If all wines are just fermented grape juice, why do they taste so different? And how is it that a glass of white Burgundy can taste buttery, oaky, and green appley, when none of these exist in white wine grapes?
There’s many reasons, and this article is going to run you through them. We’ll run you through the other components of a wine’s overall profile too; and by the end of it you’ll understand why good wine is a pleasurable experience for all five senses - As long as you include the music of wine being poured into a glass.
Primary, secondary and tertiary aromas
We’ll start with the nose.
Wine aromas are generally broken down into three basic categories: Primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Primary aromas
Primary aromas come from the grape itself. If we’re talking about Burgundy white (meaning Chardonnay), then we’re talking about the refreshing smells of crisp green apple, stone fruit and citrus. If we move a little further south, maybe some scents of melon and golden apple.
For red wines (pretty much always Pinot Noir) think blackberry, raspberry, and plum, as well as spicy herbal and licorice scents.
In both cases, we’re talking about the fresh and bright flavors of fresh and ripe fruit. In young (and especially unoaked) wines, primary aromas are usually the most dominant of the three.
Where do these scents come from? The answer lies in the aromatic compounds that make up the particular wine’s aroma - things like terpenes, thiols, aldehydes and esters. These compounds are ubiquitous across all plant species, and so naturally some of them overlap with grapes and wine. When we say a Chardonnay has ‘green apple’ aromas, it's because they share certain aromatic compounds and so serve as a useful descriptors.
Secondary Aromas
Secondary aromas come from vinification, or the winemaking process. This encapsulates everything from primary fermentation, which can impart biscuity yeasty aromas (especially if winemakers make use of batonnage), a secondary ‘malolactic’ fermentation which gives white Burgundy that buttery richness, and aging in wooden barrels, which impart the rich and nuanced aromas of oak, and all the hints of cinnamon, spice, clove, vanilla those entail.
Secondary aromas can be quite prominent, especially if the wine is a few years old and the younger, fruitier aromas have begun to recede.
Tertiary Aromas
Tertiary aromas come from aging the wine, which unearthes rich, complex, and sometimes surprising scents almost completely absent in younger wines. In red Burgundy for instance, fresh fruit aromas develop into those of dried and stewed fruit, like raisin, fig, or prune. The surprising part comes from the more savory and musky barnyard aromas that emerge as well, or those evocative of leather, mushroom, tobacco, and forest floor.
In white Burgundies, fresh fruit aromas mellow into dried fruit, but also honey, hay, hazelnut, almond, and soft white button mushroom.
Some of these might sound like strange, even unpleasant, aromas to encounter in wine. But when well-balanced, and emerging only as a single star in a constellation, these nuances bring remarkable character to wine.
A useful way to remember which aromas are which is to follow the order of production. Winemaking starts with the grapes (primary aromas), then proceeds to fermentation (secondary aromas) and then in some instances is stored in cellars for more extensive aging (tertiary).
Taste and Acidity
Flavor is the combination of taste and aroma.
When you take a sip of wine, volatile aromatic compounds are vaporized and inhaled retronasally at the back of your throat, giving the impression that what you’re experiencing is a question of taste alone. But much of what’s attributed to taste in fact comes from the aromas described above - about 90% in fact.
So what does taste bring to the table?
Taste comprises the interplay of sweetness, bitterness, and acidity that serve as the counterpoints to aroma and texture; the grounding element that brings the whole wine experience together.
Aside from tasting, well, sweet, sugar in wine plays a balancing role against the acidity - and vice versa. The sweeter a wine, the less the perceived acidity, and acidity is hugely important to the overall tasting experience. It can make a wine fresh and bracing, well-balanced and in harmony with the texture and flavor of the wine. It can add a bit of zing, a bit of pop, and leave you craving more.
Wine lacking in acidity tastes flat, flabby, overly sweet and kind of boring.
Texture and body
Texture and body refer to how the wine feels in your mouth when you drink it. Wine can be thin and insipid, smooth and velvety, bold and aggressive, rich and powerful. Texture plays an indispensable role in these descriptors, which generally indicate the presence or absence of…
Tannins, a naturally occurring chemical that comes from the skins, seeds, and stems of the grape, which produce a dry astringent sensation when you consume them. Depending on a few factors, tannins can either be smooth, soft, and subtle, or harsh and aggressive, and everywhere in between. Tannins act as an important counterpoint to the acidity and alcohol of a wine, providing a sense of structure and balance, and giving the wine a foothold on your palate.
Residual sugars, aside from providing the sweetness mentioned above, increases the viscosity of wine. Because of a cooler climate, Burgundy wines tend to be on the dry side, so this doesn’t play a huge role in our case.
And alcohol, which increases the viscosity of wine, coating your tongue and mouth for a feeling of weight and roundness. Alcohol also contributes to perceived sweetness, evaporating as it warms in your mouth to distribute aromatic compounds and producing a pleasant warming sensation.
With Great Power…
Remarkably, each of the above components can be individually distinguished with a swirl and sniff of the glass and a few attentive sips. Aroma is probably the most difficult to nail down, but once you know what to look for the various notes become easier and easier to single out and identify.
When you’ve grown familiar with the elements of wine tasting, a sip from a great bottle is akin to a beautiful symphony with all instruments in perfect harmony. You mentally run through the rich aromas, taste the refreshing acidity balanced against subtle fruity sweetness. You notice the smooth grip of velvety tannins, providing firm structure under which the tastes and aromas can dance and play. The bright fruit flavors leaping from the glass, tempered and bolstered by aromas of spice and oak that seamlessly give way to savory and earthy aromas, bringing nuance and depth to a well-rounded finish as they slowly fade to silence…
That’s an experience worth striving towards; all the more so when practice just means drinking more wine!