Describing taste

[Runsharon]

A number of years ago I had a really good red wine that left the taste in my mouth that put me in mind of roses. Now mind, you I have no idea really what rose petals taste like and the only other description that comes to mind is that it was a "dusky" taste. It was a rich red color. I don't recall what this wine was but I'd love to know what wines to start looking at. I know this is like asking someone to help me find a needle in a hays stack, so to speak but does anyone have any suggestions as to which wines I might try in attempt to find this elusive one?

 

[Juniper Hill]

My go to book for describing tastes in wine is Wine Folly. According to this source "common" examples of Rose flavors in wine are Pinot Noir, Gamay, Grenache and Sangiovese. That might give a place to start from in finding your elusive wine.

 

[Runsharon]

Thank you, I will start there!

 

[mainshipfred]

If I can assume you are looking for what kind of wine to make rather than buy I would start by researching yeasts that promote floral notes. The link is to yeast pairings of various varietals and it looks like BM45 and SYR might be your best bet.

https://morewinemaking.com/web_files/intranet.morebeer.com/files/wyeastpair.pdf

 

[Runsharon]

Thank you, I'll check that out!

 

[BernardSmith]

Interesting - BM45 is a preferred yeast (according to the spec sheets) for Sangiovese.. That's not to say that that was the wine... but as a "two-fer" it is a possible lead...

 

[Runsharon]

Thank you, I'm making a list.

 

[balatonwine]

I can not add to the possible wine list, as they seem accurate for commonly available US wines, but I do want to say that even within a wine varietal, the vintage, location and year, can matter. So a Gamay from one place and one year may have rose notes, but the next year it will not. So the task may be a bit more complicated...

 

[berrycrush]

Try Barolo or Nebbiolo

 

[mainshipfred]

I can not add to the possible wine list, as they seem accurate for commonly available US wines, but I do want to say that even within a wine varietal, the vintage, location and year, can matter. So a Gamay from one place and one year may have rose notes, but the next year it will not. So the task may be a bit more complicated...

Couldn't agree more, even the flavor profile a yeast contributes will vary with the grape.

 

[Runsharon]

I can not add to the possible wine list, as they seem accurate for commonly available US wines, but I do want to say that even within a wine varietal, the vintage, location and year, can matter.

Excellent point

 

[Vinobeau]

A number of years ago I had a really good red wine that left the taste in my mouth that put me in mind of roses. Now mind, you I have no idea really what rose petals taste like and the only other description that comes to mind is that it was a "dusky" taste. It was a rich red color. I don't recall what this wine was but I'd love to know what wines to start looking at. I know this is like asking someone to help me find a needle in a hays stack, so to speak but does anyone have any suggestions as to which wines I might try in attempt to find this elusive one?

You might try making some Wild Rose Petal wine, it smells and tastes just like roses. I make 5 gallons every other year.

 

[winemanden]

You might try making some Wild Rose Petal wine, it smells and tastes just like roses. I make 5 gallons every other year.

Needle in a Haystack is probably right. We all have different taste and sense of smell. Sometimes you can taste a wine and it is difficult to describe it to yourself let alone another person. The best thing I can suggest is to keep on trying different wines and enjoy the experience.