Use the wheel

The Aroma Wheel (opposite) was created and developed by Ann Noble as a result of her research into sensory evaluation of wine at the University of California. The wheel provides a list of key words that can be used to pin down and define a multitude of aromas found in wine. It is used around the world and provides a standard by which every taster can understand the complex aromas of wine in the same way. The wheel can be used to narrow down a general observation to a specific term. It can be employed as a detailed foundation of terminology, but many tasters develop their own terms as they gain confidence.