| Bouquet is a French term for a wine's scent. | | | | (stomping grapes probably achieved this) and |
| Younger wines have aromas, which are the smells | | | | chemically breaking them with grape and yeast |
| associated with a particular grape and/or spice, its | | | | enzymes during fermentation. The grapes usually |
| variety, region, or condition. Older ones have | | | | contain a variety of volatile organic compounds |
| bouquet; the complex and deep aromas that | | | | although one particular compound may dominate. |
| develop with age. They are attributed to the | | | | The "grassy" taste of Sauvignon Blanc comes |
| process of fermentation, processing and aging, | | | | mainly from compounds called methoxpyrazines |
| and largely develop after bottling. | | | | which are produced in unripe plant tissue and |
| You can tell 75% of what you want to know | | | | gradually disappear as the plants mature. The |
| about a wine by the way it smells. Your sense of | | | | floral or fruity character of the sweet sparkling |
| smell is much better than your sense of taste. | | | | Muscat wines, comes from terpenoid compounds |
| You can smell as few as 400 molecules, but you | | | | called geraniol and citronellol. People can detect |
| can only taste 25,000 molecules or more. Your | | | | very tiny amounts of these compounds; they |
| nose can distinguish between some 5,000 smells, | | | | sometimes respond to a flavor present at a few |
| but your palate can only register 4 tastes: sweet | | | | parts per trillion. |
| (this is the grape), sour (the acidity), salt (the rare | | | | Wine consists of over 300 different chemical |
| saltiness), and bitter (this is the tannins). It is at | | | | compounds. Many of these are similar or even |
| the top of your nose that these 4 basic tastes | | | | identical to those found in fruits, vegetables, |
| are combined into thousands of nuances. | | | | spices, herbs, etc. That is why a wine's aromas |
| A finished wine has a mix of volatile organic | | | | are often described in terms of various fruits, |
| compounds which cause its distinctive taste and | | | | vegetables, herbs and spices. A bouquet is |
| smell, so they are partly responsible for whether | | | | formed when the primary grape smells, which are |
| you enjoy its bouquet. Scientists are interested in | | | | different depending on variety, are blended with |
| learning more about these volatile organic | | | | the secondary smell characteristics such as |
| compounds so that they can help winemakers | | | | fermentation and aging in bottles and especially in |
| fine-tune their product. | | | | oak. |
| In wine grapes, these volatile organic compounds | | | | You can tell a lot about wine by the way it smells. |
| tend to accumulate after the grape seed matures | | | | Your nose is much more sensitive than your |
| and as the flesh and skin of the fruit ripen. The | | | | palate. The aroma of a younger wine, dominated |
| balance of tart acids and sugars in the fruit | | | | by the smells associated with the grape, with the |
| changes over time too. The grapes trap volatile | | | | wine's variety, region, and condition, blends with |
| organic compounds by bonding them to molecules | | | | the smells associated with fermentation, |
| like sugars and amino acids, and winemakers | | | | processing, and aging (especially in oak barrels) to |
| release them by physically breaking those bonds | | | | form a wonderful bouquet in an older one. Enjoy. |