It was a windy afternoon when few of my friends and I had our late lunch at one of the well-known restaurant and bars in town. The atmosphere was great with semi-romantic lightning , the food was tasty and served in beautiful plating skill, the wine was matched to the tapas we ordered. Everything was almost perfect, just..not to mention the staff’s not so friendly attitude.

…

So, we were chatting while enjoying our food and wine until one of my friends look quite confused and smiled, then finally he said “what are you smelling? Seems like you spent most of your time keep on smelling”. And yes he was right, I enjoy the aroma indeed.

However, besides that, any other reasons that make me smell the wine?

Is that weird when you smell your beverage? Well, often you saw people look at their wine, swirl it and before they drink it, they smell the wine. So, is anything special with the aroma? (YES)

Swirl is a technique use to release the aroma of the wine so that we are able to enjoy and appreciate the wine better. And by smelling the wine, we actually prepare our brain for the wine we are about to taste. i.e. Try to hold your nose and eat a slice of mango. When you are chewing, release your nose and you will actually notice that the mango tastes better when you have your smell sense.

Obviously, the aroma and the taste won’t be exactly the same, just like how you enjoy a cup of tea. The tea’s main aroma may be lavender, yet it won’t be exactly the same like you chew a real lavender flower. Cause if you realize, you will actually found other aromas like mint scent, some citrusy aroma, etc, also the level of tannin and acidity that make a balanced cup of tea.

When you smell a wine, try to stick your nose nearer to the glass, close your eyes and breathe in deep. Do not care what people say, cause that will be a lot more aroma to notice when you smell it this way. Whatever you smell, remember there are no wrong answers. Meaning, everyone has a different memory of aroma. Because those aromas that you know are scents that you have smelled previously or smelled often. And your memories towards those aroma may be different from other people. Make sense?

Well, afterall I always enjoy my every second identifying the aroma of wines, how about you?

xx