I am new to the world of wine and find it fascinating that a beverage made of grapes can contain so many non-grape and even non-fruit aromas and tastes. The weirdest I've personally come across is the 2002 Arrowood Syrah, Saralee's Vineyard, with tasting notes mentioning "melted asphalt". Now, I can't say for sure if I could smell/taste melted asphalt, but it was intriguing.

So, my question is:
What are some tips for developing one's palate and nose to get the most enjoyment out the wine? I know there are discussion about Tasting Notes, and whether or not to read them before drinking a particular wine, so far I've found Tasting Notes to be helpful, however, I would like to be able to identify the various aromas/tastes without the coaching of the notes.

Thanks!

my suggestion:
Instead of tasting the wine and asking the non-leading question "What do I taste?" do it this way:
Taste the wine, and ask leading questions: Is it cherry? Berry? Blackberry? Leather? Chocolate? Vanilla? Grassy? Citrus? Cat urine? (not that again!) etc.

If you know a good wine store, stop in and ask for a bottle that shows off a certain aroma really well. Spend a little time with the wine and lock it into your memory. Next time barnyard, graphite, tar, or whathaveyou comes up, even if its much more subtle, you may have an easier time of recognising it.

I just found this Web page. Perhaps it can be of some help:

Classification of Aromas

Thanks all

Also, I noticed the link to the online tasting course, so that's something to consider. Has anyone taken it?

recently gary from wine library had a nice video blog on a fairly standard way of training your palate... basically involves a trip to your grocery store..

episode #148

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2006/12/15/how-to-get-your-wi...trained-episode-148/