April’s wine club focus is on the aromas that accompany wines. Beginners always ask if there is actually strawberry or green apple in a wine, and this makes sense—how aromas get in wine is a complicated process. Of course, science is the answer, and even more specifically, organic chemistry is why. There are volatile compounds, of which there are somewhere between 800 to over 1000, many of them resulting from the fermentation process. They can also occur during grape ripening or maturation as well as through aging of the wine, whether in a vessel like oak, concrete, or stainless steel and through bottle aging. A few volatile compounds account for the majority of aromas in wine. Terpenes result in rose or citrus smells, like in the Château Boisson Bordeaux Blanc or the Becker ‘Saigné’ Rosé we have on our April wine club. Vanillan, which is an aldehyde, derives from oak aging and can be noted in the Bodegas Muriel Rioja Reserva and the Mill Keeper Red, platinum wines on our April club. Ketones offer up floral notes in red wines, like the violet and hyacinth aromas of Viticcio ‘Ferraio’ Toscana Rosso, also on our April platinum club. Mercaptans can smell like passionfruit or gooseberry in Sauvignon Blancs or blackcurrant in red wines, like the Agramont Graciano (man, you really need to try all the wines on the club this month!). You have also heard of pyrazines, green bellpepper hints often seen in Cab and Cab Franc, and phenols which are derived from oak aging. To make all of this make a little more sense, be sure to request the aroma kits that can accompany your tasting this month (no chemical compounds discussed!). And after all this analytical nuance, be sure to grab yourself a glass or bottle the next time you are at Steve’s!