I can understand why people feel the need to ask this question. All too often, wine aromas are confused or misinterpreted, making it difficult to identify the wine being described. So, just how does one learn to accurately distinguish and describe wine aromas?

In my professional opinion and based on my personal experience, the simplest way to learn to differentiate the aromas in wine is by using the Wine Aromas’ (Le Nez du Vin) wine education kit developed by Jean Lenoir. But we’ll return to that later. For now, let’s discuss where wines get their aromas, and how professional wine tasters describe wine aromas and why they describe them this way.

Where Wines Get Their Aromas

Wines, or more specifically the grapes used to make wines, take on the characteristics of their environment (in wine speak, that’s terroir). In the earth (i.e. soil), air and water are aromatic compounds. The soil and water also contain the essences of plant and floral life that have been layered over through the centuries. These are the exceptional aromas found in red and white wines from France and around the world.

A wine’s aromas can give us an indication of this wine’s country, region and vineyard of origin. They also tell us about the grape varietal/s used to make the wine, the winemaking techniques utilized and the aging conditions to which the wine has been subjected.

An Explanation of Wine Aromas and How Wine Tasters Describe Them

When professional wine tasters say they detect the strawberry aroma in a particular wine, they are not saying that the maker of the wine added strawberry essential oils to the grape juice (i.e. that the wine is a strawberry-flavored one). They are simply saying that the wine has a scent that closely resembles that of strawberries.

In truth, wines owe their aromas from their chemical composition. It is not just one chemical compound that can lead to a particular aroma, moreover. A specific wine aroma can be a result of one or a combination of several compounds. For instance, there are a number of compounds (individually or in combination) that can give wines strawberry-like aromas – and these include Furaneol, ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl formate, ethyl hexanoate, and methyl cinnamate.

Professional wine tasters, however, do not mention these compounds in their wine reviews. For example, they simply say they smell strawberries instead of saying the wine has Furaneol or any of the other compound with which the strawberry aroma is generally associated. This makes it easier for the readers of wine tasting notes to assimilate and use the provided information in their wine buying decisions. What professional wine tasters do, basically, is assess a wine’s aromas and describe them in a manner that laypersons (non-professionals) can easily understand.

Example:

Isn’t it easier to imagine how a wine would be like if we read a tasting note that describes it using words in our everyday vocabulary? Take the following sample description of a Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru:

This red wine, garnet in color with pinkish meniscus, has the aromas of strawberry, raspberry, cherry, and liquorice with some smoky notes. The wine is balanced with a smooth lingering finish.

The above description is clear, simple and very easy to understand, right? Now, imagine how so much more complicated and unfathomable this review of Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru would be if wine tasters wrote the following way:

This red wine, garnet in color with pinkish meniscus, has the aromas of one or more of the following: Furaneol, ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl formate, ethyl hexanoate, methyl cinnamate (Strawberry), ethyl acetate, ethyl formate and esters (Raspberry), Benzaldehyde-cyanohydrin (Cherry), Glycyrrhyzin (Liquorice), Guaiacol, and 4-ethylguaiacol (Smoke). The wine is balanced with a smooth lingering finish.

Is your head aching yet? With a description like the above, only someone with a degree in chemistry could possibly imagine what this wine smells like. Any wine taster that writes his tasting notes this way will quickly (and deserves to) lose all of his readers, subscribers and followers.

The Wine Aromas Wine Education Kit

Now, let’s go back to our original question. Just how do we learn to distinguish and name specific wine aromas? The answer is simple: use the Wine Aromas (Le Nez du Vin) wine education kit.

The Wine Aromas (Le Nez du Vin) wine education kit is an essential tool for anyone who wishes to learn how to accurately identify specific aromas in wine. Through its help (and with time and practice), you will learn the universal language of wine, become skilled at accurately pinpointing wine aromas, and become good at identifying the type and origin of whichever wine you are sampling. Ultimately, the Wine Aromas wine education kit will improve your appreciation for wines.

For more information about Wine Aromas / Le Nez du Vin, please visit www.winearomas.com.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: Sébastien Gavillet (the author of this article) is the Chief Wine Officer of Wine Aromas Inc, the official distributor of Le Nez du Vin wine education kits.

Vineyards of Lavaux , Vaud, Switzerland

How much wine does Switzerland produce?

To put Switzerland’s wine production into perspective, I will compare it with California. Switzerland produces around 1.1 million hectoliters (29 million gallons) of wine a year. California, on the other hand, produced around 20.6 million hectoliters (545.8 million gallons) in 2008. In other words, Swiss wine production is only around 5% of California wine production. Clearly, Switzerland’s wine production is significantly less than California’s. Nevertheless, if you figure in Switzerland’s population, you’ll realize that Switzerland actually produces a lot of wine. Specifically, it produces more than 4 gallons or 21 bottles of wine per inhabitant.

How much wine does Switzerland export?

Over 4 gallons of wine per capita seems plenty, especially since people below 18 normally do not drink wine. Switzerland probably exports most of it – or does it, really? Well, it does not. Swiss wine export is actually very limited. It’s just supply and demand. Swiss people drink 4 times more wine than Americans do. In fact, Switzerland has to import around 1.7 million hectoliters of wine (45 million gallons) just to satisfy its people’s demand for wine. In short, residents of Switzerland love their wines so much that they leave very little available for export. Switzerland exports only 1.5% of the wine it produces. In contrast, according to the US Department of Commerce, California exported over 21% (3.8 million hectoliters or 100 million gallons) of its wine production in 2006. So, why do we know so little about Swiss wine again? Simple. Virtually all of it is consumed domestically. Not a lot of people outside Switzerland get to try it, let alone know about it.

Interesting trivia: Even though the demand for Swiss wine is very high, Swiss wine prices remain reasonable. Most Swiss wines are priced at the $12-$30 range.

Swiss wine varietals

Switzerland is most well known for growing Chasselas, a white grape variety often used as a table grape in Europe. For some reason (climate/soil), Chasselas has found a perfect home in Switzerland. Swiss Chasselas wines are delicate and elegant with great minerality. At first, it was thought that all Swiss Chasselas wines are best drunk young (within the first 2 years). However, sommeliers have discovered that some Chasselas wines 15 years and older from great producers and vintages actually drink very well. These vintages are creating beautiful, mature Chenin Blanc/Viognier-type wines. Switzerland is home to many indigenous varietals and has cross-cloned numerous varietals as well. Some 190 varietals are grown in Switzerland today. The most commonly cultivated are (in order of importance and categorized by wine type):

Reds:

Pinot Noir (52%), Gamay (19%), Merlot (12%), Gamaret (4%), Garanoir (2%), Syrah (2%)

Humagne Rouge, Diolinoir, and some fifty plus, non-listed varietals account for 9%

Whites:

Chasselas (66%), Muller-Thurgau (8%), Chardonnay (5%), Sylvaner (4%), Pinot Gris (2.5%)

Amigne, Pinot Blanc (Malvoisie), Charmont, Humagne Blanche, Petite Arvine, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Heida (Paien) and some seventy or so non-listed varietals account for 14.5%

Swiss vines go back as far as 3,000 BC. According to records, Swiss viticulture and wine production began at the time of the Roman Empire. We owe today’s incredible terraces of vineyards in the Lavaux area to the monks. Some of these vineyards are now UNESCO World Heritage sites (enlisted/inscribed in 2007, UNESCO ref 1243).

More Swiss wine facts and trivia to come

This is just the start. Expect more blog posts about my trip into the heart of Switzerland’s wine production areas.

Cheers!

• At least 85% of Super Tuscan wines consist of grapes produced in Tuscany to receive IGT cassification
• The Super Tuscans’ winemaking process does not adhere to the local appellation law

View of Montepulciano, Tuscany

What does that mean exactly? Makers of Super Tuscan wines do not use Sangiovese as the dominant varietal. Instead, they use other wine grape varieties (mostly Bordeaux types) such as Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot. This makes Super Tuscans ineligible for DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) or DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) classification under the local appellation law. Nevertheless, Super Tuscan wines do qualify for IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) classification. Some of the most expensive wines from Tuscany are Super Tuscan wines such as Sassicaia, Tignanello, Solaia, Magari, Ornellaia and Picconero. Cheers!

Wine Styles of Old World Wines

What are the typical characteristics of Old World wine styles?  Compared to New World wines (i.e. wines that have New World wine styles), Old World wines tend to be less bold, less vibrant in color, more delicate, and more elegant.  They also tend to have higher acidity and better natural balance.  Old World wines also feature more of the characteristics of the grape varietals used and their Appellation or terroir.  In Old World wine styles, higher minerality is usual.  Wines of the Old World wine style, moreover, are typically made according to the traditional wine making guidelines of their region of origin.

Wine Styles of New World Wines

Wines that are considered to be New World wines are characterized by wine styles that are almost always bolder and more luscious than Old World wine styles.  They are often bursting with fruit aromas from the get go.  Typically, they also have higher alcohol content since, in the New World style of wine making, grapes are often left to ripen longer/ripen faster; this can be attributed to the warmer climate in New World wine regions.  New World wines, moreover, tend to have mid-to-light acidity levels.  The nose is also less delicate and sophisticated.

The Rule and the Exceptions that Prove the Rule

There are, of course, exceptions to this two-way classification system.  Some young Barolos and Barberas are known for their “boldness” and higher-than-typical alcohol content.  These are probably the exceptions that prove the rule, though.

Once again, remember the general rule for comparing New World and Old World wine styles.  Old World wines (i.e. wines exhibiting Old World wine styles) have lower alcohol content, are more delicate and are more terroir-driven than New World wines.  On the contrary, New World wines (i.e. wines exhibiting New World wine styles) are typically big, bold and fruity.  Furthermore, they have light to medium acidity and have higher alcohol content than Old World wines.

Cheers!

Champagne and sparkling wine are different.

Champagne is different from sparkling wines.  The difference between them may not seem very “significant,” but the difference – however slight – remains.  Remember that the term Champagne refers to an AOC (geographic region) of France.  This wine region undoubtedly produces the world’s best sparkling wines.

So what exactly is champagne, the wine?  Only sparkling wines that have come from the Champagne AOC, been made through the traditional sparkling wine production method (méthode champenoise) and been produced following the strict guidelines of the Champagne AOC can be called champagne.

Champagne is a type of sparkling wine.

Champagne, therefore, is a specific type of sparkling wine.  Again, remember that champagne refers exclusively to sparkling wines that have come from Champagne and have been produced according to that AOC’s strict sparkling wine production method.  All other sparkling wines that do not fit the Champagne Appellation guidelines may simply be designated as non-champagne sparkling wines.

Champagne Making – Some Particulars

Champagne can only be made from six types of grapes.  The following are the most commonly used varietals or wine grapes in champagne production:

• Pinot Noir
• Pinot Meunier
• Chardonnay

The following varietals or wine grapes are also used in making champagnes, but they are used less often than the above-mentioned grapes:

• Pinot Blanc
• Petit Meslier
• Arbane

The wine grapes used for making champagnes must be handpicked.  They are also pressed as whole clusters; that is, they are not destemmed.  Champagnes must also rest a minimum of 15 months on lees for non-vintage crus and 36 months for vintage crus.  It is not uncommon for the best cuvee to rest for up to a decade.  Chaptalization is permitted, but this is mostly used when making non-vintage crus.

Trellising is also an important factor in the Champagne Appellation.  Four methods are authorized and they are Chablis, Cordon, Guyot, and Vallee de la Marne.  I will not elaborate on these methods as they are an entirely new subject.

Some of Champagne’s finest vintages are 2002, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1982, 1976, 1975, and 1971.

Non-Champagne Sparkling Wines

There are so many different styles of non-champagne sparkling wines.  Sparkling wines are produced in numerous wine-producing regions and from so many different varietals of grapes.  The sheer number of sparkling wine variants worldwide prevents me from talking about them further in this blog post.  Perhaps, non-champagne sparkling wines will be a future topic in this wine blog; who knows?  Cheers!

What is the best way to preserve an open bottle of wine?

This is a question that I have always answered but have never written about.  Read on to know the answer.  Specifically, I will discuss the two main methods of wine preservation (the vacuum pump method and the inert gas method) and the method I personally use to preserve wines.

The Two Methods of Wine Preservation

Have you ever succeeded in drinking an entire bottle of an older Sauterne in one sitting?  Good for you, if you have.  I myself haven’t been able to do that yet.  As this is wine that I don’t drink all that often, I naturally want to preserve whatever’s left in the bottle.  Like me, you also probably need a way to preserve wine you can’t drink in one sitting.  Otherwise, you’ll be wasting a lot of wines.  The alternative – drinking and enjoying wine only when you have company – is not something true wine lovers would ever consider.

There are several wine accessories out there that can help you preserve an open wine bottle.  The wine accessories or wine-saving products from Vacu Vin are probably the most commonly used.  To use the vacuum wine saver, place the vacuum wine stopper in the opening of the wine bottle.  This will pump out the air and create a vacuum inside the wine bottle, thereby halting the oxidation process or reducing the rate of oxidation.

There are also inert gas wine preservers.  In this case, inert gas is pumped into the open wine bottle.  The inert gas is heavier than air, so it successfully replaces the air inside the bottle and “blankets” the wine.  After pumping the inert gas into the bottle, put the wine cork back on and you will be all set.

The Best Wine Preserver

I know that some of you are thinking, “I do not wish to purchase an expensive wine accessory just to preserve my wines.”  Well then, I have great news for you.  Using inert gas is probably the cheapest method of preserving wine.

You do not need to buy a refrigerated inert gas dispenser!  There’s a much simpler and inexpensive alternative.  For only $9.95, you can buy a can of Private Preserve – “the original inert gas preserver” – and get up to 120 uses per bottle.  You can use this inert gas wine preserver not only to preserve wines but also to preserve ports, whiskeys, olive oil, and any other bottled product.  This inert gas wine preserver is what I personally use because, in my opinion, it works better than the vacuum pump and has no harmful consequences.

I believe that the vacuum pump method preserves wine only temporarily.  Sucking air out of an open bottle of wine and creating a vacuum seal should be good only for a day or two; the air will eventually make its way back in.  In contrast, Private Preserve lets me preserve wine for a long period of time.  Some of my bottles have been open for months, but I have been able to successfully preserve them with inert gas.

[One word of advice:  Make sure that the wine cork you use does not breathe.  If you put your cork screw all the way thru the cork when you opened the wine bottle, you shouldn’t use that same wine cork to reseal your wine bottle.  If you do, air would seep back in.  Do keep that in mind the next time you open a wine bottle.]

The use of the vacuum pump method may also have an unintended and undesirable effect; it is generally believed that repetitively sucking the air out of the same wine bottle will eventually suck out the bouquet and aromas of the wine in that bottle.  There are no such issues if you use the inert gas wine preserver.

Finally, preserving wines through the vacuum pump method can be expensive in the long run; the vacuum wine stopper needs to be replaced at least once a year if it is to work at maximum efficiency.  On the other hand (and as already mentioned above), Private Preserve costs below 10 bucks and can be used a total of 120 times.

Private Preserve is truly the inexpensive, practical and effective way of preserving open bottles of wine – and only a tête de mule wouldn’t give Private Preserve a try!

Cheers!

Rose wines are made of red grapes or red grape varietals.  Rose champagne or rose sparkling wines are exceptions because they are also made with white grapes or white grape varietals (I say varietals because Chardonnay is not the only white grape used to make sparkling wines).  There are some winemakers who add a little white wine to their own blend of still rose wine, but this is not common practice.

About Rose Wines

There’s a difference between old-world rose and new-world rose wines.  Old-world rose wines tend to be more bone-dry than new-world rose wines.  Californian rose wines, for instance, can be almost sweet; they also have very similar characteristics to white wines.  It should be noted, however, that there are now some Californian rose winemakers who make fruity, elegant and almost bone-dry rose wines that resemble old-world roses.  Sophia by Coppola is just such a wine.

Tip: You should drink still rose wines when they are young or are 1-3 years old.  Good rose champagnes with some age can be a real delight.

How Are Rose Wines Made?

There are several ways to make rose wines and you can find a lot of information about them online.  You should be aware, however, that the four most commonly used methods of rose winemaking are often explained erroneously in the internet.  The errors persist even in some of the top-ranked sites!

I love the internet, but I believe it has become as much of a misinformation highway as an information highway.  I wanted to set the record straight and give you the correct information about wines and wine making, so I started this wine education and wine review blog.  But that’s neither here nor there.  Let’s go back to the topic:  rose wine making.

The four approaches to making rose wines are bleeding, pressing, limited maceration, and run off.

• Saignée or bleeding is used to make the best quality roses.  Juice is obtained by stacking up the wine grapes in a tank and letting the grapes’ weight do the crushing.  Since the juice is in contact with the grape skins only for a very short time, the rose wine obtained through this technique has a very pale color – e.g. Gris de Bourgogne, a rose wine from the Loire Valley.  Rose wines made through bleeding are rich, fruity and have great freshness.

• Pressé or pressing is the technique of pressing the red grapes until the juice has the desired color.  Once the desired color has been attained, the winemaker stops pressing.  Only the pressed juice is used to make the rose wine.

• Limited maceration is the most commonly used technique for making rose wines.  The grapes or, to be more precise, the skins are left in contact with the juice until the winemaker decides that he is happy with its color.  The “wine” (or the juice) minus the skins is then transferred to another tank to finish the fermentation process.

• Run off is the process involved when the winemaker removes juice from the tank of fermenting red wine; this juice is used to make the rose wine.  The run off process results in a darker/more intense red wine (the wine left in the fermentation vat) and, in my opinion, a so-so rose wine.

On Provence Rose Wines

Provence rose wines are usually made using the same local blends used in making red wines.  Most rose wines from Provence are made using the Grenache and Cinsault grapes or varietals, but some have been made using Mourvèdre.

For the wine aroma hunters: The following are the typical aromas found in rose wines from the Provence region (Côtes de Provence, Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, les Baux-de Provence, Bandol, Cassis, Bellet, and Palette):

• grapefruit
• banana
• strawberry
• raspberry
• redcurrant
• almond
• linden
• cut hay

If you want to try a typical rose wine from Provence, I recommend Mas du Fadan Côte de Ventoux 2007.  Oh, and by the way, a great bottle of rose wine should not cost you more than $20-$25 unless it is rose champagne!

Cheers!

“I had wine which was rated 84 points and I loved it!  Does that mean that I have poor wine taste?”

I believe that any wine critic will agree with me when I say that wine should be enjoyed based on personal preferences rather than on wine ratings.  The appreciation for wines has just recently made its way to the mainstream, so newcomers need some system to guide them.  Wine critics want to be as unbiased as possible when making their wine recommendations to the public; as such, they give wines points or ratings based on a specific and defined methodology or benchmarking procedure.  These wine ratings, however, should never be allowed to take precedence over your personal preferences.

I always tell my clients to think of wine as perfume.  Some appeal to you and others don’t.  Some people buy a certain perfume because they truly like its scent; some buy it because it is a famous brand or is endorsed by someone they admire.  If you were to choose perfume, would you rather go with a trendy scent you don’t particularly like or a non-popular brand you really love?  The answer is obvious, right?  In the same way, you should choose wines based on your personal tastes and preferences rather than on wine ratings.

Wine Ratings:  It Can Be All about Marketing

As with any industry, the world of wine can be all about marketing.  A particular wine can become the hottest product to hit the market – or not – depending on how people perceive it.

The best way to market a product in the wine business is to get a high score from an accredited wine critic like Robert Parker Jr.  If a highly respected wine critic decides that a particular wine deserves 95 points, the winemaker has hit the jackpot as this wine rating can be used to promote the wine to the public.  On the flip side, if a certain wine receives 80 points or less from a wine critic, the winemaker will (and should) probably not mention the wine rating at all when he promotes his wine.

Defying Wine Ratings

I host blind tasting events to demonstrate to my clients that wine ratings are not infallible.  In such blind wine tastings, I ask my guests to taste two wines.  One is always a well-known wine that been received well by wine critics; it usually has wine ratings of 89 points and above.  The other wine is always a poor performer in comparison to the first.  It usually has a low eighties ratings; I choose, it however, because I believe it to be worth a lot more than its wine rating indicate.

You must understand that any wine can get a low wine rating because it wasn’t ready when it was sampled or because it had characteristics with which the wine critic was not pleased.  [Note to the wise winemaker:  Do not release your wines to critics if it is not showing promising signs or if it is not yet ready for sampling.  Moreover, you should not choose a critic to whom you know your wine – or certain characteristics of it – will not have any appeal.  This is a mistake that many winemakers have made and will usually not repeat.]

What is so interesting about these blind tastings is that, 80% of the time, my guests prefer the wine that scored lower.

Wine Ratings Affect How Wines Are Perceived

I also conduct wine tastings to show that wine ratings affect how wines are perceived.  In such tastings, I also present two bottles of wine.  Like in the blind tastings described above, one of the wines is a highly rated wine and the other is a low-rated wine.  This time though, I let each of the participants know what they are drinking and how many points the wine has been given by wine critics.  As expected, almost 100% of my guests in such wine tastings prefer the highly rated wine over the low-rated wine.

This brings to mind one of my visits to a winery’s gift shop in Oregon.  This shop sold a plate with a comic strip on it.  The comic strip depicted a man who tastes a wine and finds it repulsive.  He complains to the store owner about it.  The store owner replies, “Well, I don’t understand.  That has a rating of 93 points.”  The man, embarrassed by his remark, ended up ordering 3 cases of the wine – the wine which he originally found repulsive but which has suddenly acquired appeal because of its high wine rating.

I ended up buying the plate, of course.  I really liked the moral of the story:  a man who doesn’t trust his taste in wines will probably buy wine he will not enjoy.  People, especially wine novices, typically base their liking for a particular wine on the wine ratings that it has received from wine critics.

Indeed, wine ratings affect our perception of wines.  Highly rated wines become popular, while low-rated wines (more often than not) fail.  Wine stores may decide to liquidate their stock of the poorly rated wine and replace it with another that has a higher rating; these wine stores, moreover, will probably never carry this low-rated wine again on account of the profit losses it has caused.

Our Perceptions Can Affect Our Preferences

Our perceptions can also affect our wine preferences and wine buying behavior.  California Merlot growers learned this painful lesson when America’s favorite wine was criticized in the movie Sideways.  In the context of the movie, one of the characters (acted by Paul Giamatti) simply told another character that Merlot “sucks.”

This was just a movie.  The criticism of Merlot was just part of the dialogue of a make-believe story!  Yet, the effect was immediately felt.  Merlot sales plummeted and Pinot Noir wines instantly took over a huge chunk of Merlot’s market share.  To this day, Merlot sales have not recovered.

Is it possible that a mere line in a movie stopped people from buying Merlot?  It could be that people tried another wine and found they like it better than Merlot.  It is more likely, however, that the movie really played havoc with the public’s perception of Merlot.  It is the power of marketing at work!

Your Tastes and Preferences Should Matter Most

Becoming a wine drinker is like a spiritual journey.  You need to identify your personal preferences.  This is extremely important if you want to fully enjoy wines!  Do not be intimidated by what others may be thinking or saying.  Ultimately, it’s your palate, not theirs.  Remember, your nose knows what’s best for you.

My recommendation is for you to try a different wine style each time and make your marks accordingly.  We live in the golden age of wine and it would be a shame if you miss out on the wondrous wines available just because a wine critic says it’s not up to par or just because a character in a movie says it sucks.

Cheers!

Wine Aromas:  General Classification

Wine aromas may be classified into three major categories:

• Primary aromas. They are also known as varietal aromas.  These aromas come from or are determined by the type of grapes (grape varietals) used in wine making.

• Secondary aromas. These are also known as vinous aromas.  These aromas develop during the pre-fermentation and fermentation process.

• Tertiary aromas: These aromas are developed during the post-fermentation process.  They develop when wine is being matured in the wine barrel (e.g. oak barrel) or being aged in the wine bottle (bottle aging).

Aromas versus Bouquet

To be precise, when a wine specialist talks about a wine’s aromas, he is referring to that wine’s primary and secondary aromas (i.e. varietal aromas and vinous aromas).  When he talks about a wine’s bouquet, he is referring to that wine’s tertiary aromas.

To put it even more simply, while it is true that there are three main aromas in wines, only the primary and secondary aromas qualify as “aromas” in wine lingo; the tertiary aroma is referred to as “bouquet.”  That, in a nutshell is the difference between aromas and bouquet.

Bouquet

Wines owe their bouquet to the post-fermentation and the maturing process.  The bouquet is developed only during the post-fermentation stage and in the wine bottle itself.  Aldehydes and esters are formed during the oxidation of the fruit acids and alcohol in the wine bottle.  As such, bouquet takes time – years, actually – to develop.

A good, mature wine will have a complex bouquet.  After all, a wine’s bouquet is a combination of aromas bundled together to form new aromas (you could call it perfume, if you want).

I have here a list of the common tertiary aromas found in wines.  Again, I would like to emphasize that these aromas qualify as bouquet aromas because they are developed in the post-fermentation and aging process:

• prune
• mushroom
• truffle
• cedar*
• liquorice*
• leather
• toast*
• roasted almond
• roasted hazelnut
• caramel
• coffee
• dark chocolate
• smoke*

For more information about wine aromas, please see the works of Jean Lenoir and his must-have, world-renowned Le Nez du Vin kits.

Final Note on Aromas and Bouquet

A diligent wine critic will usually not use the word bouquet to describe the aromas found in young immature wines, unless he is describing wines of such exceptional vintage that they are already starting to show, albeit prematurely, their bouquet.

Cheers!

You have probably seen wine decanted in many different ways.  You have probably seen wine being carefully poured into a wine decanter or wine carafe.  You have also probably seen what I like to call the “Slam Dunk” method of wine decanting; in this instance, the host turns the wine bottle upside down and, without any restraint, dumps the wine into the wine decanter.

So, which wine decanting method is better:  the careful wine pouring or the unrestrained wine dumping?  The truth is that you can do both – but not with all wines.  Some wines are better served by careful decanting; some are better served by the Slam Dunk decanting system.

Wine Decanting Tools

The following are the basic wine decanting tools:

• A wine decanter or carafe
• A decanting cradle or funnel
• A candle

The use of a decanting cradle is optional, but I highly recommend that you use one.  A decanting cradle will ensure a steady rate of wine flow, so you won’t stir up the sediments as you pour the wine.  If you disturb the sediments while pouring, you will get less wine out of the wine bottle.  If you do not have a decanting cradle, use a funnel instead; a glass funnel is preferred.

You also need a candle or any kind of backlighting.  This will let you see through the bottle as you pour the wine into the decanter.  When decanting, do not place the candle directly under the wine bottle; this will darken the bottle and produce unwanted smoke.

One piece of advice regarding wine decanters:  when buying a wine decanter, make sure that it is functional and easy to clean.  I have this really beautiful wine decanter that I never use as it takes forever to clean.  It is also so badly designed that the last one-half of a glass was wasted when I used it.

The Traditional Wine Decanting Method

Old and fine wines, while patiently waiting for judgment day, typically form plenty of sediments through the years.  If you are decanting old and fine wines, do the following:

1. Two days before serving, take the bottle of wine from storage and let it stand upright.  This way, the sediments will have time to settle at the bottom of the wine bottle.
2. On the day of serving, open the wine bottle carefully to ensure that you will not disturb the sediments that have already settled at the bottom.
3. Before decanting the wine, make sure that your wine decanter is clean and does not smell of stale air.
4. When the wine and the decanter are ready, place the wine bottle in your decanting cradle (if you have one), light the candle and, with a steady hand, start pouring the wine into the funnel or directly into the wine decanter.  Do not stop pouring until you see the sediments getting too close to the neck of the wine bottle.
5. Let the wine rest in the decanter for a bit (30-60 minutes) and serve.

My Personal Decanting Method for Old, Vintage Wines

I use the traditional decanting method for old, vintage wines, but I like to start a week in advance.

1. First, I take the wine bottle from my wine cellar then let it stand in an upright position for two days.  I make sure that the wine bottle is away from light throughout this time.
2. After two days, I open the wine bottle, place it on the decanting cradle, light the candle, and then pour the wine into the decanter.
3. I wash the wine bottle, find a new cork if the one I’ve just removed is too damaged, funnel all but one small glass of the wine back into the now clean bottle, spray inert aerosol gas (I use Private Preserve) into the bottle, and put the cork back on.
4. I let the bottle stand in an upright position until I am ready to serve the wine a few days later

Why do I follow this intricate decanting process?  Why decant the wine then pour it back into the bottle a few days before actual serving?  I have two main reasons:

First, this decanting process allows the wine to clear up even more.  In the process of pouring wine into the decanter, the smaller sediments may have been stirred up.  My decanting method gives these sediments time to resettle.

Second, this process also gives me the opportunity to taste the wine and detect faults, if any.  I would really hate to find out on the day of serving that the great wine I told all my friends about is faulty.  Imagine holding a party for the express purpose of letting other wine lovers sample a special wine.  On the day of the tasting, you discover that the wine you’re planning to serve – the wine that is the main reason for the wine tasting party – is actually faulty.  In that case, you’ll have to find a replacement right away, and you probably won’t have time to decant your replacement wine properly.  A mistake like this can definitely ruin your party.

My personal method of decanting old, vintage wines is tedious, I admit, but it just goes to show how much I really love fine wines.

The Slam Dunk Decanting Method

The slam dunk method is best used on younger wines that have no visible sediments.  In this case, decanting is done mainly to aerate the wine.  The slam dunk method lets the wine breathe by almost breaking it up.

I use this wine decanting technique when serving young wines with big tannins, which are still immature and closed up.  After pouring the wine into the decanter, I let it sit there for at least an hour or two before serving.

Note:  You can now buy aerating gadgets (i.e. wine aerator) that you can use to open up wine.  These gadgets do the trick, and they work even faster than dumping the wine into a decanter.

I will end my discussion of wine decanting here.  I hope that you have learned something from this post and that the next time you’re serving and decanting wine, you will be able to apply the wine decanting techniques discussed here.  Cheers!