The Aromas of White Wine

Next, we are going to look at the aroma of wine. In order to do this, we are going to swirl
the wine. If you feel more comfortable leaving the glass on the table, that is okay. With a
little practice, you will be able to hold it up and swirl it around. In fact, if you do this
often enough, you will find yourself swirling your coffee in the morning, your juice and
even your soda. It can be quite an annoying little thing.

After we swirl, we are going to hold the wine to our nose. When you smell wine, you
need to be able to take a deep inhalation. You need to breathe deeply. The olfactory bulb,
the one that receives all the information that you are going to smell is buried deep in your
brain. In order to get the aroma back there, you must inhale deeply. Some people like to
inhale like a dog, short puffs. Short quick inhales, this allows the wine to wash you over
the olfactory bulb. After I have smelled the wine, I want to take a minute to think about
the aroma that I have had.

We are going to talk about the typical aromas found in each of these varietals or grapes.
Starting with the Pinot Grigio, a typical aroma would be of minerals and white flowers. I
know it sounds like a lot of silliness, but when you put your nose into the glass, that is
what you will find.

Sauvignon Blanc is a grape that has aromas typical of citrus fruits. And if it comes from a
warm climate, you can get tropical fruits. So start with the basics of lemon and lime and
if you fine something like kiwi or mango, that is good too.

The aroma associated with Chardonnay is typically oak. Now, a lot of people do not
recognize it as oak, but oak smells like vanilla or toast or coffee or toffee. But there are
fruit aromas in there also and the most general ones are apples, both red and green and
pear.