Progress Towards a Standardized System of Wine Aroma Terminology

To facilitate communication among members of the wine industry, the Sensory Evaluation Sub-committee of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture has proposed a list of standardized wine aroma terminology. From an initial list composed of virtually all possible wine descriptors, terms were selected which were analytical and free of hedonic or value-judgment connotations. These were arranged by similarity of flavor in three tier system, which permits analytical description of wine aroma by generic or specific terms.