Keen sense of scents brings deeper appreciation

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This article was published 04/07/2025 (431 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Humans tend to only pick up five tastes on our tongues — sour, bitter, sweet, salty and umami — leaving our olfactory system to do a lot of heavy lifting in teasing out the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in wine (and everything else we consume).

While some people can rattle off descriptors about the smell of a wine with ease, others might sniff a Merlot and simply say, “It smells like wine.”

But there are ways you can train your nose (and your brain) to unpack what’s in your glass.

Here are five ways I’ve honed my olfactory senses over the years that have helped me in my craft, and in the process have provided a deeper appreciation of wine, beer and food.

Practise, practise, practise

Author Malcolm Gladwell said (to paraphrase) that if you put 10,000 hours of time into working on anything, you’ll become an expert in that field.

I’ve been sticking my nose in wine glasses professionally since the mid-1990s, first working at wine stores and then as the Free Press drinks writer.

I have no idea how many hours that amounts to, but I’m certain that my ability to pick out subtle aromatic elements in wine and other drinks has improved — and continues to improve — with practice.

Get your nose in shape

One of the best workouts for your nose is at the grocery store. The produce department’s a great place to sniff your way through many of the core aromatic components found in wines.

You might discover the peachy notes you’re picking up in an Aussie Chardonnay are actually nectarine, and that yes, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc does in fact bring elements of green pepper and grapefruit.

Closer to home, give your nose a workout in the kitchen cupboard. Give that bottle of vanilla and jar of cloves a sniff, then keep those smells in mind the next time you taste an oaky white wine.

Stick your nose in a box of black tea bags, then look for those same aromas in a tannic red wine. Explore the differences between savoury and baking spices (carefully, lest you collapse into a sneezing fit).

Compare and contrast

Picking up primary plum, blueberry and violet aromas is normal when sniffing a Merlot — but what if you had three or five or more Merlots in front of you? How would you describe the differences?

Trying multiple wines made from the same grape or region is the easiest way to suss out subtle differences between wines, often a result of how they were made, the climate/soil in which the grapes were grown, etc.

Get specific

So you’re picking up floral notes in a Pinot Grigio: is it a rose? A violet? Baby’s breath? Is that apple note you’re smelling more like a red or green apple, or a tart crabapple? Is it the flesh of the fruit, or its skin and seeds? Or is it more like apple candy? Drill down and see where it takes you.

First impressions go a long way in my own assessment of a wine and tend to be some of the most specific descriptors — primarily because they tend to be associated with a memory.

Descriptors such as Tootsie Roll, beach ball, chalk, banana candy and the like are common in my notes, and more than once I’ve picked up hints of the Nonsuch in an Old World red aged in oak.

Then there are the oddballs including (but not limited to) finding notes of pleather, or dirty diaper, or armpit (or, conversely, Speed Stick), petting zoo or black forest cake.

Swirl, swirl, swirl — and watch those temps

Always leave enough room in your glass to give your wine a vigorous swirl before shoving your nose in — it helps release the aromatic components in a wine and goes a long way in the enjoyment of what’s in your glass.

And make sure a wine isn’t too warm or cold. Explore the ways a chilled wine’s aromas change as it sits out on the counter and warms up. Or give a red wine a sniff and taste at room temperature, then pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes (as I almost always do) to see/smell/taste how it changes.

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson

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Wines of the week

OTU Wines 2023 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand — $20.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

Pale straw in colour, with grapefruit pith, gooseberry, tart lime and bell pepper aromas.

Light-bodied and bone dry, with bell pepper/grassy notes alongside tart grapefruit and modest gooseberry flavours, hints of lime juice, bracing acidity and, at 13 per cent alcohol, a brisk finish.

Fresh and lively, but could use a touch more ripeness. 3/5

Penley 2021 Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, Australia — $22.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

Inky purple in colour, with fresh violet, eucalyptus, cassis, blackberry and subtle dark chocolate aromas.

Dry and full-bodied, brimming with fresh red currant, blackberry and eucalyptus along with secondary cracked pepper and black licorice, modest acidity and tannins and, at 14.5 per cent alcohol, a slightly warm finish.

Delicious — drink or hold for two to three years. 4.5/5

Canadian wine of the week

Leaning Post 2022 The Fifty Chardonnay (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — $26.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

Made by former Winnipeggers Nadia and Ilya Senchuk in the Niagara Peninsula, this wine is pale straw in colour and aromatically brings fresh red apple, peach pie, lemon zest and hints of chalk and toasted nuts.

It’s dry and light-plus-bodied, with a creamy texture from having been aged on lees in concrete tanks for nine months.

Brilliant red apple, peach, pear and lemon candy notes, with a hint of spice lingering on the modest finish (it’s 12.5 per cent alcohol). Elegant and exceptional. 4.5/5