Hang around winemakers, tasting room managers, and other enthusiasts long enough, and you are bound to hear them talk sense. In this case, I refer to the five senses, particularly olfaction and gustation. While I do like to gaze at a nice inky glass of red, smell and taste are such a big part of the wine tasting ritual that they’ve garnered my undivided attention tonight.

I always make a point to learn something about a wine before olfacting and gustating it. Probably the descriptions that I’ve heard most in tasting rooms are “oaky”, “earthy”, ”spicy”, and “fruity”. Sometimes, I actually smell or taste these hints (with the exception of earth, which I tried to smell in my backyard tonight and still came up scentless). Other times, and it could be due to lack of proper training, I nod and pretend that I’ve picked up a wisp of tobacco or that my buds are so sensitive that they managed to distinguish just a trace of licorice. But to be honest, there are occasions when I could probably savor an entire barrel and not delight my senses with ”flowery nose (bouquet and aroma) offering notes of black fruits”. I’m somewhat ashamed to say that my own ol’factory (hey, my nose ain’t no spring chicken anymore at 46) is just not that sophisticated. At least, not yet.

What I would like to understand is just how the ultrasensitive nostrils of world’s greatest critics identify the truly peculiar smells (like pencil lead, crushed rocks, underbrush, and roasted meats) by simply swirling, then sniffing a wine. Dream as I might, I can’t imagine that my sense of smell will ever be fine-tuned enough to sift through a glass of cabernet franc fumes and capture even a grain of “graphite” (and I’m not sure I would like it anyway). Call me a quitter, but before you write me off as an unsophisticated lout and stomp off to a better wine blog (good luck!)…

Please consider my heartfelt pledge to continue the hunt for the more detectable hints, such as blueberries, raspberries, espresso, and vanilla. My friends and I will admire the ruby hues of our cabernets, gently swirl the contents in our fragrance-enhancing Riedel glasses, sniff the subtle, smoky aromas, and tickle our taste buds with the silky tannins embodied in the world’s finest wines. Someday soon I’ll proudly report that I’ve enjoyed a glass of Margaux and experienced cassis notes intermixed with spring flowers. And just to show you that I’m keeping an open mind, perhaps I’ll mine for a suggestion of time-worn volcanic earth (minus the crushed rock). Stay with me, and you will be the first to hear of it!

Filed under Wine — Subscribe, Trackback,