Talking about wine as a medley of spices, plants, fruits, and other specific smelly things is such a solidly ingrained practice that it’s easy to imagine it always having been this way. That King Tutankhamun, Louis XIV, and Benjamin Franklin—all wine connoisseurs in their day—were also gargling their wines trying to decide if they picked up black, sour, or Maraschino cherry in their glass. In fact, this naturalistic, food-based lexicon is about as traditional as disco. It took root in the 1970s, and Ann created it.
