The nose is responsible for so much of our perception of flavor in food and wine that it makes sense that it is on the job not just for an initial sniff, but throughout the process of eating or drinking.
You are actually smelling your wine (or food) while it is in your mouth, and even after you swallow. This is possible because there is a “back entrance” to your nose that allows retronasal aromas to rise from the back of your mouth. You can experience retronasal smelling by exhaling from your nose while chewing or after swallowing.
How does it work? Aromatic molecules that become airborne are called volatile aromas: these molecules can transfer from the liquid state (in the case of wine) to the gaseous state fairly readily, thereby becoming smellable. You help the process along when you swirl your wine in the glass, or slurp air through the wine in your mouth. Volatile aromas are taken in nasally or retronasally and connect with nerve cells that send impulses to the brain that inform your impression of the wine. By focusing on both nasal and retronasal aromas in wine, you can often get a more detailed aroma picture.
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