Be that as it may, our smellers may just be the most important organ we have when it comes to enjoying wine. Most of what we regard as taste is really in our noses, where we're capable of distinguishing among literally thousands of aromas in contrast with our taste buds' limited ability to sort out sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

Putting a name to the many things we smell in wine -- from blackberries and currants and apples to such odd aromatics as butter, kerosene, horse sweat and old rubber boots -- can be one of the greatest challenges in wine appreciation.

Happily, there's a useful tool to help us sort things out. The Aroma Wheel, invented by Prof. Ann Noble of the famous wine school of the University of California at Davis, makes things easy by organizing most of the common wine aroma descriptors around a circle ("wheel") with similar scents placed in proximity. Try nosing a glass or two with the Aroma Wheel at your side, and I think you'll be amazed at the way it inspires your wine vocabulary. You can download a full-color copy of the Wheel from wineserver.ucdavis.edu/VEN7.HTML, where you'll also find information about buying it in laminated form -- or even on a T-shirt.

Although Lynch sells primarily to distributors at the state level and will consider mail order only to wine lovers in the relatively few states "reciprocal" with California for wine shipping, he will send his catalog to wine lovers on request. For information, contact Dan Fredman by E-mail at probono@earthlink.net. If you'd like to buy Adventures on the Wine Route, it's available in paperback for $11.40, 20 percent off retail, through our Wine Bookstore associated with Amazon.com.

Domaine de Trémont 1997 Chenas ($15.99)
Clear garnet. Aromatic black-fruit aromas, spicy black cherry and blueberry, very pleasant. Very full-bodied, apple-skin and plummy fruit flavors; I'd swear there's a little fuzz of tannin on the finish. Surprisingly robust for a Beaujolais, even a Cru ... and it's fine. U.S. importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif. (Jan. 20, 1999)

FOOD MATCH: In an experimental cross-cultural match with a Thai lamb curry, the flavors work well but the hot chile peppers and the alcohol in the wine are a bit uncooperative.

Domaine de la Chanteleuserie 1997 Cuvée Alouettes Bourgueil ($12.99)
Very dark ruby color, with herbaceous black-fruit aromas, dark berries and hints of fresh rosemary and lavendar. Light body but full flavor, an odd and intriguing textural effect; herbs and black fruit are consistent with the nose. An appealing herbal-floral potpourri persists in a long finish. U.S. importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif. (Jan. 21, 1999)

FOOD MATCH: Excellent with a lamb and mushroom risotto.

Londoner Peter May's delightful Pinotage Club seeks to change that, spreading the word and the joy of Pinotage around the world.

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