What characteristics are the least subjective?

[quijote]

Maybe it should be mentioned here that various scientists, such as Anne Noble at UC Davis, have done a great deal of empirical research in order to determine various characteristics of wine. The result of Noble's work includes the Aroma Wheel which is supposed to represent (in terms of a continuum) the range of taste and aroma sensations, allowing for progression from general features (such as "fruity") to more specific subfeatures (such as "citrus" and then "lemon"). The Aroma Wheel only deals with aromas and flavors whose presence in wine has credible scientific backing; it does not take color, body, alcohol level, and other matters into consideration. I suppose that, if you find this research credible, then our ability or inability to detect certain features in a wine that may chemically have those features, is a problem with perception (as Foodie points out) instead of physical/chemical reality.

Having said all of this about the Aroma Wheel's empirical scope and nature, it doesn't seem very thorough to me, though this is probably due to the reality/perception thing. There's no place on the A.W. under the "tropical fruits" area for passion fruit (which I perceive in many NZ Sauvignon Blancs), and there is no specific section for minerals such as flint, slate, and other elements of the terroir of certain wines....


[This message has been edited by quijote (edited 06-10-2003).]