Wine Tasting Flavors and Bouquets

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The Flavors of Wine tasting

We have all heard wine descriptions that make us want to roll our eyes while wondering if the person doing the describing really knows what they’re talking about. How can wine made from grapes, have a nuance of mocha or a hint of melon and pineapple? During wine tasting, we are often asked questions like, “Do you put cherries in the wine to get that taste and bouquet?” or “how can wine taste and have aromas like apple and pears?”

I have previously asked similar questions myself and have had many years to ponder the subject of the many flavors and bouquets that make up wine tasting. After having tasted a lot of wines I have come to the conclusion that the answer to these questions lies in the soil, with the wine grape plant being the medium to bring these qualities to the surface and into its fruit.

Anyone who has ever planted grapes, and particularly wine grapes, knows just how very hearty a grape vine plant can be. Not only can it tolerate scorching summer temperatures and winter freezes, wine grapes can handle draught and high levels of precipitation equally well, all the while producing wonderful fruit year after year. The established roots of these vines are literally huge and can grow very deep into the ground in their search for water and nutrients in the soil. It is this established root system that brings the richness of the soil, along with the soil’s many components, up into the plant and its fruit.

The same ground that allows a cherry tree to impart flavors into cherries, can also impart those flavors into grapes. The same is true for all of the other flavors and bouquets that end up in wine grapes and eventually wine. The wine grape plant is a very efficient plant that can extract water out of the ground from deep below the surface, as well as all the components of the soil that eventually end up in the many fruits and plants that we occasionally make reference to in wine tasting.

Next time you’re pouring a glass of wine, give it a good swirl in the glass, close your eyes and take a deep inhale of your wine’s bouquet. Then try to pick out the many aromas that are waiting for you. Wine tasting doesn’t have to be pretentious, but being able to break down the components of bouquet and taste, with practice, will certainly enhance your wine tasting appreciation.

Visit Gilstrap Brothers Winery in eastern Oregon’s Grande Ronde Valley for complimentary wine tasting and facility tours or visit us online at www.GilstrapBrothers.com for a complete listing of our wines and winemakers’ notes.