Now that we understand the significance of color and how much it reveals about a wine’s character and personality, it is time to start swirling and sniffing. Remember you will need clean glasses with a bowl sufficient to contain 2 ounces of wine with plenty of room to give it the opportunity to breathe.

Let the wine sit in the glass and begin your aromatic encounter by just putting your nose in the glass and concentrate on what you are sniffing. Your sense of smell can reveal hundreds of flavors which are stored in your sensory memory as familiar aromas. Some are easily identified and obvious while others are much more subtle and mysterious.

Once you approve the scent as pleasant and correct, meaning that it smells good, gently swirl the wine in the glass being careful to keep it in the bowl! As you rotate the wine in the glass you can move your nose closer to capture the multitude of flavors evolving out of the wine. These ethers are the sending its basic fragrance messages in the form of some fundamental categories.

Search for these important scents:

Vine Fruits such as grapes. Tree fruits, ripe citrus, stone fruits or tropical ones.

Often the flavors of lemons, limes, grapefruits, apples, pears, grapes, apricots, peaches, nectarines, bananas, mango, papaya and kiwi are found in white wines.

Red wines’ spectrum often includes cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, blackberry, blueberry, currents, plums and passion fruit.

After you’ve taken a slight rest, go back and repeat the exercise. You might now discover floral or botanical components such as white blossoms, honeysuckle, lavender, lily, rose, violets, magnolia, grass, mint and dill to name a few.

Another interesting category can be identified as spice-rack components, especially if the wine has been fer-mented or aged in oak barrels. Some of the more common aromas are vanilla, honey, licorice, black pepper, mocha and coffee.

Occasionally, organic notes such as earth, barnyard, forest floor and mushrooms can be identified in many red wines. Knowing these aromatic signals will help you identify an herbal sauvignon blanc from a citrus-laden Riesling. In addition, red wines with wood components will often have very pronounced smoky or toasted flavors. It is important for you to realize the wine’s aroma is constantly changing in the glass and the contact with the air will accelerate its developing bouquet. It is truly a message in a bottle.

Ultimately the aroma should be pleasing, but sometimes a wine will have some obvious flaws and the most common are an aggressive aroma of sulfur, think burnt match or rotten eggs and another potential defect is a moldy caustic condition which has a pronounced aroma of chlorine. This condition is referred to as a "corked wine". It is a memorable odor! Be aware that alternative closures will eliminate this possibility.

Coupled with the visual examination of your wine, a focused exercise in examining its aromas will add lots of information about the character and personality of your chosen wine.