Wine
Wine Flavours
Colour, nose and palate – tasting and assessing wine wine can be a learning curve to start with, but it gets easier with practice and experience. Learning how to taste and describe the wine flavours of different varieties and styles will help you put your finger on what's right for you, and don't forget, tastes tend to change over time.
HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY WINE FLAVOURS?
Trust your palate. When tasting a wine start by taking a small sip and and swirling it around in your mouth. This will ensure you can assess the characters of the wine’s flavour in your mouth. Think about the initial impression the wine makes on your tongue followed by the multitude of flavours, texture and the length.
When tasting flavours in wine, it’s also important to serve the wine at the optimum temperature to allow the wine’s flavours to shine. With Australia being a warmer country, Cabernet and Shiraz are at their best between 16-18 degrees, while lighter reds like Pinot Noir are at their peak between 12-14 degrees. We recommend popping them in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes before serving to enhance the experience in the warmer months.
Similarly, white wines will have their delicate flavours suppressed if served too cold, meaning it’s a good idea to take them out of the fridge for a little while before serving. Aromatic whites like Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc really show themselves at a lightly-chilled 6-8 degrees.
And remember, wine is a personal pleasure and not everyone will taste the same flavours in a wine.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN FLAVOURS IN WINE?
Just as there are hundreds of varieties and styles of wine, there are endless wine flavour profile descriptors. Wines do not have just one flavour; primary flavours are those from the grape and are determined by factors such as variety, clone, terroir and ripeness when picked; secondary flavours come from the winemaking process and can impart multiple and sometimes quite complex flavours; and tertiary flavours develop during the maturation and ageing process.
Check out our comprehensive wine flavour list below for some of the most common.
Learn about the flavours of wine from citrus fruit flavours through to red fruit flavours.
CITRUS FRUIT FLAVOURS
When you think about citrus fruit flavours those of lemon, lime, and grapefruit come to mind. As they are common fruits, they are easily recognisable in white wines.
Wines with citrus fruit flavours: Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Albariño, Chardonnay and Vermentino.
TREE FRUIT FLAVOURS
When it comes to tree fruit flavours, pear and apple are the most common. They can each be further refined to flavours of different varieties of the fruit including to nashi pear, green pear, Granny-smith, golden apple, red apple and baked apple.
Wines with tree fruit flavours: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Arneis, Roussanne, and Trebbiano.
STONEFRUIT FLAVOURS
Many white wines are layered with beautiful summer stonefruit flavours including nectarine, peach, and apricot.
Wines with stonefruit flavours: Chardonnay, Viognier, Arneis, Fiano, Petite Manseng, and Savagnin.
TROPICAL FRUIT FLAVOURS
The tropical fruit flavours of mango, passionfruit, melon, lychee, pineapple and guava are
very easy to identify.
Wines with tropical fruit flavours: Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Chardonnay, Moscato, and Verdelho.
RED FRUIT FLAVOURS
Who doesn’t love the delicious flavours of red fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, red currant, red plum, and goji berry?
Wines with red fruit flavours: Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Durif, Gamay, Grenache, Lagrein, Malbec, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo and Nero d’Avola.
Learn about the flavours of wine from blue fruit flavours through to oak fruit flavours.
BLUE FRUIT FLAVOURS
The unique blue fruit flavours you can identify in some red varieties include blueberry, plum, and boysenberry.
Wines with blue fruit flavours: Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Durif, Malbec, Mataro/Mourvédre, Montepulciano and Touriga.
BLACK FRUIT FLAVOURS
Dark, rich, powerful and brooding black fruit flavours include black cherry, blackberry, raisins, prune and blackcurrant.
Wines with black fruit flavours: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Tempranillo, Shiraz, Barbera, Dolcetto, Gamay, Grenache, Mataro/Mourvédre, Nero d’Avola, Petit Verdot and Sangrantino.
CONFECTIONARY FLAVOURS
Different winemaking and maturation processes can impart various flavours including cocoa, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, toffee, espresso, mocha, honey, liquorice and nougat.
Wines with confectionary flavours: Dessert wines and Fortified wines, Barbera, Dolcetto, Durif, Malbec, Mataro/Mourvédre and Merlot.
HERB FLAVOURS
Primary herb flavours of camomile, lemongrass, jasmine and cut grass can be found in several white wines.
White wines with herb flavours: Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
While stronger primary herb flavours including mint, dried herbs, oregano and sage are present in some red varieties.
Red wines with herb flavours: Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese.
SPICE FLAVOURS
While some spice flavours are described as primary flavours, most come into play as secondary and tertiary flavours – that is they are generally the result of the winemaking and ageing process.
White wine spices include ginger and ginger and white pepper.
White wines with spice flavours: Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Grüner Veltliner.
Red wine spices include anise, white pepper, black pepper, vanilla, clove and cardamom.
Red wines with spice flavours: Nebbiolo, Nero d’Avola, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Touriga, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.
OAK FLAVOURS
New and aged French and American oak barrels can impart important aromatic and flavour characteristics to both white and red wines during fermentation and maturation. Wines that are fermented in stainless steel tanks can also undergo oak treatment with oak chips and staves added.
When it comes to flavours, French oak tends to bring nuttiness and smokiness, while American oak imparts notes of vanilla and coconut.
Wine grape varieties that commonly receive oak treatment: Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tempranillo. Sauvignon Blanc also likes oak, and this is referred to as a fumé style.
Armed with this helpful wine flavour information you can confidently put your palate to the test and identify the various wine flavours you enjoy and those you don’t. Plus, hone your wine tasting skills even further with more of our fun and informative articles, Wine Tasting Terms and Descriptions, Wine 101 How To Taste Wine, and 5 Basic Wine Characteristics.