You love wine. You’re a connoisseur and you want to learn more about wine, how it smells and how it tastes. You want to read wine reviews and find new favorites and share the experience with friends. What is cassis or a gooseberry and what do they smell like? It is easy to be shy in situations like a wine-tasting party, calling upon you to describe the aromatic profile of the wine in your glass. Learn to identify and describe aromas in wine with ease using aroma kits like those from Wine Awakenings.

Using a handful of repeatable steps and small vials of common aromatic components in wine, you can quickly train your nose to identify and describe them. The pros use aroma kits so why shouldn’t you? Wine Awakenings was given the nod by noted 30-year Napa winemaker, Marco DiGiulio. They make great gifts for the wine lover in your family, training retail staff at your wine business or supporting those in the field of wine education.

The white wine kit contains 12 aromas, instructional booklet, scent cards and interactive notepad. You don’t have to study alone. Use the cards and notepad and turn learning into a game to be shared with friends and a glass (or more) of wine.

To use the kits simply follow these easy steps:

Without looking at the label, gently invert a vial about 3 or 4 times, open and wave it just a few inches below your nose, but without making contact with your nose.

Sniff once or twice, but not too much. Your nose can actually adapt to the aroma pretty quickly and make it more difficult to smell the aroma further. To “rest” your nose you can take break to get fresh air or you can simply sniff the back of your hand a couple of times. A cup of coffee beans can do the trick as well.

Now test yourself by identifying the aroma and check the label to see if you got it right. If not, try again. Practice makes perfect and repetition using the interactive cards and notepad help train your nose and brain to more easily identify and recall each aroma.

***Grabbed from: http://blog.iwawine.com/2011/09/making-scents-of-wine-aromas/