Tips from Nancy: Olfaction (Smell) and Wine

Welcome to our newest edition to the Chatham Hill Winery Blog: "Tips from Nancy". Every Friday, we will post a quick tip from Nancy. Her expertise will help you make the most out of you wine drinking experience just in time for the weekend! This week's quick tip: Olfaction and Wine.

When tasting wines, concentrate on the bouquet of the wine. Smelling the wine is just as important as tasting the wine. You may not know that focusing on the bouquet will actually help you taste many more complexities in the wine. Smell and taste are two senses that are so closely related that smelling the wine is step that must not be missed.

"Of the five senses, smell is the most acute, approximately 1,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste. As a result, what is termed flavor is influenced by roughly 75% smell (olfaction) and 25% taste (gustation) in healthy individuals." (http://www.winepros.org/wine101/sensory_guide.htm)