Chapter 5: Tasting Oregon Wines

Red wines are a fuller-bodied and more robust counterpart to white wines. Higher in tannins and often aged in oak barrels, red wines have a much stronger array of flavors and characteristics than do white wines.

Specific flavors and aromas vary from wine to wine, depending on the varietal and production method employed. Overall, red wines should exhibit darker fruit, such, such as cherry, currant, blueberry, and blackberry. Also, earthy, smoky, spicy aromas, such as smoke, leather, tobacco, coffee, anise, clove, and chocolate may be present.

These fuller-developed qualities of red wines are closely tied into how they are produced: red wine grapes are pressed, and then fermented along with the skins and stems, allowing tannins, colorings, and phenolyc compounds to work their way into the fermented juices. Additionally, the aging red wines undergo in oak barrels will also impart qualities directly from the wood of the barrels. Aromas, flavors, and woody/earthy qualities, such as vanilla, smoke, toast, and tar, can be linked with the specific type of oak and barrel toast used in barrel-aged red wines.

In terms of overall presence, red wines may be robust, boisterous, and full of life. Look for pronounced and “forward” qualities in good red wines, which can explain how a red wine can be described as “chewy” or even “meaty”, and which also explains how their qualities makes them such a good match for heavier fare, such as red meats and spicy seafood dishes.

Depending on the type of red wine and its age, the finish and aftertaste should be long and elegant, sticking around in the back of the palette for a while before diminishing. Tasting a red wine should end with a balanced finish, hinting at the initial aromas you tasted prior to sampling, and which leaves you salivating for another sip!

All in all, look for wines that have a full, fruity flavor and aroma, chewy mouthfeel, and lingering finish.

The following are descriptions of the primary aromas and flavors associated with some of Oregon’s different wines. These differences are due to the nature of each kind of grape, as well as how the resulting wine is fermented, blended, and aged.

White Wine Aromas and Flavors

Chardonnay: Apple, apricot, banana, butterscotch, grapefruit, honey,
lemon, melon, mint, peach, pear, pineapple, smoke, tropical fruit, vanilla, and
yeast.

Chenin Blanc: Apple blossom, chamomile, chalk, cream, guava, lemon, melon, peach,
pineapple, red apple, and vanilla.

Gewürztraminer: Apple, apricot, cinnamon, grapefruit, honeysuckle, lime, melon,
mint, nutmeg, orange, peach, pear, pepper, and pine.

Muscat: Almond, apricot, earthiness, grape, lemon, orange blossom, pepper,
petrol, spice, and toffee.

Riesling: Apricot, asphalt, cream, earthiness, geranium, green apple,
honeysuckle, licorice, nectarine, peach, petrol, rose, and smoke.

Sauvignon Blanc: Apple, apricot, hay, honey, grapefruit, grass, lemon, lime,
melon, pear, smoke, and straw.

Sémillon: Apricot, beeswax, cinnamon, cream, fig, floral, honey, melon,
peach, pear, lanolin, and vanilla.

Viognier: Floral, lemon, honeysuckle, and nectarine.

Red Wine Aromas and Flavors

Cabernet Sauvignon: Black currant, blackberry, cherry, chocolate, coffee, green
olive, licorice, mint, molasses, nuts, plum, raspberry, smoke, and tobacco.

Gamay: Cinnamon, cloves, cranberry, jasmine, raspberry, rose petal,
strawberry, and violets.

Grenache: Berry jam, cinnamon, pepper, prune, rose petal, soy, tea,
and violets.

Merlot: Cherry, black currant, blackberry, mint, nuts, orange, plum, raspberry,
smoke, and tobacco.

Pinot Noir: Cherry, citrus, cranberry, ginger, raspberry, strawberry, plum,
rose, spice, and smoke.

Sangiovese: Blackberry, cherry, cinnamon, coffee, dried flowers, pepper, plum,
raspberry, smoke, tar, and vanilla.

Syrah: Anise, black currant, blackberry, chocolate, cinnamon, earthiness,
oak, pepper, plum, prune, raspberry, smoke, and toast.

Zinfandel: Black currant, black pepper, blackberry, cherry, chocolate, cloves,
earthiness, lavender, plum, raspberry, and spice.

The palate refers to your mouth, specifically, your tongue. The experience of tasting a wine and noting its flavors, mouthfeel, viscosity, aromas, and finish, are all made possible with your palate.

Tasting multiple wines in a short period of time can overload your senses, in which case your palate may become fatigued, making it difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between the subtler differences of similar wines.

It is important to note both aromas and flavors — as the two are closely linked — though the nose is far more acute than the tongue at detecting what it is you are consuming when you taste wines.

The tongue detects four primary flavors: sweet, salt, bitter, and sour. Every flavor you experience can be derived down to a combination of those four components.

The nose, on the other hand, is capable of detecting several thousand separate types of scents, so it is able to identify much finer variations in aromas.

After tasting multiple wines in one setting, your tongue may become fatigued. This can make it extremely difficult to identify the flavors of a wine. The nose, on the other hand, seems capable of lasting much longer than the tongue. Therefore, when tasting wines, not only is the nose relied upon more for its acuteness, but also its endurance.