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During the majority of wine appreciation programmes
conducted by the Indian Wine Academy, Indian novices are reluctant to
believe that around 40% of the pleasure in drinking wine lies in the nose;
the various aromas and bouquets emanating from wine. Swirling of the glass
is neither snobbery nor a senseless ritual which many uninitiated feel.
Perhaps the skeptics and non-believers would find it
interesting to know that Ilja Gort, owner of Chateau de la Garde in Bordeaux
and producer of Tulipe Wines recently took out an insurance policy which
lists nose as the reason and sense of smell to be protected against any
loss, says Lloyd's of London.
Jonathan Thomas whose company Watkins Syndicate insured
the policy in conjunction with Allianz Nederland says, 'This certainly
is an insurance policy not to be sniffed at. The sense of smell of a winemaker
is as important as the fingers of a chef.'
Gort said that his nose was his most important asset
as a good sense of smell was essential to guarantee the constant quality
of his wines.
Human palate can sense only four tastes- Sweet, bitter,
salty and sour. The fifth- discovered by the Japanese and known as Umami
relates to 'savoury' and has still not found the universal acceptance.
But the nose can distinguish over 2000 smells. Women are known to have
a better smelling power than men due to biological reasons. ' Nose can
distinguish millions of different scents,' says Gort who claims he is
capable of distinguishing these smells.
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