Some people were born with a strong sense of smell, but some of us have to build it.
I thought I had a strong nose….until I started studying wine. Wines pretty much had two aromas to me: white and red! The white smelled like lemons, and the red wine smelled like berries, but I wasn’t able to identify specific fruits or flavors.
When I began my formal wine studies, I realized my nose was holding me back from understanding wine and appreciating the vast variety of unique flavors. I began to research ways to improve my sense of smell so that I could identify the rainbow of aromas and notes.
Here are 3 ways you can improve your sense of smell:
1. Invest in an Aroma Kit
There are many carefully-crafted aroma kits on the market that you can invest in. These kits usually have between 10 and and 100 samples of common aromas you can learn to identify. These kits contain the basic white and red fruit aromas. More extensive kits also include floral, herbal, dairy, spicy and animal scents. My kit by Le Nez Du Vin, pictured below, has 54 scents.
2. Purchase an Assortment of Jelly Beans
A less expensive option is to purchase an assortment of jelly beans that contain both basic and complex aromas. Smelling these beans often and blind-testing your ability to correctly guess the aromas will begin to craft your nose over time. You can find assortment bundles for under $20.
3. Smell Everything Around You (Everything!)
Luckily, we have access to many scents and aromas in our local grocery stores and at home! You can purchase fruits, veggies and flowers to hone your sense of smell. This is the most accurate way to memorize a smell, as fresh produce is the real thing, not a replica. An extensive produce section will have many of the same fruits and veggies represented in expensive aroma kits.
You can improve your nose at home. Start with your cabinets and pull out all the different spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Raid your refrigerator for dairy aromas like milk, cream and butter. Peruse your pantry to get a sense of the pastry and bread flavors we sometimes smell and taste. Walk through your garden or backyard to sniff different flowers and vegetation.
Your nose will get stronger with each sniff. And our tongue takes these aromas and turns them into what we taste (our olfactory system). Therefore, the better our sense of smell, the more we can identify what’s in our glass!
Cheers!
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