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 What are these chemical odors in my wine?

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Let me clarify one point immediately:  Chemical odors in wine are not due to the fraudulent addition of chemicals during wine making. They, for the most part, are not desirable and are produced due to wine spoilage or mistakes in operations during winemaking and rarely are they due to natural compounds in grapes. However, the laughter is true for few exceptions as you will discover in the wine aroma dictionary. 

This is still a work in progress and we will regularly add new descriptors extracted from the wine flavor wheel . 

Feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom of the page.


  • Aroma : Kerosene
  • Category :  Chemical
  • Type :  Petroleum
  • Aroma definition: Aroma evoking the smell of kerosene traditionally used in oil lamps. It is close to the odor of petrol/gas or lubricant as well.
  • Wine style: Kerosene and in general petroleum-like aromas are in fact typical aromas of Riesling grapes and aging Riesling wines. Although the finished wines should not smell kerosene at high concentration, a hint of this character is desired by the Riesling wine lovers. 
  • Origin : While some people state that these kerosene / petroleum notes are defective due to the degradation of grape skin in pressing releasing the compounds on cause, others like to consider these notes as a quality for aged riesling. TDN or   1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene is the molecule found to be associated with aging wines, especially Riesling. It is created from carotenoid precursors.
  • Flavor Standard : This is a tough one. We were able to make a standard sing few drops of car lubricant in white wine. Of course it is for smelling only.


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