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The Scent of Italy & Wine

by Anton
(Paarl)

Memories of Italy

The sense of smell is the most evocative of all the senses. Yet we have few words to describe even the simplest of scents. Visually every colour, of every hue, has its name. Every sound too is well described.

Only when we venture into the world of wine does one discover scents having a name. Only wine noses have attempted the impossible - naming the unnameable.

For all that travel is not about "sights and sounds". Beautiful though the sights and sounds are, nothing will stir the memory in the way that scent will.

Being unnamed and unrecordable you cannot recall them at will and only lucky fate will allow you to stumble upon them again, transporting you back to warm memories of happy times.

I have just returned from Tuscany and the heavenly scents are recorded somewhere in my mind and oh how I wish I could recall them now, how I want to be transported back to this heaven.

Wine, food, village markets, the images are there in my mind and the sights and sounds are captured on video to be replayed at will. Yet I have no way to replay those wondrous aromas...except for my six bottles of treasured wine.

I open a bottle of Chianti Classico and those memories of Tuscan summer days come flooding back. My heart aches and a tears flood my eyes...I am back in Italy.

Andrew's reply:

How beautifully described! I wish I could of said it like that. How right you are about the way that aromas can bring back memories and how sad it is that scent is the only sense that you can't really capture and bring home with you.

Like you say, the only way to do it is to stock up on Italian wine - that way you get to bring the aromas and tastes of Italy home with you.

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