The difference between aroma and bouquet.

Yes, it’s wine, there is a difference!

Aroma, in wine terms, refers to the grape variety, whether it’s a Pinot noir or a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc grape as well as its smells which are derived from the local terroir.

The primary aromas are fruit, floral and herbal smells which are traditionally associated with the variety itself.

For example a Pinot noir fruit would be cranberry, cherry, raspberry, the floral would be rose, hibiscus and the herbal would be say dried herbs.

The Bouquet refers two processes: – how it develops during the wine making & fermentation process. So the magic the winemaker weaves in the cellar, from cooling, punch downs, yeast, barrels (used vs new oak), length on the lees, fining, exposure to oxygen etc.

And then the final development of the bouquet is as the wine ages.