Keen sense of scents brings deeper appreciation
Humans tend to only pick up five tastes on our tongues — sour, bitter, sweet, salty and umami — leaving our olfactory system to do a lot of heavy lifting in teasing out the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in wine (and everything else we consume).
While some people can rattle off descriptors about the smell of a wine with ease, others might sniff a Merlot and simply say, 'It smells like wine.'
But there are ways you can train your nose (and your brain) to unpack what's in your glass.
PEXELS
Get specific about what scents you're detecting in your wine. If you're picking up a floral note, try to determine what flower you're smelling.
Get specific about what scents you're detecting in your wine. If you're picking up a floral note, try to determine what flower you're smelling.
Here are five ways I've honed my olfactory senses over the years that have helped me in my craft, and in the process have provided a deeper appreciation of wine, beer and food.
Author Malcolm Gladwell said (to paraphrase) that if you put 10,000 hours of time into working on anything, you'll become an expert in that field. I've been sticking my nose in wine glasses professionally since the mid-1990s, first working at wine stores and then as the Free Press drinks writer. I have no idea how many hours that amounts to, but I'm certain that my ability to pick out subtle aromatic elements in wine and other drinks has improved — and continues to improve — with practice.
One of the best workouts for your nose is at the grocery store. The produce department's a great place to sniff your way through many of the core aromatic components found in wines. You might discover the peachy notes you're picking up in an Aussie Chardonnay are actually nectarine, and that yes, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc does in fact bring elements of green pepper and grapefruit.
Closer to home, give your nose a workout in the kitchen cupboard. Give that bottle of vanilla and jar of cloves a sniff, then keep those smells in mind the next time you taste an oaky white wine. Stick your nose in a box of black tea bags, then look for those same aromas in a tannic red wine. Explore the differences between savoury and baking spices (carefully, lest you collapse into a sneezing fit).
Picking up primary plum, blueberry and violet aromas is normal when sniffing a Merlot — but what if you had three or five or more Merlots in front of you? How would you describe the differences?
Trying multiple wines made from the same grape or region is the easiest way to suss out subtle differences between wines, often a result of how they were made, the climate/soil in which the grapes were grown, etc.
So you're picking up floral notes in a Pinot Grigio: is it a rose? A violet? Baby's breath? Is that apple note you're smelling more like a red or green apple, or a tart crabapple? Is it the flesh of the fruit, or its skin and seeds? Or is it more like apple candy? Drill down and see where it takes you.
First impressions go a long way in my own assessment of a wine and tend to be some of the most specific descriptors — primarily because they tend to be associated with a memory. Descriptors such as Tootsie Roll, beach ball, chalk, banana candy and the like are common in my notes, and more than once I've picked up hints of the Nonsuch in an Old World red aged in oak. Then there are the oddballs including (but not limited to) finding notes of pleather, or dirty diaper, or armpit (or, conversely, Speed Stick), petting zoo or black forest cake.
Always leave enough room in your glass to give your wine a vigorous swirl before shoving your nose in — it helps release the aromatic components in a wine and goes a long way in the enjoyment of what's in your glass.
And make sure a wine isn't too warm or cold. Explore the ways a chilled wine's aromas change as it sits out on the counter and warms up. Or give a red wine a sniff and taste at room temperature, then pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes (as I almost always do) to see/smell/taste how it changes.
Every Second Friday
The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.
uncorked@mts.net
@bensigurdson
OTU Wines 2023 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand — $20.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
Pale straw in colour, with grapefruit pith, gooseberry, tart lime and bell pepper aromas. Light-bodied and bone dry, with bell pepper/grassy notes alongside tart grapefruit and modest gooseberry flavours, hints of lime juice, bracing acidity and, at 13 per cent alcohol, a brisk finish. Fresh and lively, but could use a touch more ripeness. 3/5
Penley 2021 Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, Australia — $22.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
Inky purple in colour, with fresh violet, eucalyptus, cassis, blackberry and subtle dark chocolate aromas. Dry and full-bodied, brimming with fresh red currant, blackberry and eucalyptus along with secondary cracked pepper and black licorice, modest acidity and tannins and, at 14.5 per cent alcohol, a slightly warm finish. Delicious — drink or hold for two to three years. 4.5/5
Leaning Post 2022 The Fifty Chardonnay (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — $26.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
Made by former Winnipeggers Nadia and Ilya Senchuk in the Niagara Peninsula, this wine is pale straw in colour and aromatically brings fresh red apple, peach pie, lemon zest and hints of chalk and toasted nuts. It's dry and light-plus-bodied, with a creamy texture from having been aged on lees in concrete tanks for nine months. Brilliant red apple, peach, pear and lemon candy notes, with a hint of spice lingering on the modest finish (it's 12.5 per cent alcohol). Elegant and exceptional. 4.5/5
Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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