by Linda Kelly

Created on: July 22, 2008

In 2007, Americans drank more wine than the Italians and look set to beat the French by the end of the decade, according to the Wine Market Council. This may be somewhat surprising for beer lovers, but wine is quickly becoming the preferred alcoholic beverage. Yet the specifics of wine tasting have an elitist reputation that many find off-putting, but this needn't be the case.

Smelling wine is just one of the sensory ways of wine tasting, and as 80% of the sense of taste is in the nose, it is quite an essential one. The human nose can identify up to 10,000 different smells, but when first trying to assess the nose of a wine, it can smell like nothing more than, well, wine. But don't worry, with practice your nose will begin to separate the whirl of smells that your wine glass contains.

One of the first smells you should try and identify is the unmistakable whiff of a corked bottle. A musty, unpleasant, or just off smell could mean that your bottle has been contaminated by the cork. This is surprisingly common and bears no reflection on the winemaker or merchant. In fact the wine industry estimates that around 5% of all bottles can be affected, so don't worry about taking a bottle back to the supermarket, or asking for another in a restaurant - it is expected.

To properly smell wine, you should give it a chance to release its bouquet. If you can, decant the bottle of wine into a separate decanter and leave without a lid for at least 15 minutes. This will help aerate the wine and help the release of aromas. Pour around an inch's depth of wine into a wide bowled glass, preferably that narrows again towards the top of the glass. Swirl the wine around a few times, this allows more air to get into the wine and allows the evaporating wine at the edge of the glass to release its aromas.

Then stick your nose in the glass and sniff. Some people like a couple of short, sharp sniffs, while others prefer a long deep inhalation. There are some who sniff one nostril at a time. It's purely a matter of personal taste. Now for the fun bit - simply say what you smell.

Firstly, think how fruity the wine is. What can you smell? Cherries or red berries in a red, or perhaps apple or even grapefruit in a chardonnay? What floral notes can you detect? Maybe some exotic flowers such as gardenia or freesia, which would suggest the Viognier grape, or perhaps it has more of a rose scent. You may detect the oak barrels that the wine has matured in, very typical of a Rioja, or even get a sense of soil or grass.

The great thing is there is no right or wrong. Some people prefer some smells that repulse others. And the evocative nature of smell can take you to a particular memory. What do you think of when you smell freshly mown grass, or the distinctive smell after a sharp rain shower, even animals. Believe it or not, all of these can be detected in a glass of wine.

If you want to take your knowledge further, why not sign up for wine tasting sessions. With time and practice you may find that you are able to detect the grape or region that your wine is from. But most importantly don't let anyone tell you what is right or wrong, simply have fun in discovering and enjoying your wine.

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