What's the wine aroma wheel?
Being able to accurately describe aromas and flavors is not such an easy task. With some exceptions, only wine tasters may be able to sensually perceive and express wine aromas. However, there is a visual resource that can help us called: the wine aroma wheel. Let’s know what it is about.
What’s the wine aroma wheel?
Basically, it is a graphic representation of the most common aromas that we can find in wines. In the wine aroma wheel we can find 12 main categories and about 80 descriptors that are derived from the preceding categories, although these may vary slightly depending on the wheel.
In fact, this instrument has been so useful that similar variations have been created to be able to perceive aromas in foods, such as cheese. Many people, after understanding this dynamic with the wine wheel, do not perceive aromas and flavors in the same way again.
How does the aroma wheel help us?
Because it is a purely tasting process, the wheel of wine aromas helps us to define in a slightly more objective way the families of aromas that we perceive. Each of the spaces on this wheel has written identifying elements.
It is an appreciated aid, since many of us have olfactory difficulties or our nose is not trained to analyze all the aromas of the wine.
A wheel with colors, why?
For us, colors communicate more than we can see. The aroma wheel shows different colors that approximate the elements that we could perceive.
For example, vegetable aromas are identified with the color green, which is the predominant color in vegetables. The same is the brown color that is very similar to the barrels where the wine is aged. In this way, it is easier to associate visual sensations with possible olfactory perceptions.
What classification can we find on the aroma wheel?
In this graphic circle we can get an interesting classification of aromas according to the origin of the wine. Let’s see what the terms primary, secondary and tertiary aromas of wine refer to:
- Primary aromas
Part of the aromatic chemical compounds typical of the region where the grapes were grown. Thus, because the edaphoclimatic characteristics define aromas, we can perceive floral, fruit, vegetable and mineral stimuli. Hence, for many the preference varies according to the regions where the grapes are grown.
- Secondary aromas
It has to do directly with the aromatic compounds developed in the grape harvest process even before the alcoholic fermentation. Here the olfactory sensations can indicate the presence of yogurt, yeast, cheese, among others.
- Tertiary aromas
They are generated in the process of “aging” and maturing of wines once the alcoholic fermentation is finished, either in barrels or in bottles. At this point, the olfactory memory can perceive woody, balsamic aromas or those related to confectionery such as honey or coconut.
Even more specific aromas emerge from these primary, secondary and tertiary aromas of the wine. For example, from a fruity aroma we can discover if that fruit is red, citrus, tropical, wild or black, or we may only perceive a “fruity touch” in it. The same is true with the rest of the aromatic categories.
Now, when buying or selecting a good bottle, we will avoid describing the aromas of the wine in ambiguous terms, and rather we will be able to express ourselves in a specific and professional way.
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