Wine "flavors"

[robr]

dthorp,

It took me a while before I could start to id individual flavors. For me it was a matter of slowing down and sniffing a loooong time before tasting (and you really need to get your whole nose in the glass), then slowly sipping, swishing, swirling, and sometimes spitting (AAugg!) just to concentrate on the individual tastes. Somethings I still don't taste, but others that I never thought were there pop out at me now, like pepper in Shiraz.

Other flavors I never thought I would be able to pick out are leather, cedar, and tobacco. The dominiant flavors I find in cabernet sauvignon that I like are cherry and a hint of vanilla. In chardonnay I taste lemons, nuts, and butter. In sauvignon blanc its grapefruit, tart apples, and cat urine.

I never noticed any of these before I started to study wine. I still don't really taste currants (cassis), but that may be because I have not tasted any real currants for many years, since I was last in Great Britain.

Keep with it and you will taste them too. It's more a matter of your sense of smell than taste anyway, since we really only taste sour, salty, sweet and bitter. It's really all in the nose, so keep it open!