You’ve certainly heard of that term in a wine tasting event and you’ve always wondered about its meaning. Very used for describing the taste and flavors of a wine, we unveiled the mystery behind that word that simply means… smoky.

Smoke and mirrors… Empyreumatic is an important word to describe a whole family of wine flavors:

• Toasted: crisp bread
• Roasted: cocoa, coffee, moka
• Smoked: smoke, ash, tobacco, BBQ
• Burnt: wood, rubber, tar, soot

Where does that come from? Empyreumatic comes from the Greek empureuma for ember. But what is most important to remember is that these smoky flavors are a sign that the wine was aged in wood barrels. The barrels are burnt before the wine is placed in. This burning preparation really influences the taste of the wine and demands a real expertise from the cooper.

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