Flavors and aromas in wine.

Here's a question I get frequently in the Morovino tasting room. "Mrs. Vino, your tasting notes say that I may taste black pepper in this wine. Is there actual pepper in it?" The answer is "no." When a wine label or tasting room attendant says that you might taste or smell black pepper (or cherries, or truffles, or earth, or spices), there probably AREN'T those things present in the wine. Instead, the combination of the grape, the type of barrel, the yeast used to ferment the wine and the magic of the winemaker bring flavors or aromas similar to black pepper or cherries or earth to the wine. You can only taste 5 things: Sweet, sour, bitter, salty or Umami (more on that in another post). but you can smell an infinite number of things. A newly mown lawn. A crisp green apple. Even though you are "tasting" the wine in your mouth, you are actually smelling it!! When we sip wine and slurp it a little (Mrs. Vino calls that the ugly sip--usually accompanied by a slurping noise and a chewing motion), we are adding oxygen to the wine in our mouth. The wine molecules vaporize and enter your sinus cavity through the rear of your mouth (yes, Mrs. Vino knows that sounds gross). You are actually smelling the wine at this point. (Mrs. Vino calls that "smell/taste.") Depending on the type of wine grape and the art of the winemaker and the age of the wine, the wine might "smell/taste" like tart red cherries (Morovino Sangiovese is a great example) or even dried plum (Morovino '99 Zinfandel). Everyone's palate is different. Anything you "smell/taste" in a wine is valid. Sesame seeds. Espresso. That great patchouli candle you had in 1972. But certain wines do exhibit consistent and classic "smell/tastes" (like Sangiovese and red cherries). Tasting notes are a great start when experiencing wines, but your experience of the wine is just as important. Remember, if you like a wine--it's a good wine. If you don't like a wine--it's just not a good wine for you. If a wine smells like wet newspapers--then it's truly bad and you should send it back. Cheers! Mrs. Vino