The Aroma Profile
Every aroma in a wine has an origin — the vineyard, the cellar, or time itself.
Select any aroma, or a ring of the wheel, to explore where it comes from.
What is an Aroma Profile?
Every wine has its own unique collection of aromas. Some smell of citrus and flowers, while others remind us of blackberries, chocolate, herbs or spice. Together, these aromas create the wine’s aroma profile, its unique aromatic fingerprint.
The Aroma Wheel below helps us recognise and describe these different characteristics.
Why does it matter?
Our sense of smell contributes far more to tasting wine than our sense of taste. While your tongue can only detect a few basic tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, your nose can recognise hundreds of different aromas. Learning to identify these aromas makes wine easier to understand, appreciate and remember.
How does the Aroma Wheel work?
The wheel is designed to work from the centre outwards. You don’t need to identify the exact aroma immediately. Instead, move from broad categories to more specific descriptions.
The further you move from the centre, the more precise your description becomes. There are no prizes for getting to the outside quickly, wine tasting is simply about recognising what you experience.
Where do these aromas come from?
One of the biggest misconceptions in wine is that these flavours have been added. They haven’t. The aromas develop naturally through the interaction of the Forces and the Choices that shaped the wine. Every aroma has a story.
The Grape Variety
Every grape variety naturally produces certain aroma compounds. The grape provides the starting point.
Climate
Climate changes how fruit develops. The same grape variety can smell completely different depending on where it is grown.
Cool climates
Warm climates
Soil and Place
Different soils influence vine growth, water availability and ripening. Although soil doesn’t directly create flavours, it shapes the conditions under which the grapes develop, contributing to the wine’s overall character and expression of place.
Ripeness
The timing of harvest dramatically changes aromas.
Earlier harvest
Later harvest
Fermentation
Yeast creates hundreds of new aroma compounds during fermentation. Different yeast strains can produce noticeably different aromatic profiles from exactly the same grapes.
Oak Maturation
Oak introduces additional aromas over time. These come from the barrel, not from the grapes.
Bottle Age
Wine continues to evolve after bottling. Fresh fruit gradually gives way to more complex aromas, changing the wine’s aromatic profile throughout its life.
Learning the Aroma Wheel
Don’t try to memorise hundreds of aromas. Instead, train yourself to recognise the major families first. As your experience grows, recognising the smaller outer categories becomes much easier.
Fruit
Fresh, ripe or dried fruit.
Citrus
Lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit.
Floral
Flowers, blossom and perfume.
Herbaceous
Fresh herbs, fynbos and leafy aromas.
Spice
Pepper, cinnamon, cloves and baking spices.
Oak
Vanilla, toast, coffee and chocolate.
Earthy
Forest floor, mushrooms, wet stone and minerals.
Three simple questions
What is the biggest family?
Fruit? Herbs? Spice? Flowers?
Which group is it?
Citrus? Tropical fruit? Red berries?
What is the closest aroma?
Lemon? Grapefruit? Passion fruit? Blackberry?
There are no wrong answers. The wheel is a guide not a test.
The story made visible through scent
The Aroma Profile is one of the clearest Outcomes. Every aroma tells the story of the vineyard and the cellar. The climate determined what was possible. The soil shaped the vine. The harvest captured a moment in time. Fermentation, extraction and maturation refined the wine. When you lift the glass to your nose, you are experiencing every Force and every Choice that came before.
Scientists have identified hundreds of aroma compounds in wine. Yet most people only need to recognise a handful of aroma families, fruit, flowers, herbs, spice and oak, to confidently describe almost any wine. The goal isn’t to smell everything. It’s to understand why those aromas are there.