Holiday Gift Alert For Wine Lovers: Varietal Specific Wine Aroma Kits

From: Wine Awakenings Inc
Published: Sat Nov 12 2005


A great new gift likely to find its way onto the wish lists and into the Christmas stockings of wine lover this year are varietal specific wine aroma kits.

Wine Awakenings, Canada’s only wine aroma manufacturer, have developed the kits in three varietals (plus a wine fault kit) to help wine lovers, at all experience levels, improve their ability to detect and identify the most prominent aromas found in specific wines.

Each kit contains twelve ten-millilitre vials of pharmaceutical-grade aromas of the most common and desirable properties found in each varietal. For example, the company’s Pinot Noir kit contains aromas of; Raspberry, Strawberry, Truffles, Bacon, Barnyard, Beetroot, Cherry, Gamey, Herbaceous, Licorice/Anise, Mushroom and Violets. By practicing accurate identification and labeling of the aromas, users can sharpen their ability to anticipate and detect the properties in wines. The kits can also be used as a reference tool during wine tasting.

"Our kits have had the greenest beginners detecting aromas and "speaking" wine like experts in no time," said Timothy Burke, President of Wine Awakenings. "And wine aficionados have sung the kits’ virtues as a practice and reference tool," he added.

While aroma kits have been available for more than two decades, until now, they were geared almost exclusively to institutional and commercial users. Wine Awakenings kits are geared to consumers.

"Our aroma kits offer high-quality aromas in a beautiful cigar box that looks great in any cellar, kitchen or bar," said Burke. "They also serve an inherent social function. It is impossible not to have some fun with the kits when a group of wine lovers get together," he added.

The kits also contains an informative 30-page booklet outlining proper use of the Awakenings product, information and background on the featured aromas, the wine’s flavour profile, suggestions on food parings, information on the varietal and its grape(s), winemaking and tips on serving and aging.

"We’ve built our aroma kits around varietals such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir," said Dr. Gary Pickering, Vice-President of Research with Wine Awakenings. "This is consistent with how wines are experienced in the New World,"

"There is a thirst for products that improve our appreciation and knowledge of wine. Our product serves a unique dimension of this market – the sense of smell," he continued.

According to Pickering (whose doctorate, role on faculty at Brock University and passion involve aromas in wine) smell, "the speechless sense" is different from all others. Smell, is not processed through the verbal part of the brain where it can be associated with a word with relative ease. Therefore, in order to name aromas a conscious effort must be made to label and associate them by attempting to recognize and identify them repeatedly. Over time the label becomes reinforced.

"Smell is crucially important to wine appreciation because smell is the predominant factor in what we know as our ability to taste," said Pickering. "We can smell thousands of aromas, but we only actually taste five properties."

"Our palate is extremely adaptable because there is a huge learning component to taste," he added.

Pickering believes that North American’s are in danger of becoming taste illiterate and thinks one of the added benefits of the kit is restoring a focus on smelling and tasting.

"We’ve lost the whole cultural context to appreciating wine and food. Drinking some of today’s great wine without sharpening our sense of smell and taste is a bit like watching the American Idol finals with the sound off,"

"We’re just not getting the full effect," he continued.

Wine Awakenings kits currently available include: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and a kit based on undesirable Wine Faults. They’ll also be launching some exciting new kits in the next few months.

The varietal kits are offered at $129.99 each (Approximately $99.00 USD) and the Wine Fault kits are offered at $139.99 each (Approximately $105.00 USD). Throughout the months of November and December all customers will receive free "Holiday" shipping anywhere in North America. Kits can be purchased through the company’s website at www.wineawakenings.com and additional information is available at info@wineawakenings.com or by calling (905) 354-9463.

[end]
Media Contact:

Dr. Gary Pickering
Wine Awakenings
Tel: (905) 688-5550 Ext. 4715
picksen@sympatico.ca

Release Issued By:

Tim Foster
OEB International
Tel (905) 682-7203
Cell (289) 213-6010
tfoster@oeb.com
Company: Wine Awakenings Inc
Contact Name: Tim Foster
Contact Email: tfoster@oeb.com
Contact Phone: Unknown Tag: 'Contact_phone'

Visit website »