I’ve spent most of my life smelling wine long before I taste it. Maybe that comes from growing up around orchards and old kitchens where the nose always spoke before the hands did. Still, every time I think I’ve understood wine, it surprises me again. That’s why I keep going back to learn — and this time, it was Professor George Kotseridis who opened the door a little wider.
He doesn’t just teach chemistry. He explains aroma in a way that respects the past. And that matters to me. Wine isn’t just a drink. It’s a story that begins long before fermentation, long before the grape is crushed. It starts with the plant, with the land, with decisions people have been making for generations.
But here’s the thing I’ve come to appreciate:
tradition gives wine its soul, and science explains why that soul smells the way it does.
That’s what this seminar was all about — connecting those two worlds.
For me, understanding aroma isn’t about sounding clever during a tasting. It’s about becoming more aware. More thoughtful. Better at what I do. And honestly, it makes me a better facilitator. When I can explain why a wine smells like jasmine or pepper or apricot, people connect deeper with their own experience. They slow down. They notice more. And that’s where the magic happens.
So this first article sets the tone.
Over the next few posts, I’ll walk through everything we explored with Professor Kotseridis — from vineyard decisions to fermentation, from enzymes to barrels, from the chemistry of fruitiness to the aromas we hope never to meet.
My aim is simple:
to honour the craft of winemaking, the science behind it, and the traditions that shaped me.
And to share the journey in a way that makes sense even if you’ve never opened a textbook on wine.
