Wine Essence

[DCMark]

I was wondering if this kit from Wine Enthusiast is worthwhile for a person wanting to take their tasting abilities to the next level? Would the $60 be better spent on a class?

I am looking to be able to identify the spefic tastes and smells associated with all wines, not learn about a particular region, type, etc.

Wine Esscense

Wine Essence

This unique and valuable kit allows you to speak about wine like a true professional. Learn how to taste wine while you are guided through its mysteries and pleasures. The kit is based upon international studies that have identified nine principal components of wine. The principal "essences"—along with their level of concentration and intensity—are what ultimately determine a wine’s flavor and character. The kit includes these nine essences—sweet, bitter, sour, smooth, acetic, flowery, fruity, oak and tannin—individually bottled and carefully prepared so that the suggested dilution corresponds to their concentration in wine. The more you use the kit, the better you’ll be able to identify the separate tastes in wine and understand the countless ways in which they can be blended. You’ll also enjoy wine more and feel completely at ease when you’re ordering it in restaurants or discussing it with other Wine Enthusiasts. Kit also includes, a detailed instruction booklet, all necessary labels and a wine tasting glass.

Edited November 22, 2004 by DCMark (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

DCMark - don't buy it. From the looks of it, you get nine (9) vials of essential oils (which, by the way, is how sommeliers train their nose).

A really good way to do this yourself, spend less money, and have more fun doing it, is to start collecting the essences yourself and make your own kit. For starters, you probably already have a bunch in your kitchen (vanilla, cinnamon, different herbs, etc). Then you could go to your local semi-holistic grocery store (Whole Foods would be good for this) and buy other essential oils like cherry, musk, oak, etc... You can even rip apart a cigarette (yes, tobacco is a viable wine characterist) and have some bits of leather. The really expensive kits like these have over 400 scents that wine snobs use to train their nose. Start with the biggies and don't worry about the more obscure scents.

Then, the game that you play with yourself is this: Open some bottles that have been put into brown paper bags (start with four or six). Pour a glass of each. Open your vial of Essence of Cherry (always a good one to start with if you are tasting cabernet). Smell the essence to familiarize your nose with concentrated cherry smell. Then smell each wine to see which has the most cherry. Jot down in front of each wines if you detected cherry. Then do it with vanilla, some tobacco, some mint, some other herbs, etc.... This is all done before you even begin tasting!

Then go into tasting and continue jotting down your impressions. Do this often enough and before you know it, you won't need the essencial oil to heighten your senses to what is in the wine.

Does that help?

[Really Nice!]

The "aromas" in these kits are chemical based. They're about as closely related to what you should be smelling as an orange is to orange flavored vitamins taken when I was a kid.

DCMark - don't buy it. From the looks of it, you get nine (9) vials of essential oils (which, by the way, is how sommeliers train their nose).

A really good way to do this yourself, spend less money, and have more fun doing it, is to start collecting the essences yourself and make your own kit. For starters, you probably already have a bunch in your kitchen (vanilla, cinnamon, different herbs, etc). Then you could go to your local semi-holistic grocery store (Whole Foods would be good for this) and buy other essential oils like cherry, musk, oak, etc... You can even rip apart a cigarette (yes, tobacco is a viable wine characterist) and have some bits of leather.

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And if you have a cat you have the essence of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Really Nice is correct in that the kits' aromas are chemical based. That is why I recommend buying essential oils (the expensive kind!) from better New Age or holistic shops. REAL essential oils are not chemical based.

A good definition is here: http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/whatare.asp

[Rebel Rose]

I definitely agree with Carolyn and ReallyNice! that real essences are better, although assembling your own kit might be much more expensive, and some common wine descriptors like 'cassis' are a little hard to find in the health food stores. It might be worth the $60 to have some of the more unusual aromas available, especially if you can use the kit to educate and entertain your friends.

In September I was a speaker for a Wine 102 tasting seminar and again on a trade day for visiting press and regional buyers, and one of our local PR geniuses put together a sensory evaluation exercise that was really, really popular with both groups. Even the visiting distributors and writers really got into it. She used some basic grocery essences, choosing ones that represent common Paso Robles aromas, and diluted them in a light, neutral white wine in small jars. It was interesting because even the red wine aromas didn't have a color clue. We split the room up into small groups and challenged them to see who could guess the aromas correctly.

I just called her to ask where she found essences like olive and peach, and her answer . . . (duh) she cut up fresh peaches (then in season), threw them into some Almaden jug wine and let them infuse overnight. Then she strained them thoroughly, and poured the infusion into small jars. Ditto for olives, herbs, and pepper. The aromas were strong enough to recognize and cheap to prepare!

Let me see, if I remember correctly, there was

olive

clove

raspberry

blackberry

peach or apricot

herb, herbs de Provence

wet stone/mineral (I forgot to ask her how she did that one . . . driveway gravel?)

black pepper

Eh, there were 3 or 4 more, but create your own!