The secrets that lie beneath…

Do you believe in us having the ability to influence each other? Have you ever wondered how you, your very sole presence, could have impacted someone or something else somewhere in this universe? The breath you take (that help contribute more carbon dioxide for the green), the footsteps you leave behind (that might be of help to someone who lost their way), or perhaps even your smile and laughter (that can make the one who love u smile with you too).

You must be wondering at this instant, what has all this got to do with wine? I thought and I suggest you could place it aside for awhile. That is, place what I’ve just said for the past minute away for awhile while I prompt a thought in you.

You’ve probably read books on wine, or even talk to some experts while you do wine test. And you might have come across descriptive words like “spice”, “fruity”, “chocolate” or even “wet dog” while they are trying to describe the taste to you. At this moment, a sneaking suspicion might have crept into you as you wonder if you’re drinking sweats of a wet dog, or some you-don’t-know kind of strange stuff. So, an embarrassing question many of us might be wondering secretly in the inside of us would be if the wine-makers actually do add in fruits or wet dog into the wine in order to achieve these aromas in it. Well, heave a sign of relief now will you, because NO they do not add any of these things in.

So, where do all the aromas come about?

Well, this is when I would like to invite you to pull back the first paragraph that I’ve earlier on suggest you to place aside. As much as we influence each other in our very unique ways, the terroir (i.e. the environment) influences the wine through the grapes that grow on it. The surrounding environment plays a major part in creating the unique mixture of aromas that you smell in each individual wine bottle. The air, the water, the soil and even any other nearby elements could be a contributing factor. Thus, if the grapes are grown in an area that has lavender scent infused in the air, you just might be able to then sense some lavender smell that has been imprinted on the grapes.

So having gained some knowledge on how the cultivation environment actually “communicates” with the grapes, here’s a brief list of possible “consequences” that might spark off from this interaction. They are as follows:

Floral, Fruity, Spice, Earthy, Animal (yes I know this doesn’t sound delicious), and Herbaceous.

Oh, and seriously don’t be shy or feel silly to turn away if you actually come across wine with an off-putting smell. It does occur and it can be so bad that it might smell like a dead rat. This sure kills all appetite right? Well several reasons can be the cause of this bad smell in the wine. It could be a bad cork or just some errors in the wine-making process, for example like storing the wine in the wrong temperature etc. So, do feel free to take it back to the shop for a new bottle. This goes the same should you be at a restaurant. You definitely wouldn’t want to match your meal with a wine that smells badly ya?

But other then this, the likes and dislikes really is a very subjective issue. So do allow yourself some time to find the taste that suits you best. Remember, wine is all about appreciation if you really want to enjoy the fullest. Therefore, do bring along some patience because your patience will let you allow yourself to be influenced. *cheers*

P.S. The above information is gathered from:
- ‘The Downtown Girl’s Guide to Wine” by Megan Buckley and Sheree Bykofsky