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A wine's aroma, or "nose," is the smell of the wine in the glass. The aroma can be floral, citrus, fruity, vegetable, earthy or any number of familiar scents depending on the grape varietals used, the wine making process implemented and the wine's storage conditions.

You've heard it said that, "The nose knows" and this is certainly the case with tasting wine. The human nose is capable of differentiating between thousands of unique scents. It's the nose that allows us to get a handle on the variety of flavors a wine presents, while the tongue is limited to sensing: salty, sweet, bitter and sour. To truly taste wine you will need to recruit the nose to pick up the flavor scents and the tongue to help discern the tastes.

http://wine.about.com/b/2009/08/18/aroma-of-wine-the-nose-knows.htm