How does wine produce a wide variety of flavor descriptions like berries, apples, grass, wet stone, etc..?
In: Chemistry
[removed]
The variety of the grape produces the most substantial difference in taste. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinor Noir taste completely different. Second, the soil the vine is in plus the fertilizers can influence the taste. Finally, the growing conditions factor in – grapes grown under “stress” (like windy, a little cold, minimal water, etc) are more highly prized for their flavor.
As to the descriptions you mentioned – this is how people who are “into” wine try to describe the taste of the end product. It’s usually done in terms of other tastes that people are familiar with.
Your post is marked Chemistry. I know that people have run wines and liquors through liquid chromatography and other analytical tools. I don’t know whether or not you can compare a wine to blueberries or wet flint. I suspect that would be a major math issue.
In short, this is really around people trying to relate tastes in terms of other things people might know.
Flavor descriptions for wine are very subjective, and can be influenced by many factors that the person can bring into the situation themselves. Where one person may taste raspberries another May taste cherries… There could be subtle differences like that, but the main differences that will be found between wines are going to come from geography, how much sun, Fog, rain, wind… as well as the soil, it’s Clay content, limestone… If it’s volcanic or other factors like that. And then the grape themselves are also going to produce different flavors. Some will have flavors like wet stone, mineral… horse leather, Barnyard… Earth, cherries, Apple… So on. These flavors are coming characteristics for that grape themselves, one can expect that pinot grigio is are going to have more mineral and stone flavors than a sauvignon Blanc which would have more grass, pear, tart apple, or exotic fruit…
Some things like tannins and acidity and sweetness can be measured. Some things like mushroom or leather, tobacco and plum are more subjective.
Latest Answers