Rose, tobacco, cherry, honey, spices… The flavors in the wines seem infinite. But one is missing… Grape!

When you eat a red bean soup, you taste… red bean! How come a wine, using grape as raw material, does not have a strong grape flavor?

4 simple explanations to understand that apparently strange phenomenon…

 Grape to eat and grape to drink

First of all the grapes you eat are different from the ones used to produce wines. The vast majority of the grapes used for wine production cannot be eaten fresh. Next time you visit a vineyard, try to eat a grape from the tree. The thick skin and acidic taste are not really enjoyable…

You have only two rare exceptions: Muscat and Chasselas are two wine grapes you can eat.

 Variety of grapes, variety of flavors

Like you have so many types of durians and even more, the wine grapes have different flavor signature. If the raw materials are so different in the first place, no wonder why the wines are so.

 Processing flavors

The fermentation process of winemaking has a role to play in the wide diversity of flavors. The wine diversity is so rich because of the special technics of each vineyard and their secret grapes blends. You always have more to discover!

 Flavors are only a point of view

When you hear that this wine smells like pineapple or taste like cherry, it doesn’t actually “smell” or “taste” like that. The flavors are what one can recall from fruits or flowers. Unlike colors, everyone has a different sensitivity to flavors. That is why it is so hard to have a common vocabulary or understanding of the same wine. The scents are very personal!

Some people are better to identify tastes than others, but beyond natural skills, it is mainly about training. The more you try to better you are! Wine novice or interested in discovering wines you do not have access to? Every month receive two bottles of exclusive wines at home with our tasting guide.