Waiter… There’s a Raspberry in My Cabernet!

Waiter… there’s a raspberry in my Cabernet!

When you’re in the wine business you spend a lot of time talking to customers about wine. Which is a wonderful way to spend your days- but there is always one little piece of the puzzle that doesn’t always fit for the customer. How does wine – when it’s made from grapes – have aromas and flavours ranging from citrus notes to berry flavours to hints of coffee and the finish of chocolate?

As mysterious and exciting and fancy as wine can be to drink and discuss it really just comes down to science.

Simply put- when grapes are fermented into wine they possess a range of chemical compounds that are responsible for the aromas and flavours found in an endless variety of foods found in nature. 

Taste blackberries in your favourite Cabernet Sauvignon? There are no blackberries in your Cabernet but it does possess the compound that gives blackberries their distinctive flavour.

Taste green apple in your favourite Pinot Gris? That’s because Pinot Gris grapes once fermented possess the same compound that gives green apples their crisp flavour.

And that goes for all of the flavours and aromas you see wines described as having- citrus, raspberries, herbal notes, leather, tobacco, chocolate, coffee and much, much more.

And it doesn’t stop at wine. If you remember Tim’s Blog from 2009 he discussed how astrobiologists found Ethyl Formate at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. Ethyl Formate is responsible for giving raspberries their flavour. So if you love the raspberry flavours in your Selection Australian Cabernet Sauvignon– you can thank Ethyl Formate! 

And you’ll also probably like how the Milky Way Galaxy tastes…

Cheers,

Craig- Wine Sense

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