Wine Tasting & Sensory Charts

Many people create frameworks for describing the sensory experience of wine. UC Davis' Ann Noble is famous for her "Wine Aroma Wheel". In 1999, as I was developing a palate, I wanted to describe the sensation of the wine as it affected different parts of the tongue. I created a "Tongue Chart". Now, an Australian professor is trying to create a framework for "Mouth Feel Wheel".

In today's South African Wine site, Frank Smith wrote an article, Mouth Feel Wheel. He describes the effort:

Dr Leigh Francis of Adelaide University, South Australia, describes this as the character of red wine in the mouth apart from flavour and true taste. It’s the sense of touch. The tongue has nerve ending just like the skin, which give the same sensations of texture. Also there is the interaction of wine with saliva and the feel of viscosity.

The goal is to standardize the vocabulary for describing the mouth-feel of red. Smith continues:

Francis says the mouthfeel wheel serves two purposes. Firstly it
provides a standardized vocabulary in research studies so that a panel of expert tasters can provide an objective assessment of the sensory experience of a wine.
Secondly it helps winemakers communicate with their colleagues. There are a lot of terms bandied about in the industry, which have a different meaning from person to person.

The wheel may also have a role in improving the objectivity of tasting notes. The aroma wheel helped wine writers become more specific, and use less free association of ideas. The mouthfeel wheel will perform a similar role, he said.

At the current time, there are no plans to market the mouthfeel wheel. It can be found printed in the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. (Volume 6 page 206).

Related Links
· South African Wine News & Information
· Ann Noble's "Wine Aroma Wheel"