Sensuous, feminine, artful, gorgeous, deep, rich, smart, and seductive – all of those things and more are conjured up directly to the forefront by a woman’s scent. The creation of such aromas can be none other than simply sensational. Again, the French have a lock on the world of perfumes and all things that smell amazing, just like with their wines. No one has beat what France’s products can do to your olfaction.

I am reminded of a time that I was locked in a recording studio with Dolly – truly a fabulous work experience on every level. She was wearing a simply exquisite perfume and I’m not exaggerating, not even a little. I asked her what it was, she smiled and coyly said, “It’s a perfume I had made for me in France”. I have no question about the authenticity of her statement but I have to tell you, after getting her comfortable in the studio, I fairly reeled back into the control room to record her. Seriously, serious perfume. 

The problem these days is that I have been to a number of wine events or even just hanging in a wine bar where someone walks through the door (men are certainly not less guilty) wearing perfume, cologne, or scented soap, or some otherwise wonderfully generated aroma that completely debilitates my ability to take in the essence of wine. So powerful is our sense of smell that we would taste very little without it. If you drink wine much, you have undoubtedly experienced just this somewhere along the way and know how frustrating it can be. On too many occasions I have been compelled to depart early from an otherwise nice event. 

This came up for me again recently when I was sitting in Whole Foods eating a fabulous Cesar Salad with shrimp, along with a glass of ice cold Sauvignon Blanc from Burgundy no less (it never occurred to me that anyone would grow Sauv Blanc in Burgundy, and I certainly never imagined it would be available stateside if they did)! It was really great on its own but with the salad this wine sang like Kathleen Battle was just rehired at the Met. Sadly though a young man sat down at the counter next to me dripping with cologne and though I can’t fault a person in this instance (it’s a food counter, not a wine bar) it completely decimated any pleasure derived from the wine and reminded me of the numerous occasions when people would walk into a wine event with such scents and lack of sense.

As we get out this holiday season and participate in the festivities, please be mindful of how unpleasant your, no doubt, pleasant perfume or cologne can be to others – especially at wine events or wine bars. This issue became a problem in the workplace in the last five years or so due to coworker’s possible allergic reactions. Their being subject to other people’s scents has even been cause for legal action that resulted in many companies banning workers from wearing or applying scented anything in the workplace and although it is a typical overreaction, I do understand how it can be annoying to take in someone else’s interpretation of what smells good. Good hygiene is good enough, really.

So before you go out to any place that is likely to serve wine, please be considerate of others that enjoy wine and are trying to take in one of the most important elements of wine – its aromas. The scent of a woman is a fabulous thing in the proper context. I hope everyone has a great and enjoyable holiday season!

David Boyer 

Photo: country legends Dolly Parton with Hank Locklin, David Boyer at the console – by Gordy Collins © 2000 used with permission