The First Gateway Smell, Memory and Emotion
Nose Training, How Recognising Aromas Changes the Wine Experience
Smell is the first gateway into wine. Before structure, tannins or acidity, we encounter aroma and with it, memory and emotion. During a Private Tasting Sensory Experience in the Swan Valley, nose training is less about learning a list of technical terms and more about slowing down, paying attention, and allowing personal memories to resurface. A single aroma can evoke childhood kitchens, summer orchards or forest walks after rain and in that intimate instant, we simply say: Voilà.
Madeleine de Proust When Aroma Opens Memory
Unlike visual or analytical perception, smell is directly connected to the brain’s emotional and memory centres. This is where the idea of the Madeleine de Proust becomes meaningful: an aroma that quietly opens the door to an older memory, unique to each person. In our Wine Aroma Workshop in the Swan Valley, guests gradually move from searching for the “right answer” to describing sensations, places and life moments realising that there is no universal interpretation, only personal truth.
A More Intentional Way to Taste Wine
Through nose training, wine tasting becomes calmer and more intentional. Guests stop trying to impress with vocabulary and begin to trust their own sensory identity. The experience deepens: aromas turn into layers, memories into stories, and wine into something lived rather than analysed. This is why nose training wine Perth is not about expertise it is about connection, presence and discovery.
Simple Practices and the Voilà Moment
Simple exercises help: closing the eyes before smelling, describing sensations before naming them, linking aromas to memories rather than categories. When a guest pauses, smiles, and recognises a scent that belongs to their own life story, the moment is quiet but profound. That is the essence of our approach to sensory education the moment when perception, memory and emotion align. Voilà.