Why smell? Of the five senses, smell is the most acute, approximately 1,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste! As a result, flavor is influenced by roughly 75% smell and 25% taste. Ever notice how foods seem to taste bland or less distinctive when the nose is blocked by a cold? A wine's real charm can be found in its scent. Smelling offers a preview of what you might taste, not just then, but also if you let the wine sit for a while and open up.
The nose is an extremely important factor in tasting wine. Used properly, it is a reliable tool for measuring the degree of a wine’s quality. Once you know how to smell wine properly, a whole new dimension of appreciation opens up. You will begin noticing scents of raspberries, strawberries, melons, apples, even prunes and bananas coming through the odor of a wine. As you begin recognizing these scents, you will be able to distinguish wines simply by their smells. (A very useful trick at a blind wine tasting!) Unfortunately most people don’t know how to use their noses effectively and miss out on this aspect of wine enjoyment.
Before learning how to smell though, it’s important to know where smells are sensed. Contrary to popular belief, smells are not registered in the nose, but at olfactory receptors located behind the nose and between the eyes and brain. This is one reason why it’s important to “aggressively” sniff wines—you need to make sure the odor gets back to the receptors. Don't be shy... stick that nose in there!
To smell wine most effectively, it’s also important to first release its scents. This is done simply by swirling your glass (http://brighteyeswine.blogspot.com/2010/01/4-ss-of-wine-tasting.html). Swirling helps intensify a wine’s odor because it causes some of the alcohol in the wine to evaporate. As it evaporates it brings with it the particular scents that were trapped in the wine. It’s very important that you smell the wine immediately after swirling it because these vapors only last for about one second.
As with color, grape variety and growing season are powerful determinants of aroma. Pinot Noir typically smells of red fruits like cherries and strawberries. Cabernet Sauvignon, like its color, tends to have darker aromas, typically black cherries or plums. Similarly, white wines tend to have aromas of lighter colored fruits like peach, pear, or pineapple.
Wine-making techniques dramatically affect aromas. The yeasts that cause fermentation are sometimes chosen by the winemakers and added to the juice specifically because of the aromatic and flavor nuances they create. Cool fermentations yield vibrant, fruity aromas; warmer ones give more spicy and earthy notes.
The biggest aromatic impact comes after fermentation, when the wine is racked off the skins and held for clarification and maturation before bottling. Some, usually mass-produced wines are simply pumped into large vats. The large volume of the liquid and the neutral character of the container emphasize the fruit character inherent in the wine. Other (generally, artisan wines, which tend to be more ambitious and expensive) are racked into small oak barrels. If the barrels are old, they too will be basically neutral, adding little in the way of flavor or aroma. If they are new, however, the wine absorbs elements from the wood that can add aromas (and flavors) of vanilla, smoke, toast, coffee, even chocolate. These aromas will vary in character and intensity depending on whether the oak is French or American in origin, how much the inside of the barrels have been "toasted," and what percentage of the barrels are new.
Time in bottle also influences aromas. Young red wines smell of fruit; as they age, their bouquet evolves into complex perfumes that mingle cedar, tobacco, tea, mushrooms and spices. Different cultures prefer one stage over the other; the French drink their reds vigorous and fruity, while the English favor the softer, more earthy aromas of mature wines. Young wines can be delicious, but a great wine aged to perfect maturity is a glorious experience, and once sniffed will never be forgotten.
