The Wine Aroma Wheel

 is an incredible tool to learn about wines and enhance our ability to describe the complexity of flavor in red and white wines.

Initially, most people can’t recognize or describe aromas, so the purpose of the wheel is to provide terms to help describe wine aromas.

The wheel has very general terms located in the center (e.g. fruity or spicy), going to the most specific terms in the outer tier (such as strawberry or clove). These terms are not the only words that can be used to describe wines, but represent ones that are most often encountered.

How to use the Wine Aroma Wheel

The quickest way to learn to recognize aromas of wine is to select two or more wines which are very different in flavor and look at the inner tier of the wheel for the words which best describe the flavor, such as Fruity or Spicy, then go two outside tiers for suggestions for more specific notes, such as Berry and if possible even more specifically, Strawberry.

It is very easy to train our noses and brains to connect and quickly identify the aromas in wine, especially by using this tool. Enjoy!

“A person with increasing knowledge and sensory education may derive infinite enjoyment from wine.” —Ernest Hemingway