Secondary Aromas
Definition - What does Secondary Aromas mean?
Secondary aromas are produced when a wine undergoes the fermentation process. These aromas are created when the sugars from the must are turned into alcohol and different bouquets are created during fermentation.
Secondary aromas typically come from oak barrel aging, yeasts or microbes and produce the smell that most people can detect easily when tasting wine.
WineFrog explains Secondary Aromas
Some examples of secondary aromas include, butter, bready, yeast-like, oak, vanilla, toasted, coconut and woody scents. Another good example is the sour or bready smell that comes from Brut Champagne.
Secondary aromas are associated with the smells that come from fermentation and not the grape or varietal itself, the most noticeable is when the wine undergoes oak barrel aging. The reason for this is because the barrels have oak characteristics that influence the wine like oxidation, flavor compounds, type of oak and the lactones that contribute to the odorants from the barrel transferring to the wine.
Secondary aromas in aged wines are less noticeable than in younger wines which have more intense bouquets and aromas.
