Replies to post #107 on Wine

[occams_razor]

I'll scan one when I get it.

[occams_razor]

Here is the stuff from the user guide:

http://www.winearomawheel.com/doc/userguide.pdf

 
 BASICS  
  
  
 The purpose of the wine aroma wheel is  
 to facilitate communication about wine  
 flavor by providing a standard  
 terminology.  
  
 The requirements of words included in the  
 wheel was very simply that the terms had to be  
 specific and analytical, and not be hedonic or  
 the result of an integrated or judgmental  
 response. Floral is a general but analytical  
 descriptive term, whereas "fragrant", "elegant"  
 or "harmonious" are either imprecise and  
 vague (fragrant) or hedonic, and judgmental. 
  
  The wheel has very general terms located  
 in the center, going to the most specific terms  
 in the outer tier. These terms are NOT the only  
 terms that can be used to describe wines, but  
 represent ones that are often encountered.  
  
 Novice tasters often complain that they  
 "cannot smell anything" or can't think of a way  
 to describe the aroma of wine. Fortunately, it is  
 very easy to train our noses and brains to  
 connect and quickly link terms with odors. The  
 fastest way is to make physical standards to  
 illustrate important and major notes in wine  
 aroma. To do this, with few exceptions,  
 materials available from the grocery store are  
 all you need. (One of the few standards that  
 cannot be provided is the linalool aroma of  
 Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Muscat wines; for  
 this, get handiwipes: the distinct floral, citrus  
 aroma is Linalool; Put a opened handiwipe into  
 an empty covered glass. alternatively, bring  
 some FROOTLOOPS and put them dry into an  
 empty wine glass. Sounds silly, but it makes a  
 good linalool standard)  
  
 Text by A.C. Noble, revised by I. Lesschaeve  
  
 © A.C. Noble, 2000  
  
 DEFECTS  
  
  
 For your own benefit, some of the commonly  
 encountered wine defects can also be illustrated by  
 making standards, although for some, such as a  
 moldy cork, the BEST standard is the actual example  
 of the defect.  
  
 Volatile acidity/VA -resulting from oxidation or  
 acetobacter spoilage  
  
 • Ethyl Acetate (few drops ethyl acetate or  
 nail polish remover)  
 • Acetic acid (few drops vinegar)  
 Oxidation  
  
 • Acetaldehyde (few drops of sherry)  
 Sulfur  
  
 • H2S -Hydrogen sulfide (boiled egg or  
 black sand from Japanese store)  
 • Ethyl mercaptan (smell of natural gas -tell  
 people to experiment on their own)  
 • S02 -Sulfur dioxide (dried apricots that are  
 orange and say they have sulfites)  
 Brettanomyces -a horsy , barnyard smell (drop of  
 creosote or piece of old fashioned band-aid)  
  
 Moldy Cork  
  
 • TCA -Trichloroanisole (a very potent  
 compound) (just save a wine you find that  
 has this defect)  
  
 WHITE WINES  
  
 If you are just beginning then it is easier to  
 evaluate white wines, so start by selecting some  
 wines with large differences in flavor. For example,  
 include an oaky, buttery Chardonnay (most  
 Australian,or California ones will do), for a  
 "vegetative" Sauvignon blanc, wines from Sancerre  
 or a Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand or cool parts  
 of California will suffice. A floral Riesling or  
 Gewurztraminer from cooler parts of California (North  
 or Central Coast), Oregon, Germany, Alsace, France  
 will provide a further contrast. If you wish to use a  
 fourth wine , you could try an unoaked Chardonnay  
 (IF you can find it), non-vegetative Sauvignon blanc  
 or include another variety such as Viognier.  
  
 Then make some standards in a neutral white  
 wine (usually a cheaper jug white will be adequate  
 for this purpose). For each standard the approximate  
 recipes are provided below, but they all need to be  
 tweaked. Add more "stuff" if the aroma is not  
 identifiable; dilute with the base wine if it is too  
 strong.  
  
 The standards for the white wines would then  
 most importantly include (per single 2-oz glass of  
 wine standard):  
  
 • Asparagus (several drops of brine of  
 canned asparagus)  
 • Bell Pepper (tiny piece of bell pepper don't  
 leave in too long)  
 • Vanilla (drop of vanilla extract)  
 • Butter (drop of butter extract)  
 • Clove (one clove, don't leave in too long)  
 • Citrus (teaspoon or so of a mixture of fresh  
 orange and grapefruit juice)  
 • Peach or apricot puree or juice (teaspoons)  
 • Pineapple (teaspoons)  
 • (Honey: optional standard, needs quite a  
 bit per glass)  
 • BASE WINE (the unadulterated wine used  
 for making standards)  
 Ann puts the standards in labelled wine glasses,  
 and cover them with disposable plastic Petri dish lids,  
 watch glasses or even saran wrap will do . The  
 reason for the lids is to increase the intensity of the  
 aromas and to prevent contaminating the odour of  
 the entire room. 
  
  From this point on, anything goes: smell the  
 wines first, smell the standards, start to see which  
 terms describe which wines. Perhaps you all come up  
 with NEW terms (lichee/lychee--so get some!).  
 Smelling the BASE WINE makes it really easy to  
 identify the spiked aromas by contrast.  
  
 RED WINES  
  
 For beginning red wine tasting, using the same  
 principle that you should include very different wines,  
 include a Pinot noir (Carneros or very cool central  
 coast area of Ca,, Oregon, or Burgundy),a Cabernet  
 Sauvignon (for vegetative, get a wine from a cooler  
 CA region) for less vegetative, try Napa, Sonoma,  
 Washington, a black peppery Zinfandel(Sonoma,  
 Placer county, El Dorado county of CA) . Additional  
 wines could be Italian varieties such as Sangiovese.  
  
 The standards for the above red wines would  
 then most importantly include (per single 2-oz glass  
 in a neutral red wine):  
  
 • Asparagus (several drops of brine of  
 canned asparagus)  
 • Bell Pepper (tiny piece of bell pepper don't  
 leave in too long)  
 • Vanilla (drop of vanilla extract)  
 • Butter (drop of butter extract)  
 • Clove (one clove - don't leave in too long)  
 • Soy sauce (few drops, great for older reds;  
 try molasses separately)  
 • Berry (mix of fresh or frozen berries and/or  
 berry jams - experiment!)  
 • Strawberry jam ((for the Pinot noir) 1-3  
 tablespoons OLD strawberry jam)  
 • Artificial fruit (add few crystals of red  
 Koolaid® powder)  
 • Black pepper (few grains black pepper)  
 • Anise, black licorice (use few drops of  
 extract)  
 • BASE WINE (the unadulterated wine used  
 for making standards)  
 *Again, be sure to smell your creations to be  
  
 sure that you can detect the desired aroma and  
  
 that it is not too strong.  
  
 SPARKLING WINES  
  
 Sparkling wines need different terms than those on  
 the wine aroma wheel. In addition to citrus and berry  
 standards, below are listed some of the terms most  
 relevant to sparkling wines, especially those with long  
 aging on the yeast lees before being disgorged. 
  
  Standards for sparkling wines:  
 (In 2 oz neutral white still wine)  
  
 • Lime (Try few drops of Rose's lime Juice  
 and make separate standard of squeezed  
 lime juice)  
 • Apple (Difficult to make; try apple juice  
 and experiment)  
 • Toasted hazelnuts (Try different nuts in an  
 empty glass)  
 • Sour cream/yogurt (Try tbsp in empty  
 glass; try tbsp in base wine)  
 • Malt extract (Tbsp Malt syrup )  
 • Vermouth (Few drops to tsp)  
 • Vegemite (Tiny amount of Vegemite in  
 base of wine glass, add base wine)  
 • Cherry/strawberry (Use a few drops to 1 oz  
 of cherry or strawberry flavoured juices or  
 extracts)  
 • Nutmeg (few grains)  
 • Caramel (crush one Kraft caramel in base  
 wine)  
 • Vanilla (as above).