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English version
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Fruits white wine Yeasts
Citrus 1 grapefruit 42 bread
2 lemon Malolactic fermentation
3 lime 43 butter
4 mandarin 44 yoghurt
Tree fruits 5 pear Oak aging
6 apple 45 toast
7 green apple 46 coffee
8 peach 47 smoked
Tropical fruits 9 melon Spices 48 vanilla
10 guava 49 pepper
11 pineapple 50 cinnamon
12 passion fruit 51 licorice
13 lychee 52 nutmeg
Fruits red wine 53 clove
Red berries 14 redcurrant Nuts 54 coconut
15 blackcurrant 55 hazelnut
16 strawberry 56 almond
17 blackberry Woods 57 oak
Tree fruits 18 cherry 58 sandalwood
19 plum 59 cedar
Floral 60 pine
20 honeysuckle Late harvest/ botrytis
21 hawthorn 61 orange peel
22 orange blossom 62 dry apricot
23 linden Fortified red wine
24 jasmine 63 prune
25 acacia Aged white wine
26 violet 64 honey
27 lavender Aged red wine
28 rose 65 chocolate
Vegetal Animal 66 musk
Vegetables 29 green pepper 67 leather
30 tomato Undergrowth 68 mushroom
Fresh herbs 31 cut grass 69 truffle
32 dill 70 tree moss
33 thyme Wine faults
34 mint Cork taint 71 corked
Dried herbs 35 tobacco Oxidized 72 sherry
36 hay Maderized 73 madeira
Leaves 37 blackcurrant leaf Volatile acidity 74 vinegar
38 eucalyptus 75 nail polish remover
Mineral Sulfides 76 rubber
Young white wine 39 flint 77 rotten egg
Aged white wine 40 kerosene 78 onion
Aged red wine 41 tar 79 sweet corn
Brett 80 old band aid
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INTRODUCTION
Aromaster is a wine tasting educational tool and a friendly game, genuinely
designed by professionals as a library of wine scents, combining the 80 most
common aromas, bouquet and faults found in sparkling, white, red and sweet
wines across the globe.
Aromas (or more exactly primary aromas) refer to scents derived from the
grape itself whereas bouquet includes scents developed in wine as a result of
fermentation (secondary aromas) and maturation (tertiary aromas).
They are among the most fascinating features of wine.
Novice tasters often complain that they can't find words to describe scents
they perceive. Aromaster has been designed to train your memory of wine
scents, so you can easily associate a name to what your nose captures.
By using Aromaster, you will gradually develop your wine tasting skills
allowing you to identify grape varieties, winemaking techniques, the age of
the wine as well as winemaking faults, when present.
Did you know?
The average human is capable of smelling more than 10,000 different scents
and can be trained to name 3,000 of them.
Many people claim they dont have a sense of smell when in fact just 1% of
the population is olfactory-impaired.
Most of us are just lazy smellers and only need training.
WINE AROMA WHEEL
The wine aroma wheel included in the Aromaster kit is a convenient booklet,
which lists the worlds most famous grape varieties and points out their
typical aromas in warm and cool growing conditions.
The wheel is a perfect companion in wine tasting. It will assist you in the
identification process of the bouquet and aromas hidden behind your wines
complexity, by simply navigating through possible categories and scents.
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TRAINING TECHNIQUE
First step
Refresh your memory. Pick bottles following the Aromaster list and its
categories (fruit, floral, spice).
Second step
Now, pick bottles randomly without using the scents list but by using the
wine aroma wheel giving you options to choose from.
Think of the category first and then narrow your judgment to the aroma
itself.
Third step
Without any help this time, pick bottles randomly and try to recognize scents
on your own.
Fourth step
Now you can try to identify the bouquet and aromas in your own wine.
You can use the wine aroma wheel to assist you.
TIPS FOR SMELLING WINE
First, smell the wine without swirling the glass in order to appreciate the
intensity of its aromas and bouquet.
Then swirl the glass. Agitating the wine vaporizes it and results in the
intensification of its scents.
Stick your nose right into the bowl and inhale.
There's no consensus on the proper sniffing technique. Some advocate two or
three quick inhalations. Others prefer one deep, sharp sniff. The goal is to
draw the scents deep into the nose where sensations are registered and
deciphered. With practice, and keen attention, you'll learn how to maximize
your perception.
Good luck and have fun!
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TASTING TIPS
When using the Aromaster or when tasting wine, remember the following
rules of a suitable tasting environment:
- Avoid any kind of smoke in the room or disturbing smells such as fresh
paint.
- Do not taste in a kitchen as the floating cooking oil in the air will block
your nose buds.
- Bear in mind that wearing perfume and even using scented hand-soap
can have a detrimental effect on your perception.
- When you choose your glasses, make sure to check that they dont
have any smell. Glasses stored in old cardboards or in an old
cupboard, dirty and wet linen used to wipe your glasses may leave a
smell similar to cork taint.
A smell of cleaning agent may be noticeable if your glasses have not
been rinsed properly. In all cases, you simply need to rinse your
glasses with water.
- Of course, if you a have a cold with a blocked nose, try to schedule the
tasting for another time. A person with a blocked nose will not be able
to tell the difference between tea and coffee while drinking.
- Anxiety and stress can change the way you taste things. So for full
appreciation, relax and enjoy.
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AROMASTER GAME
With your friends and family, develop your sense of smell while having fun.
Players compete on their ability to identify wine aromas by travelling across
the wine producing regions of the world.
Players agree on whether or not they can use the wine aroma wheel to help
them in the identification process.
GAME RULES
Each region indicates a category of aromas and a level of difficulty.
When you arrive in a new region, your opponent must pick a bottle within
this category and submit it to you.
When you identify aromas correctly, you can continue travelling following the
color scale:
YELLOW travel to the next region (1 step)
BLUE travel two regions ahead (2 steps)
RED travel three regions ahead (3 steps)
If you dont get the correct answer, you can decide to either pass your turn
or call for Joker.
JOKER RULES
The Joker is a bet giving you a second chance. However, the player takes
the risk to move backwards. Be aware that your opponent can now pick a
bottle randomly within any category. If you get the correct answer, you are
only allowed to move to the next region (1 step). Then, it is your opponents
turn to play. If you fail, you must move backwards according to the same
color scale:
YELLOW one region backward (1 step back)
BLUE two regions backward (2 steps back)
RED three regions backward (3 steps back)
Then, its your opponents turn to play.
Note that there is an exception for the starting step of the game (New York
State), where if you fail the bet, you simply stay at the same position. Also
note that you can only use one Joker per turn.
The first player to reach the end destination point (New Zealand) will be
proclaimed the Aroma master and wins the game.
The aim of this game is to bring you confidence in recognizing scents in
wines so dont be afraid to name what you can recognize.
May the best nose win!
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The list below is to clarify what aromas belong to which categories when you
visit the wine producing regions while you play.
Fruits [1-19]
grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, pear, apple, green apple, peach, melon, guava,
pineapple, passion fruit, lychee, redcurrant, blackcurrant,
strawberry, blackberry, cherry, plum
Woods [57-60]
oak, sandalwood, cedar, pine
Floral [20-28]
honeysuckle, hawthorn, orange blossom, linden, jasmine,
acacia, violet, lavender, rose
Tropical fruits [9-13]
melon, guava, pineapple, passion fruit, lychee
Oak aging [45-60]
toast, coffee, smoked, vanilla, pepper, cinnamon, licorice,
nutmeg, clove, coconut, hazelnut, almond, oak,
sandalwood, cedar, pine
Faults [71-80]
corked, sherry, madeira, vinegar, nail polish remover, rubber, rotten egg,
onion, sweet corn, band aid
Nuts [54-56]
coconut, hazelnut, almond
Vegetal [29-38]
green pepper, tomato, cut grass, dill, thyme, mint, tobacco,
hay, blackcurrant leaf, eucalyptus
Mineral [39-41]
flint, kerosene, tar
Aged wine [64-70]
honey, chocolate, musk, leather, mushroom, truffle, tree moss
Fresh herbs [31-34]
cut grass, dill, thyme, mint
Spices [48-53]
vanilla, pepper, cinnamon, licorice, nutmeg, clove
Red berries [14-17]
redcurrant, blackcurrant, strawberry, blackberry
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FAULTS IN WINE
Cork taint
This is the most common wine fault and can occur at the rate of 5% for
bottles sealed with a natural cork.
Corked wines are not harmful for your health but have a smell, which can be
described as musty; similar to the smell of an old cardboard left in a dank
cellar.
This odour comes from corks contaminated by a chemical called
trichloroanisole (TCA) due to their contact with chlorinated products used for
sterilizing equipment and corks themselves.
The use of chlorine is part of the normal cork production process but in warm
and moist conditions, has allowed the formation of TCA, which will migrate to
the wine after bottling.
However, the natural cork is not only the cause of musty notes in wine. In
fact, fermentation or storage in barrels or concrete tanks treated with
chlorophenol may spoil the wine with TCA.
Sometimes at low concentration, TCA is much less evident to perceive and
instead of adding an undesirable aroma, dulls the intensity of the wine.
In these cases, the wine just tastes flat and lifeless and you may simply
regard the wine as poor and never consider buying it again.
Oxidized
This occurs when there is an excess amount of oxygen absorbed into the
wine caused by too much exposure to air.
It may happen during winemaking or bottling process and can be prevented
by careful addition of sulfur dioxide to the wine.
It may also be caused by a faulty cork or more commonly because a bottle
has been stored for too long in upright position, causing the cork to dry and
shrink, allowing too much oxygen to enter.
This over oxidation, results in a flat wine lacking in fruit. In more advanced
cases, the wine will take on a sherry-like flavour. White wines will turn faster
from yellow to amber colour and red wines from ruby to brown colour.
Note that decanting a wine can be useful for wines that need to age a little
bit more, bringing more maturity to wine aromas and soften the harsh tannin
of young red wine.
A bottle opened or decanted will only last for a limited time, depending on
the wines age and quality. This wine after reaching its peak will then become
over oxidized and its aromas will fade.
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Maderized
This is what we call a cooked wine, meaning that the wine has reached,
during a moment, a temperature above 35C. The wine will show
characteristics of baked and caramelized fruit notes.
It has been intentionally done for wines like madeira where the term is from,
but for other wines, it is a fault, which sadly results from poor transportation
or bad storing conditions.
Bottles that languish in a loading bay, at the back of a truck or in cargo of a
ship during a hot summer are obviously at risk. Bottles stored in a cellar or
wine shop that are uncomfortably warm, when a cool air conditioning will be
more appropriate, are also at risk. Like contact with oxygen, a high
temperature will speed up the aging process. White wines will turn amber
and red wines will turn brown.
When a bottle of wine is exposed to high temperatures, the liquid expands,
pushing the cork up under the capsule creating a leak around the cork. In
either case, when the liquid cools, it will contract and this may result in air
seeping in around the cork leading to a problem of oxidation.
This is the reason why it is not uncommon to hear the two terms maderized
and oxidized being used interchangeably or even mistakenly. Remember,
the term maderized involves heat, bringing a taste of baked fruits and the
term oxidized involves oxygen bringing a taste of sherry.
Volatile acidity
All wines naturally contain volatile acids. The most common are the acetic
acid and the ethyl acetate, which appear in the wine during fermentation.
In the right proportions, acetic acid adds complexity to a wine and ethyl
acetate can enhance fruitiness and complexity too.
However, due to poor winemaking hygiene or a long exposition to the air, the
wine can be contaminated by bacteria called acetobacter, which will convert
alcohol into acetic acid and ethyl acetate. The high proportion of acetic acid
will make the wine smell and taste like vinegar, while a high proportion of
ethyl acetate will give a smell of acetone such as nail polish remover.
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Sulfides
1. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the most common chemical used in winemaking.
Almost every wine is made using this compound because it helps prevent
oxidization, wine turning into vinegar, cleans the wine and stops the wine
from re-fermenting in the bottle. However, the amount of sulfur dioxide
required has to be carefully calculated by the wine maker. Sometimes wines
are bottled with excessive amount, which brings a rubber-like smell to the
wine.
2. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is produced by yeast in small quantities during
alcoholic fermentation. The nitrogen contained naturally in the yeast ferment
controls the production of hydrogen sulfides. However, when the level of
nitrogen is low, the excess of hydrogen sulfides will carry a smell of rotten
eggs. Fortunately, winemakers have the option to add extra nitrogen.
3. Too much hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can also react with ethanol in wine and
produce some ethyl mercaptan, which will give a smell of onion to the wine.
4. The oxidation of the ethyl mercaptan can produce dimethyl sulfides
bringing a smell of sweet corn.
Brett
This term is an abbreviation of wild yeasts properly named brettanomyces
similar to another organism called dekkera, which are usually found on
grapes and in wooden barrels. It is almost impossible to eradicate.
Most winemakers take great pains to avoid it. These yeasts can modify some
aromatic compounds naturally present in wine into another compound called
ethyl-phenol.
At low level, it can add complexity to wines aroma. Brett gives a horsey
aroma (stable, horse saddle, horse sweat) that some people love while
others detest. However, above a certain limit, the wine will develop a smell
similar to an old band-aid.
Who knows how to taste wine, does not drink anymore but samples
secrets
Salvador Dali ( 1904 - 1989)