The list of TasterPlace aromas expands with another tropical fruit!
Tropical fruit is a broad family of aromas, ranging from the best known pineapple and banana, to the most particular and exotic passion fruit, mango, guava, papaya and others.
Each fruit has a unique and unmistakable scent. They are fruits known to most, even to those who have never tasted the real fruit, because they are often found in fruit juices, ice creams and sweets.
The most interesting tropical aroma present in wines is passion fruit because it represents a varietal aroma typical of some grape varieties.
Passion fruit originates from Brazil, where it is also known as Maracujà. Numerous health properties are attributed to it: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, good for the intestine and helps control cholesterol. Many think that the name is linked to the sensuality of the fruit and the ability to awaken passion, but in reality it seems to be a name given by the first Jesuits who colonized the Americas and who saw in the aesthetic form of the flower the signs of the "passion of Christ".
Although it is a fruit that not many have tasted frequently, it is used in tastings to describe a wine. This is no accident. In fact, the aromatic molecules responsible for the aroma of passion fruit are present in high concentrations in many types of white grapes. They are molecules of the "thiol" family that have complex and unattractive names (3-mercaptohexanol, 3-mercaptohexanol acetate), but which release a fresh and pleasant aroma.
Wines with a fair concentration of these molecules are obtained from Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Muscat, Semillon, Chenin Blanc, Viognier and others. Most of these grape varieties express white wines, but there are also some red and rosé wines that have high concentrations of these thiols: those from Provence, some from Bordeaux and Spanish wines from Grenache.
The aroma is therefore varietal (due to the variety of grape) even if it is not immediately present in the grapes but develops later, during the fermentation phase, initiating from other molecules (precursors) present in the grapes.
Although the list of grape varieties that produce wines with the passion fruit aroma is long, in reality this scent is not often easily perceptible. This is due to the fact that the aromatic molecules responsible for the passion fruit aroma deteriorate easily with the passage of time and evolve into the most common citrus and vegetable scents. Sometimes a few months in the bottle are enough for this transformation of the aroma to take place. However, wines with more marked acidity retain this aroma longer: wines made with less ripe grapes, from cool climates, have a more marked aroma of passion fruit.
To more likely find this aroma, look for a young wine with a marked acidity.
To learn more about specific aromas or to discover TasterPlace Aroma collections, visit our website by clicking here.