Pineapple in the wine and other flavour mysteries

Where do the flavours in your glass of wine come from? Whether serious or not, there are always questions like “when do they put the pineapple in the tank to get its flavour?”

Understanding where the flavours in a wine come from can help you to narrow down the options when shopping for your next bottle, either by looking at the label or being able to describe the characters or styles to someone who can help you navigate the options.

If you pick up a glass of wine and decide “yes, I like it”, or “no, I don’t” and that is as far as you want to go, that is fine and is as far as most need to go.

But if you have tried a wine and thought, why does it taste like that or why does it taste differently to the last one of that type I tried, then it will certainly help to have a few to make your perceptions actionable by filtering what you taste into some categories.

The first category is what we call the primary flavours or aromas.

These come from the grape variety and the process of converting the sugar in the grapes to alcohol; fermentation. Wines that are dominated by characters from this category are often described as “fruit-forward”. The bright red cherry of Sangiovese, Blackcurrant and subtle herbaceous edge of Cabernet Sauvignon, even the eucalyptus in a Pyrenees Shiraz are considered primary characters.

Next, we layer on some winemaking technique. The secondary characters will arise from decisions by the winemaker after the fermentation. The brioche and toasty characters of champagne, the subtle creaminess of some Chardonnay is the result of leaving the wine in contact with its lees (dead yeast).

The buttery notes that were typical of many Chardonnays through the 1990s, 2000s and a few examples today come about from malolactic fermentation (converting the harsh malic acids in to softer lactic acids). Then there is the most common example of this category, oak, which may be as subtle as a hint of nutmeg through to the intense vanilla of some Shiraz-or Tempranillo-based wines.

Finally, we have the tertiary flavours that arise from maturation, which may be deliberately induced such as the nutty flavours of sherry, through to the impact of bottle age where flavours such as earth, leather, meat and mushroom can start to show themselves.

What does this tell you, other than being able to reel off a list of the flavours you are tasting?

Well it gives you another lens to look at the wine you are tasting and how to find more like it.

If you don’t like the tertiary characters, look for wines that are young such as Riesling, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio that will often be released within months of vintage.

If you like butter, look towards Chardonnay but remember you will have to pay a little more for these wines. Love red fruits? Look to Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sangiovese or Tempranillo for a hit of cherries, strawberries, raspberries and currants.