Now, quickly. What in the heck is Brettanomyces? Lovingly referred to as “brett”, it’s a kind of yeast, but not the kind, until now, you prefer your wine to have. Known as a spoilage yeast, it’s the kind of thing that can be a hinderance (or a help) to the wine you’re sniffing and sipping (or quaffing. whatevs. no judgement here.) Basically, Dr. Noble and staff + students identified that there are a number of strains of Brett, and that some produce funky smells, while others produce pleasant smells.

Mind. Blown.

Needless to say, I hopped over to the Aroma Wheel website and found no version of this wheel easily accessible for purchase. So, instead, I ripped the page out of my WBM magazine to keep the bugger in my handy-dandy noteboook until one exists. With new aromas to think about – savory and dairy and woody and floral – I may be carrying a weird, perplexed look on my face as I work through my next rounds of tastings, asking myself: is this an aromatic of the wine, or of Brett?

P.S. I’m happy to give you a peek of my new cheat sheet – just ask.