Aroma is without a doubt the most diverse aspect of wine tasting. It is estimated that humans can identify approximately 10,000 unique smells. When it comes to tasting wine, the best way to release these many possible aromas is to swirl the liquid. This swirling can be very animated with some tasters and may seem a bit pretentious. However, it actually does have a meaningful purpose. Agitating the liquid causes it to adhere to the sides of the glass, which allows it to more readily evaporate. As it evaporates, the aromas of the wine are released with greater intensity and concentration. A quick note should be made about a wine having good legs. What is being referred to here is a physical attribute of wine during all of this swirling. When you stop swirling, you may notice that the wine clings to the glass, high on the bowl and creates tears down the sides. This quality merely indicates the alcohol content of the wine; the greater the alcohol, the longer the legs.

After the swirling has stopped and the legs have run, take a good whiff of the wine. It's quite appropriate and even recommended that you really get your nose down into the bulb of the glass and really smell. As with color, a wines aroma offers many tell tale clues as to its origin, history and character. Keep in mind that there are a great many books written just on this aspect of wines, so it is indeed a complex and deep subject. Even as a beginner it is amazing what aromas you can notice besides the smell of grapes.

The words that are used to describe the multitude of smells are as interesting as the smells themselves. Descriptors range from chocolate, strawberry, cherry and honeysuckle to oakey, smokey, and toasty.

Certain types of wines characteristically have certain aromas. For instance, Pinot Noir typically smells of red fruits like cherries and strawberries and Cabernet Sauvignon typically exhibits aromas of black cherries or plums. Realize however that different growing regions and seasons can have a tremendous affect on the scent a wine exhibits. Additionally, the process of making a wine as well as the time that a wine ages both in and out of its final bottle can also have an influence. For example, it is typical that wines are aged for varying periods of time as part of the wine making process. The containers they are aged in can be made of stainless steel, concrete or oak. Oak barrels can be new or old, domestic or imported. Each one of these elements introduces a variable that inevitably reveals itself as distinct aroma.

Just as there are many pleasing and desirable smells, there are also some distasteful counterparts. Be aware of wines that smell of vinegar, wet dog, mold, nail polish, skunk, or sour milk. These are most certainly indicators that something has gone awry somewhere in the life cycle of the wine.

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