Food smells and flavors in wine

Food smells and flavors in wine are abundant and also vital to the overal character of wine.

Think about how many wines have been linked to flavors of coffee bears, chocolate, vanilla, peaches, strawberries, etc?

Why is it that wine evokes so many other food flavors?

Much of the answer has to do with our neurology.

Food is a central theme in our daily lives. Most of us eat three meals a day, every day.

By the time we're adults, we've accumulated an unbelivable amount of flavors, smells, and textures into our sensory bank account, thanks to all this food.

And since smell is so intimately connected to taste, oftentimes our brains more easily connect a smell to a taste - which can only happen with food. Unless you enjoy nibbling on oak, leather, or earth!

For course, the most obvious influence to wine would come from the fruit family. Grapes are fruit after all!

But rarely do you drink a wine that reminds you of grapes... oh no, that'd be too easy!

Usually you'll drink a wine that reminds you of apples, pears, pinapple, or citrus. There is such a thing as apple wine - but that's not what we're looking for here. We're searching for food smells and flavors in wines that evoke a certain flavor, without actually containing that fruit or flavor.

Check out our FAQ article about flavors in wine for more info on this difference.

Then next in line are the vegetables - which usually is not the best attribute a wine can carry, but sometimes it happens... (let's just hope it's not of spoiled cabbage!).

One usually positive association comes from mushrooms (is that really a vegetable? No, but let's pretend for now!) Mushrooms tie back to that earthiness that many fine wines display.

Wine Tasting Notes
Wine terms for Food Flavorings in Wine:

  • apples
  • bacon
  • basil
  • beans
  • bread
  • butter
  • cake
  • candy
  • cheese
  • coffee
  • cookies
  • cream
  • eggs
  • honey
  • jam
  • meat
  • milk
  • mushrooms
  • peaches
  • pepper
  • salt
  • soda
  • tea
  • toast
  • vanilla
  • walnuts

* * * * * * *

› Easy Wine Glossary › Food Flavors & Smells in Wine

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