Another study surfaced that states how yet another environmental element can affect our taste for wine. This one from the Institute of Psychology in Germany says we are willing to spend more on wine when presented in red or blue ambient light and we will perceive the wine to be sweeter (nearly 1.5x) and more fruity in red light compared to the same wine enjoyed in white or green light.
Photo Credit: Jason Fortenberry
I have heard many things about what can affect our taste (and perception/expectation) of wine including:
- not brushing your teeth (especially if you are tasting in the morning)
- what you ate and when you ate it
- knowing the color of the wine
- having seen the label
- being in a fancy/expensive restaurant
- price of the wine
- marketing
- scores by critics
It seems our taste buds are up against some serious competition when it comes to enjoying a glass of wine. Hell, if you are a winemaker, think about those experts and judges who are evaluating your wine whilst you hang on every point and medal they dish out… you must be thinking: is it too bright in here? did that guy have the bean burrito for lunch or some cabbage? Maybe as a winemaker I need to consider what environs my wine will most likely be consumed.. argghhh!
As subjective as wine tasting is already, maybe we need to consider trying to remove or neutralize all of this noise. Soon we must need special tasting salons that are like specifically-designed and developed labs to ensure the cleanest tasting environment possible… who’s got some VC money?
What other things have you heard or found to affect the taste of wine?
Cheers!
Previous consumption. Definitely a feather in the cap of spitting out tastes if you’re visiting several tasting rooms in one day on a wine country trip. That being said, the afterglow achieved by consuming a couple of the glasses is part of the fun.
Temperature of where you’re drinking the wine – outside and sunny by the beach vs. indoors by the fire on a cold December nite, etc.
Opinions of trusted friends
Being under the weather. I was so congested before Christmas I couldn’t tell the difference between Château Palmer and Jim Palmer
BTW, is that your Warrior 1 or Warrior 2 pose ? Very fierce
Nice post Ed. Just tweeted this, so now we will be seeing more blue and red lights at wineries and restaurants.
All good points. Thanks SWG for the retweet. I appreciate it. There are so many sensory experiences when drinking wine that can affect your satisfaction and pleasure. Very interesting indeed
Jason: forgot to give you photo cred so I will change that next chance I get
I think if you know the characteristics of grape variety in the wine you’re drinking, you already have an expectation of how it will taste, that can distort appreciating the wine for how it actually is. You might be so busy focusing on the expected element of the wine that you overlook it’s more subtle naunces
Jason, I believe that is my Warrior (or Drunkard) 1 pose.
Dana: another great point! I often run the “expected” aromas through my head if I know the variety or possible varieties.
Glass and mood can make a big difference, but I’m not talking about having different Riedel for Burgundy vs. Oregon Pinot Noir. The more delicate the glass, the more careful you have to be. It forces you to calm down and slow down before you taste the wine, otherwise you’re going to knock over the glass or break it. If you’re angry, glugging straight from the bottle is not going to tell you much about the wine.
Quick side note with lighting: the weird color of some compact fluorescent bulbs can make sushi look downright nasty. Beautiful pink tuna suddenly looks gray and old. There’s some other bad combinations, like how a reddish bulb can make roast chicken or turkey look dangerously overcooked.
Whoops, I meant reddish bulbs make roast poultry look dangerously *undercooked*.
Thanks, Benito for the great comment. I have found glasses to affect my wine experience as well. Thanks for the nice “visuals” on the food too… I haven’t noticed that before, but that makes perfect sense.
An IV while floating in a sensory deprivation tank is the only way to go.
Music…
I’m about to have a tasting with Petite Sirah. Here’s my writing panel: Steve Heimoff, Dan Berger, Rich Hinkle, Hardy Wallace – assuming I can get them all together at the same time this coming month. We are going to taste submitted PSs from my members. (Among other things, I’m the founder and executive director of PS I Love You ~ http://www.psiloveyou.org ~ the advocacy group for Petite Sirah.)
Hess Collection has offered to host this tasting. As you may know, they’ve got an art collection that is world class… so, the environment of art is also part of the plan, in a very subliminal way.
The process of tasting is going to include music, with my past PR world being in this genre… I see the tie in, and am delighted that my tasting panel has agreed to my experiment. I know it’s going to offer a different perspective.
I’ll be blogging about it in January, and am really looking forward to this story that is currently in the making.
Thanks, Jo, for sharing the details of your “experiment.” I can definitely relate how certain ambient music or other sounds can affect the wine experience and I am curious to see your results from the tasting panel. If you want Hardy to bounce, you better be sure you got some 70′s Funk or hard-core rap on the playlist
I love Petite Sirah as well as your advocacy group… it’s a varietal I can’t get enough of. Thanks for the comment and let us know when your post is ready and I’ll be sure to let people know about it!
Erwin, having just watched Avatar I am envisioning that tank the avatars were floating in at the beginning of the movie. Great idea!
Here’s a recent post by Steve Heimoff where a “convivial tasting room” and presence of the winemaker could affect taste: http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/01/11/is-it-better-to-taste-alone-or-with-the-winemaker/