Understanding the flavors in wine starts with a seemingly simple question:
Where do wine flavors come from?
Imagine yourself the size of a single atom floating on the surface of a glass of wine. Down at this level, the surface of wine is quite turbulent.
Ethanol molecules lift off from the surface of the liquid during evaporation, carrying with them a slew of other aromatic compounds. These compounds float into our noses and give wine its many flavors.
But this doesn’t explain why Pinot Noir juice smells nothing like Pinot Noir wine.
Wine flavors are created by chemical reactions during fermentation (when yeast turns sugar into alcohol). Fermentation creates hundreds of flavor compounds.
If cherries aren’t an ingredient in wine, then how come some wines smell like cherries?
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