Complexity of Aroma – How do We Train our Noses?

            After my first day of sommelier school, I was feeling a little intimidated….so I have made a plan.  Somehow the mere act of making a plan to deal with a situation that isn’t entirely comfortable acts like a balm on my negative feelings.  Since I made my plan I am ready to face the wine world with restored confidence.

            My lack of confidence stemmed from something I learned about myself that first class.  I’m usually able to sense and aptly describe flavors and aromas in wine.  But I generally only sense a single smell or taste.  We learned that a component of the value of a wine is its complexity.  A good wine should proffer an array of scent sensations.  My instructor and some of my classmates seem able to detect an array of scent nuances easily.  But me – I smell it, label the smell and I’m done.  I’m not yet able to break down and describe the secondary aromas.  So here’s my plan.  Before my next class, I’m going to do some research and create a list of aroma descriptors.  Then when I smell the wine, I can run through the list and ask myself which, if any, of the descriptors are present.  I don’t have any reason to think I have a substandard nose.  I think I just need to train my nose to be more discerning.  With my plan, I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ll get where I want to be.