The various aromas are mostly very good, but the occasional one, "Apple" springs to mind, seems a little artificial. The point is not to produce the best possible apple smell, but to reproduce the apple-like aroma which is present in some wine. The bottles are all well made from glass with decent screw tops. Each is numbered rather than labeled with the aroma so you have less chance of being able to let your eyes trick you into recognizing the aroma. Unfortunately a few do have a significant color cue; the orange aroma for instance is very orange in color. Working blind with a partner is probably helpful as you will start to recognize the numbers after a while in any case.
Each aroma is balanced to a range so that they are detectable but not overpowering. The aromas are also guaranteed for, I believe, 10 years, but I don't have the kit with me at the moment to check.
I found the book a little disappointing. There are a few pages introducing the sense of smell in general, and a large section on wines by region and which aromas are to be expected in each wine. Unfortunately the section on how to use the kit is very small, just one or two pages. I had hoped for a number of tips on training, perhaps even a plan or suggestions for games. It should be easy enough to come up with some ideas though.
So far it has been god fun though. I found it extremely difficult to identify anything the first time I tried. Most were familiar, but it was impossible to put a name to anything. It only took a couple of sessions before I started to see an improvement. The lack of any visual cue makes it surprisingly difficult, but that of course is the advantage of such a kit. Others advocate training using actual wines and the tasting notes of professionals. Unfortunately it is well known that if someone says "cherries", that is what everyone in the room starts to smell. The little nondescript bottles definitely give you the confidence that it is your nose alone which is being stimulated. That is actually why I found the book so disappointing; there is little information on how to train just your nose in isolation, but a lot of reference information telling you exactly when you should be smelling those cherries.
5 Stars for the aromas.
4 Stars for the book.
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Product Description:
The Worlds Ultimate Wine Education Tool.For 30 Years the 54 Aroma Master Kit has been the reference in the Industry. It is the choice of wineries, educators, merchants and true wine lovers the world over.Our sense of smell is very delicate and highly sensitive. Practice allows us to recognize and identify the 54 aromas most commonly present in wine; thus, improving our appreciation and enjoyment of wine. These are the typical aromas found in red and white wine (including Champagne) from France and around the world. They give us an indication of the wine's origin, the grape variety as well as the vineyard, the winemaking techniques used and the aging conditions. Memorizing these aromas provides an accurate and coherent vocabulary to further stimulate our appreciation of fine wines.Le Nez du Vin/Make Scents of Wine is simply the Worlds Ultimate Wine Education Tool it helps develop the sense of smell and creates a common language to describe, understand and better enjoy wine. We all enjoy drinking wine but that pleasure is heightened if we are able to appreciate different tastes and assess the wine's richness and complexity. Wine, or more specifically the fruit of the vine, takes on the characteristics of the elements that surround it. Within the earth, air and water are aromatic compounds and essences of plant and floral life, layered over centuries. These are the exceptional aro
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