Wine in Colors

How can you “smell” certain aromas in wine? This Vinopolis article explains that the simplest way is to close your eyes, put your nose in the glass, and wait for your mind to conjure up a color. “Let’s start from the premise that all the aromatic compounds present in wines are real; complex molecules have the ability to release aromas and to do so in ways associated with clearly visible colors; it’s no coincidence, for example, that the idea of unripe, sour, and acrid flavors can be associated with the green of limes and Granny Smith apples, or that a bright red hue can lead the mind toward strawberries and crisp red fruits, while a darker red suggests black cherries or sweet cherries. The first step is to directly observe the wine’s color; it is likely that this will honestly foreshadow a whole range of aromas, which I will refer to below as “clusters”; this phase is essential for preparing the mind to anticipate a range of aromas that it will then need to identify, although one must not fall into the trap of taking it for granted that this is indeed the case.”