Aroma
/əˈɹoʊmə/
In wine, "aroma" refers to the smells perceived from a wine, especially those originating from the grape variety and fermentation, and often used more broadly for the wine’s overall smell profile. Traditional usage distinguishes aroma (younger, grape- and fermentation-derived smells) from "bouquet" (complex scents developed through aging).
Examples
- “This Sauvignon Blanc has intense aromas of grapefruit, freshly cut grass, and passion fruit.”
- “Swirl the glass and focus on the primary aromas first—do you notice citrus, green apple, or floral notes?”
- “With age, the wine’s fresh fruit aromas have faded, giving way to a more complex bouquet of leather and dried herbs.”
Etymology
“Aroma” comes from Latin "arōma", borrowed from Ancient Greek "ἄρωμα" (árōma), meaning spice, seasoning, fragrant herb, or sweet odor, originally associated with pleasant, often exotic scents. The word entered scientific and technical vocabularies in the 17th–18th centuries to describe fragrant and volatile substances in chemistry and botany. In wine discourse, it gained systematic use in the late 19th and 20th centuries with the rise of sensory science and oenology, where it helped distinguish youthful, grape- and fermentation-derived smells (aroma) from age-related bottle or cask development (bouquet), a distinction that remains influential though modern usage often broadens "aroma" to cover the wine’s entire olfactory profile.