Wine flavors and aromas

[Auburnwine]

Alas, it is not the beauty of the Burgundian sky (or the proximity of koala bears) that gives a wine its flavors. It is the mixture of some 200 chemicals that occur in varying ratios and quantities.

The variety of the grapes that are used, the weather, the soil, the treatment during harvesting, aging, processing, and everything else contribute to what ends up in that little glass of chemicals that we sniff and taste.

When those chemicals are nice, we relish the suggestion of jasmine or cherry or leather or any of the other aromas to which we might associate the taste. To name those associations is part of the fun.

Wine is much more than squeezed, rotten grapes. It is an exercise of the senses and of memory. To find it less would be like saying that a Gauguin is simply dabs of dried, liquified chrome yellow and terra rosa.

Christmas smells like oranges and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc smells like guavas.