I’m often asked about flavors in wine... “At what point do you add the plums to the wine? Or… “How do you decide how much black pepper to add to your wine?” Though at first I was surprised by these questions thinking to myself… is this a trick question(?), a joke(?), I soon realized that this is in fact one of the most common and honest questions that people have about wine.
If you are just starting to drink wine or simply paying more attention to what you are consuming, reading the back labels or descriptions in magazines can be an intriguing and somehow intimidating experience. Here is a good example from online wine retailer Geerlings & Wade for a red wine from the Languedoc region in France:
<<Deep dark red in color with creamy notes on the nose of ripe black cherry, spicy raspberry fruit and vanillin oak, this is a wine with the character you''d expect from the South of France. Good acidity gives the wine a dose of freshness. Boasting notes of leather, pepper and licorice complemented by red berries and a hint of mint, it is perfect with Mediterranean food.>>
Wow! Black cherry, spicy raspberry, vanillin oak, leather, pepper, licorice, red berries, and to top it all off… a hint of mint.
Grape varietals are typically evaluated according to a wide range of descriptors which draw comparisons with non-grape flavors and aromas. So the answer is that no plums, cherries, lemons or pepper are actually added to the barrel. Zero. Nada. Technically a winemaker could add whatever he feels like to the wine, I guess, but that’s not how it’s done and I believe that this practice is prohibited in commercial grape winemaking by most countries.
Ok, so you believe me that no supermarket fruits are added to the wine, but then you ask... do the wines really taste like what these descriptors suggest and if so where do the flavors come from?
The large majority of the flavors that you taste in wine originate from the grape fruit itself and these flavors are a big part of what makes a Merlot different from a Syrah, a Chardonnay different from a Riesling. There are also other aspects that influence the wine’s flavor profile, such as the winemaker’s techniques/choices during the winemaking process and the “terroir” (Oh no… I used THE French word!!!...more on terroir some other posting).
These natural flavors are one of the main reasons why wine is such a fascinating beverage and like no other (think orange juice, milk, coke, beer). The fun is in discovering these flavors yourself. But you need not worry about the back label description. If you can’t detect any of the described aromas or flavors when you open the bottle and taste the wine, no, there is nothing wrong with you! What do YOU taste? Do YOU enjoy it? This is what really matters. With more “drinking time”, you will start developing your senses and eventually be able to taste that black pepper in your Syrah. I've been drinking wine for a while and I'm still working on this... which gives me a great excuse to drink even more wine :-)
Here are some typical flavor descriptions for several grape varietals. I left the best one for last... and believe me, I have experienced it. Strangely enough... it was one of the best white wines I've ever had.
Red:
Cabernet Sauvignon - blackcurrants, eucalyptus, chocolate, tobacco
Merlot - black cherry, plums, tomato
Syrah - tobacco, black/white pepper, blackberry, smoke
Pinot Noir - raspberry, cherry, violets
Touriga Nacional - blackberries, blueberries, black pepper, wild flowers
White:
Alvarinho - lemon, minerals
Chardonnay - butter, melon, apple, pineapple
Pinot Gris - white peach, pear, apricot
Riesling - citrus fruits, peach, honey
Sauvignon Blanc - gooseberry, lime, asparagus, cut grass, passion fruit, cat urine
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