It can get really confusing when you are tasting wine, particularly when you are talking to other people about it. We’ve all been there. You’re at a wine tasting and some guy swirling his glass says “Ohh yes I really get the blackberry flavour”. Meanwhile, you stick your nose in your glass and you’re not getting anything. It’s hard enough to identify flavours in wine, but to then explain can make it more difficult! And what does everyone mean when they talk about taste and flavour in wine? And where does aroma come in?
These wine terms are used so much in the industry, but sometimes they make the everyday drinker feel like they will never understand it. But fear not! I’ve got this guide for you so that next time you can go up to that wine wanker at the wine tasting and say with confidence “Oh yeah? Well, I don’t get any taste or aroma of blackberry but this wine is damn delicious so I think I’ll take another glass”. Sound good?
The difference between taste and flavour in wine
You’d think that taste and flavour are the same things right? I mean they sort of mean the same thing. But in wine, there is a distinct difference in these terms that is around to trip everyday drinkers up! But to understand the difference between these terms, we have to understand the difference between taste, aroma and flavour. Basically:
- Aroma – what you smell
- Taste – what you, well, taste
- Flavour – the combination of these two
Let’s look at each in detail.
What is aroma in wine?
When you are tasting wine, the first thing to do is give it a good sniff (read my guide on how to taste wine here). So what are you sniffing? Well, that is the aroma or bouquet. These are fancy wine words to describe the odours you are smelling from your wine. The alcohol in the wine evaporates quickly, meaning it is ripe for carrying these odours. Your nose then picks them up.
The thing about the nose is that it connects these smells to the part of the brain that deals with emotion and memories (limbic system). This is why smells often trigger strong memories for us. When tasting wine, it can be hard to associate a smell in the wine with a smell in your brain. This is why it can be good to read tasting notes about what you should be smelling, and connect it up when you sniff. Soon you’ll be picking the odours like a professional!
What is taste in wine?
So once you’ve smelt the wine, you then get to taste. Taste is all about what goes on inside your mouth. It is based on how your tongue and mouth interact with the wine (sounds gross right). This will sometimes give you quite different flavours to when you sniff the wine, but also, more importantly, gives you much more complex indicators about the wine. The taste is broken into two parts:
- The taste itself – this is done through your tastebuds. It focuses on how sweet, salty, bitter or sour the wine is – all those important components of wine that bring it all together
- Mouthfeel – this is felt through nerve endings inside our mouth and tongue. This is how we perceive the texture of the wine, noting things such as the tannins and body or viscosity to determine the overall texture
So what is flavour?
So once you’ve had a good sniff and swirled that wine around your mouth, you get an overall picture of the wine. This is the flavour. It’s the impression as a combination of how it smells, how it tastes, and the texture. This is something we do for all foods and drinks but is particularly important to wine tasting. So really, the difference between taste and flavour in wine is more about a small part of the overall experience of a wine.
Our brains gather all this information through our noses and mouths and synthesise them into an overall experience. The problem then is communicating the complex picture that your brain is producing about the wine, which is where we all run into trouble!
Applying it when tasting wine
So now you know what all the terms mean, how do you go about explaining the flavour in wine? The best thing to do is practice! Trying different varieties creates a unique flavour profile in your brain, and helps you decide which wines you enjoy. From here you can seek out other wines with similar flavours and aromas. There really is no limit to learning when it comes to flavour, but it starts with trying wines and being bold enough to pick the flavours.
I mean who cares if no one else can taste what you taste? Everyone is different, and this isn’t an exact science. I find it really helpful to look up tasting notes to see if I can pick the same ones (they are often on the back of the bottle). If I don’t taste them then that’s ok – because all that really matters is that you’re enjoying the wine you’re drinking, right?
The difference between taste and flavour in wine is all about testing and learning. Like the most fun science experiment ever because wine makes everything better!
