The Wine Tasting Wheel is a helpful tool to learn about wines and enhance the ability to describe the complexity of wine flavours. The wheel comes in many different forms, which share numerous common descriptors. The following are some major classifications, used in the various wine tasting wheels.

Fruity
Citrus – Grapefruit, Lemon
Berry – Blackberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Black Currant
Tree Fruit – Cherry, Apricot, Peach, Apple
Tropical Fruit – Pineapple, Melon, Banana
Dried Fruit – Strawberry Jam, Raisin, Prune, Fig

Herbaceous
Fresh – Cut Green Grass, Bell Pepper, Eucalyptus, Mint
Canned – Green Beans, Asparagus, Green Olive, Black Olive, Artichoke
Dried – Hay, Straw, Tea, Tobacco

Chemical
Pungent – Sulfur Dioxide, Ethanol, Acetic Acid, Ethyl Acetate
Sulfur – Wet Dog, Burnt Match, Cabbage, Skunk, Garlic, Rubbery
Petroleum – Diesel, Kerosene, Plastic, Tar

Woody
Burned – Smokey, Burnt Toast, Coffee
Phenolic – Medicinal, Phenolic, Bacon
Resinous – Oak, Cedar, Vanilla

Microbiological
Yeasty – Leesy, Baker’s Yeast
Lactic – Yoghurt, Sweaty, Sauerkraut

Earthy
Moldy – Moldy, Moldy Cork
Earthy – Mushroom, Dusty

Pungent
Cool – Menthol
Hot – Alcohol

Caramel
Caramel – Honey, Butterscotch, Butter, Soy Sauce, Chocolate, Molasses

Floral
Floral – Germanium, Violet, Rose, Orange Blossom

Spicy
Spicy – Licorice, Anise, Black Pepper, Cloves

Nutty
Nutty – Walnut, Hazelnut, Almond

Oxidized
Oxidized – Sherry
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