon juice |
| Grapefruit |
A small portion of fresh grapefruit peel and one teaspoon grapefruit juice |
| Pineapple |
One teaspoon pineapple juice |
| Melon |
A chunk of ripe cantaloupe |
| Peach |
A chunk of ripe peach or one tablespoon syrup from canned peaches |
| Pear |
A chunk of ripe pear or one tablespoon syrup from canned pears |
| Green grass |
Three crushed blades of green grass |
| Honey |
One teaspoon honey (stir to dissolve) |
| Vanilla |
One drop vanilla extract |
| Nutmeg |
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg |
| Smokey Oak |
One drop Liquid Smoke, available in many supermarket spice sections |
Red Wine Aroma Standard
|
Ingredient |
| Strawberry |
Two crushed ripe or frozen strawberries |
| Strawberry jam |
One teaspoon of strawberry jam (stir to dissolve) |
| Cherry |
Two crushed ripe cherries or a tablespoon of juice from canned cherries |
| Mint |
One drop of mint extract or a crushed mint leaf (spearmint or peppermint) |
| Green Pepper |
A quarter of a green pepper, diced |
| Black Pepper |
A few grains of freshly ground black pepper |
| Chocolate |
One teaspoon of powdered cocoa or shaved chocolate |
| Coffee |
About 1/8 teaspoon ground coffee |
| Tobacco |
One small pinch of cigarette or pipe tobacco |
| Vanilla |
One drop vanilla extract |
| Smokey Oak |
One drop Liquid Smoke, available in many supermarket spice sections |
START A TASTING GROUP
Tasting Group Tips
Tasting groups make learning about wine more fun -- and less expensive.
The basic idea is that by pooling resources, a group can taste more wines of higher quality than an individual could taste alone. Plus, group members can exchange ideas and broaden their perspectives through discussion.
Finding enough people for a tasting shouldn't take too much effort.
Some groups form in cyberspace. San Francisco management consultant Julius Schillinger first connected with his friends on the Wine Spectator Online bulletin boards. "We then started communicating offline," he says. "By the time we finally got together, it was great to turn all the bits and bytes into flesh and blood."
Stores and tasting organizations also host their own events. Get on their mailing lists. It's a safe bet that you'll meet like-minded people who'd love to start a group.
