Primary Aromas (Fruit, Floral, Herbal, Spice)

The WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) asks tasters to think about aroma characteristics in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary. Its Wine-Lexicon defines primary aromas and flavours as the aromas and flavours of the grape and alcoholic fermentation; secondary aromas and flavours are those of post-fermentation winemaking (its clusters are yeast, MLF and oak), and tertiary aromas and flavours are those of maturation. A 2026 WSET article by educator Deniz Bayram DipWSET puts the grape at the centre: some aromas come directly from the grape itself, these are known as primary aromas, and they are the reason different grape varieties smell distinct from one another. The same article notes that grape skins, pulp and seeds contain hundreds of potential aroma compounds, and that some remain hidden in the grape as aroma precursors, only revealing themselves after fermentation.

• WSET notes that wine aromatics can be clustered into groups such as esters, pyrazines, terpenes, thiols and lactones
• Fermentation adds its own fruit notes: WSET says fermentation creates fruity esters with aromas akin to apple, pineapple and banana, commonly found in young wines, and the Level 3 Wine-Lexicon lists banana and pear drop among its primary descriptors
• WSET describes the Level 3 Wine-Lexicon as a prompt and a guide that students do not need to memorise; examiners accept other descriptors so long as they are accurate

On the SAT nose, tasters record condition, intensity (light to pronounced), aroma characteristics and development (youthful, developing, fully developed, tired/past its best). For primary aromas the Wine-Lexicon suggests key questions: are the flavours delicate or intense, simple or complex, generic or well-defined, fresh or cooked, and under-ripe, ripe or over-ripe? WSET explains that aroma and flavour are detected by the nose, either directly when smelling the glass (orthonasal perception) or through the back of the throat when taking a sip (retronasal perception), which is why a wine often feels more expressive once it is in the mouth. Because certain grape varieties return to the same aroma families repeatedly, across regions and styles, WSET notes that professional wine tasters often start with grape variety.

• Floral (WSET Level 3 Wine-Lexicon): acacia, honeysuckle, chamomile, elderflower, geranium, blossom, rose, violet
• Fruit: green fruit (apple, gooseberry, pear, pear drop, quince, grape), citrus fruit (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange peel, lemon peel), stone fruit (peach, apricot, nectarine), tropical fruit (banana, lychee, mango, melon, passion fruit, pineapple), red fruit, black fruit and dried/cooked fruit
• Herbaceous: green bell pepper (capsicum), grass, tomato leaf, asparagus, blackcurrant leaf; herbal: eucalyptus, mint, medicinal, lavender, fennel, dill
• Pungent spice: black/white pepper, liquorice; other: flint, wet stones, wet wool

Some primary aromas come from the grape itself, such as the methoxypyrazines behind Sauvignon Blanc's green notes: WSET says some aromas come directly from the grape and are the reason grape varieties smell distinct, its Level 3 lexicon lists green bell pepper (capsicum), grass and tomato leaf among primary descriptors, and it says varietal character always begins with what is already present in the grape. In WSET's account, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and their offspring Cabernet Sauvignon are well known for green, leafy aromas such as green bell pepper, tomato leaf and freshly cut grass, and these notes come from methoxypyrazines, which are naturally present in these grapes and highly potent. Ripeness changes how pronounced they are: methoxypyrazine levels are higher in less ripe grapes and tend to decrease as ripening progresses, so in cool climates, shaded vineyards or earlier harvests green characteristics often dominate, while with greater warmth and sunlight the same varieties show softer herbaceous notes alongside riper fruit aromas.

• WSET notes that the aromas dominating newly made wines are typically fresh fruits, flowers and herbs, and that these primary aromas can change or disappear over time
• WSET places Riesling's petrol note somewhere between a primary and a mature, tertiary aroma: it is linked to what is present in the grape but often intensifies with age
• WSET frames learning variety-aroma associations as building familiarity, not memorising tasting notes

Sauvignon Blanc draws on two grape-derived families: methoxypyrazines for green bell pepper, tomato leaf and cut grass (WSET), and the varietal thiols 3-MH, 3-MHA and 4-MMP, which the AWRI describes as well known impact aroma compounds in Sauvignon Blanc and other white wines, giving tropical, box hedge, grapefruit and passionfruit aromas. WSET calls Gewürztraminer one of the most aromatic grape varieties, often filling the glass with rose petal, Turkish delight and lychee; these aromas are linked to compounds such as geraniol and cis-rose oxide, and Gewürztraminer naturally contains higher levels of them. Syrah's peppery note comes from rotundone, a natural aromatic also found in black pepper and concentrated in the grape's skins; WSET says it tends to show most vividly in wines from cooler climates, contrasting a Côte-Rôtie Syrah with a warm-climate Barossa Shiraz. Muscat is among the few exceptions to the general pattern: WSET notes that most wines don't taste much like grapes at all, except for a small number made from certain white grape varieties, Moscato or Muscat being the most famous.

• In an AWRI study of wines from different varieties, vintages and regions, the majority (62%) of the wines that contained rotundone were Shiraz, and above-threshold levels were often found in wines from cool climate regions
• WSET notes that Syrah's black pepper aromas can sometimes be detected in unfermented Syrah grape juice, and that a Sauvignon Blanc grape might have some of the grassy, green pepper aromas familiar in its wines
• Riesling grapes never smell like petrol; WSET says the petrol compound TDN forms gradually from precursors linked to carotenoids, that high sunlight exposure and riper grapes are strongly associated with higher TDN levels, and that Rieslings from warmer, sunnier regions such as Australia often show more pronounced petrol notes than those from cooler climates like Germany
• WSET cites strawberry in Pinot Noir and cracked black pepper in Syrah as classic moments when students recognise an aroma

The AWRI sorts important grape-derived compounds by how they reach the wine. Some, including rotundone (black pepper/spicy aroma), methoxypyrazines (green bean, capsicum and asparagus aromas) and the C13 norisoprenoid beta-ionone (raspberry, berry and violet aromas), are present in grapes and end up in wine without undergoing chemical changes. Monoterpenes such as linalool, nerol and geraniol give the floral or citrus notes of Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Muscat; floral varieties have a much higher concentration than non-floral varieties, but all grape varieties contain monoterpenes to some extent. Most of those monoterpenes are bound to sugars as glycosides, which renders them aromaless; in wine the glycosides slowly break down and release the aromatic monoterpenes, either through the side-activity of yeast or other microorganisms during fermentation or chemically through the acidic environment of wine. Varietal thiols follow a precursor route too: odourless thiol-amino acid conjugates form in the grapes, especially after crushing, following skin contact or with Botrytis infection, and during fermentation yeast enzymes release 3-MH and 4-MMP, while 3-MHA is produced directly from 3-MH by yeast metabolism.

• The AWRI describes rotundone as one of the few important grape flavour compounds found free in the berry rather than coming from flavourless precursors, so it can be tasted in grapes; it arises very late in ripening and is found in grape skins rather than pulp or seeds
• AWRI research has shown that glycosides can also break down in the mouth when tasting wine, giving a burst of monoterpenes and near-immediate floral flavour, though the ability to detect floral notes from this in-mouth breakdown differs widely between individuals
• Some yeast strains have been shown to be better at releasing 3-MH and 4-MMP than others, with some strains producing more 3-MHA (AWRI)
• Because minimal skin contact is common in white winemaking, the AWRI notes that a significant proportion of the flavour potential of white grapes is discarded within the grape marc

Primary aromas are not fixed. WSET notes that once a wine is bottled its aromatics continue to change, due in large part to exposure to oxygen, heat and light, and the fresh aromas of youth typically lose intensity over time. In a WSET article, sensory analyst Sietze Wijma gives geraniol (rose) and isoamyl acetate (banana) as examples of compounds that tend to disappear, slowly breaking down in the bottle to form flavourless material. Other grape compounds are more durable: the AWRI reports that rotundone is very stable in wine with ageing and is not removed through absorption by closures, and that monoterpene glycosides provide a pool of latent flavour that can evolve over time. Winemaking shapes the starting point as well: WSET notes that the fermentation vessel, temperature and type of yeast all have a role in which aromatics are enhanced or subdued during fermentation.

• WSET says wines that can age tend to have plenty of flavour intensity and natural preservative qualities such as high acidity or high tannin levels
• On the SAT nose, development is recorded as youthful, developing, fully developed or tired/past its best
• Rotundone levels in red must increase quickly early in fermentation, and no yeast-related differences in rotundone levels have been observed for several S. cerevisiae strains studied (AWRI)

Primary sources: https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/3119/wset_l3_wines_sat_en_jun-2016.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/strawberry-pepper-and-petrol-why-wine-smells-the-way-it-does, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2023/march/21/why-do-we-age-wine, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2025/what-gives-syrahshiraz-its-peppery-spice, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2022/january/13/why-doesn-t-wine-taste-like-grapes, https://www.awri.com.au/industry_support/winemaking_resources/sensory_assessment/recognition-of-wine-faults-and-taints/wine_faults/, https://www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/240-June-2019-Technical-Review-Hixson.pdf, https://www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/243-December-2019-Technical-Review-Siebert.pdf, https://www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/1774-smith-WVJ-30-6-2015.pdf. Last verified 2026-09-29